F&N Article 11: How Preserving Martin County’s Natural Lands Will Benefit its Residents

This fall, all Martin County registered voters, regardless of political party, will get to decide whether they want to vote YES on a Referendum that will appear on their ballot with these words: “Lands to protect water quality, natural areas and wildlife habitat one-half percent sales surtax.”

What do these words mean and why should voters support it?

Martin County is a very special place - and we want to keep it that way. The referendum is a critical conservation initiative. It is our best chance - and maybe our last chance - to purchase undeveloped lands in Martin County from willing sellers and ensure they remain that way during our lifetime and for future generations.

In our last column we shared the perspective of Cat Villano, a 2022 Pine School graduate and junior at UF and her thoughts on the importance of saving our natural lands. It’s her generation that we’re fighting for.

Now we turn our focus to another touchpoint. Saving these lands helps to protect our “quality of life.”  But that phrase means different things to different people. We’ll explore this topic further in this, and future, columns.

One critical quality of life issue is water. It’s on everyone’s mind - as well it should be! Our water is the lifeblood of our community. Bear with us as we dive into a bit of a hydrology lesson to explain why water quality is so important and why it is at risk.

Florida’s has natural frontline defenses to cleanse water. Ideally, when there is a large rain event, water enters low-lying natural areas and wetlands, and that water then percolates slowly back into the aquifer and recharges it. Water can also “sheet flow” into a larger water body. The slow sheet flow of water through wetlands allows native plants to uptake and remove harmful nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorous from the water. When too much of those nutrients overload our water bodies, they become harmful and provide food to stimulate devastating toxic algae blooms.

The landscape of South Florida has been significantly altered over the past century. We’ve channelized and redirected water to reduce and eliminate flooding in various locations. With the increase in homes, commercial properties, and roads comes an increase in impervious surface areas. Those are the hard surfaces that prevent or reduce the amount of water that can soak into the ground. With more impervious surfaces, stormwater runoff from large rain events flows directly into our canals, rivers and estuaries.

Mother nature’s water cleansing systems have been diminished and are stressed. But pointing fingers and being nostalgic about prior decades does nothing to clean our waterways.

We understand the problem and we must take action to solve it. We need to acquire and preserve more natural land. This will allow the miracle and magic of south Florida’s natural systems to do their job!

That’s what the Martin County Forever Referendum is all about. Voting Yes on the referendum will generate the funds needed to purchase the right lands in the right places to protect our water quality and our quality of life.

More wetlands put into permanent conservation will enable water to flow through them and filter and absorb nutrients that can cause toxic algae blooms. More natural lands in permanent conservation will allow for excess stormwater and rain to percolate into our underlying aquifer. These things will improve the quality of the water that is released into our waterways.

Martin County has led efforts to improve water quality with projects like the C-44 Reservoir and Stormwater Treatment Area (STA). Funded initially by local sales tax, this project was completed with state and federal support. The C-44 Reservoir, part of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP), captures and treats harmful releases from Lake Okeechobee and the surrounding basin. Covering 12,000 acres, it helps reduce sediment, nutrients, and saltwater intrusion while supporting over 4,300 species. Though effective, it only cleans 65% of local runoff. Supporting the referendum will expand this habitat and improve water quality.

Future columns will discuss other Quality of Life issues. If you’d like to dive into the details of the referendum, you can read the entire thing and the ordinance language here.

If you’d like to join us in our efforts to get the referendum passed, there are many volunteer opportunities. Money is needed for us to get the word out to voters. Reach out to us at martincountyforever@gmail.com. For much more info visit www.martincountyforever.com. Follow us on Facebook at Martin County Forever Facebook or on Instagram at Martin County Forever Instagram.