MEDIA ADVISORY
For Immediate Release
Contact: Sean Cooley, Communications Manager, (850) 999-1030, scooley@audubon.org
Twitter: @AudubonFL
 
MIAMI (August 14, 2018) – Starving chicks in beach-nesting bird colonies, dead fish on the shores, and coughing fits are all signs that something is wrong with Florida’s coasts. Red tide and blue-green algae are plaguing Florida waterways and wreaking compounding havoc on wildlife and people. Audubon Florida has several experts and scientists available to discuss specific impacts and solutions to Florida’s algae crisis including:
 
Julie Wraithmell: Serving as the executive director of Audubon Florida and a vice president of National Audubon Society, Wraithmell has been critical to advancing Audubon’s solutions for solving Florida’s water woes. A biologist by training, she leads the only conservation organization in Florida with significant historical data and expertise on coastal birds, Lake Okeechobee, and Everglades restoration.
 
Dr. Paul Gray: Dr. Gray is Audubon’s expert on Lake Okeechobee and manages Audubon’s two sanctuaries on this liquid heart of America’s Everglades. Dr. Gray’s 25 years of experience working on Lake Okeechobee provide unique insight into how the lake’s management and Everglades restoration plays an important role in lessening algae blooms in the lake, through the estuaries, and on the coasts. No other organization has as much history on Lake Okeechobee than Audubon Florida.
 
Celeste De Palma: As Audubon Florida’s director of Everglades policy, De Palma leads the organization’s efforts to restore America’s Everglades by advancing restoration projects with local, state, and federal government agencies. Since Floridians drained and reshaped the famed River of Grass in the last century, Audubon has been at the forefront at restoring the Everglades- the world’s largest ecological restoration project. Returning the Everglades to its historic wonder will help clean Florida’s waterways and safeguard Florida’s water supply.
 
Dr. Marianne Korosy: Audubon Florida’s director of bird conservation, Dr. Korosy leads the organization’s robust coastal bird stewardship program. Reports from Southwest Florida of underweight chicks suggest some species like State Threatened Black Skimmers are starving. Both red tide and blue-green algae are known to kill the prey of Florida’s iconic coastal birds. With Federally Threatened Red Knots expected in Florida in the coming weeks, concerns are rising about the availability of healthy, uncontaminated prey for these and other highly imperiled species.
 
To schedule an interview, contact Sean Cooley at scooley@audubon.org or 850-999-1030.
 

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