Step by step, exhaustive effort to save our local waters

At the Everglades Coalition, I reviewed a brutal, long-term battle:

In 1925 the Florida Developer warned that drainage of Lake Okeechobee was destroying the fishing industry. In 1930 the Martin County Board of County Commissioners requested that the Army Corps close the gates.

In 1931 the gates were open for two full years.

In 1945 Stuart Messenger coined the St. Lucie River “Mud River” as it filled with sediment.

In 1958, an Army Corps “gentlemen’s agreement” with local citizens and community leaders for a third outlet south of the lake was ignored.

In 1961, led by Ernest Lyons, the St. Lucie Indian River Restoration League published a front-page report on efforts against not only Lake O, but also C-23 and C-24.

In 1992, the St. Lucie River Initiative was founded by members involved in the Stuart Chamber’s Leadership Martin County program. The group developed the "DeOoze It or Lose It” program, delivered a "Citizens' Report to Congress” in 1995, and prepared, by contract with the South Florida Water Management District, a plan: "Final Report: Characterization, Sources, Beneficial Re-Uses, and Removal of Marine Muck Sediments in the St Lucie Estuary.”  

In 1998, lesioned fish filled the river, toxic algae first were spotted near locks. That same year, the Rivers Coalition, formed.

In 2002 the state quietly declared the St Lucie River “impaired.”

In 2011 the River Kidz’ lemonade stand sparked youth advocacy.

In 2013 we experienced the Lost Summer — black water and algae most of the year. With help of social media, the River Warriors group was born.

That same year TCPalm’s reporting inspired state, national, and worldwide attention toward saving the lagoon. Sen. Joe Negron took on the issue as incoming president of the Senate.

To say this is a difficult journey is an understatement. We must remain unified behind Negron. 

Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch, Stuart, is former mayor of Sewall's Point