Pinellas County Environmental Foundation will make donations, but it expects to see results before releasing resources.
By TERRY TOMALIN
Published March 12, 2004
ST. PETERSBURG - Ask an environmentalist, marine biologist or angler to name the most important ingredient for a healthy fishery and they will give you the same answer.
Habitat.
You can judge the health of an ecosystem by the life it supports. Bait fish cannot live without sea grass. Spotted sea trout will not survive without bait fish. And bald eagles will find a home elsewhere if there are no game fish to feed on.
"That is one of the key elements of all of our programs," said Jake Stowers, a member of the Pinellas County Environmental Foundation's advisory board. "If you want funding, you have to show ground improvements - new sea grasses, oyster domes, removal of exotic species. We are all about results."
Since 1998, the PCEF has awarded more than $4.2-million in matching grants to more then 60 different organizations. These donations have helped set in motion an additional $7.1-million in environmental improvements for a total net benefit to the bay of more than $11-million.
The PCEF, a unique partnership with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, focuses on environmental education and habitat restoration programs in Tampa Bay. One of the organization's biggest fundraisers, the fifth annual Spring on the Flats Catch-and-Release Fishing Tournament, is one of those rare events when angler participation actually benefits the resource.
"The tournament keeps getting bigger and bigger every year," spokeswoman Mary Hoppe said. "We are looking forward to another first-class event."
As tournaments go, Spring on the Flats is not cheap. It costs $500 for an individual or $1,000 for two anglers with their own boat and guide.
"We find that most of our support comes from the corporate community," Hoppe said.
Here is a short list of some of PCEF's major accomplishments:
- Matched $49,500 raised by Audubon of Florida for a colonial water-bird protection and restoration program. Audubon currently monitors 43 sites that provide homes to 25 species of birds. The PCEF funds helped Audubon develop new boaters guides for Boca Ciega Bay and Clearwater Harbor/St. Joseph Sound.
- Added $86,730 to $95,380 raised by Hillsborough County's Resource Management for Mote Marine Laboratory's juvenile red drum habitat identification program. The program, which will track juvenile red drum with the use of acoustic transmitters, will ultimately help marine biologists manage this valuable sport fish.
- Added $7,700 to $13,806 from the Pinellas County Parks Department to help with sea oat restoration at Fred Howard Park in Tarpon Springs. This 155-acre park has more than 1.8-million visitors a year. The 10,000 sea oats that will be planted will help stabilize the five acres of beachfront.
- Added $17,074 to $50,000 from the Florida Aquarium for its Bayside field studies program. In its first year, the program will educate 30 teachers and more than 3,000 high school students on a three-acre man-made island that has been restored by the aquarium.
"The key to all of our programs is partnerships," said Stowers, an assistant Pinellas County administrator who has been a champion of environmental causes for four decades. "When you have more than one player at the table, it doubles the environmental awareness."
The Spring on the Flats tournament is scheduled for April 2. For more information, contact Mandy Peterson at 727 827-3326 or e-mail her at mpeterson6@tampabay.rr.com To learn more about the foundation, call www.pcef.org
