The group ‘American Rivers’ will announce today it has put the Caloosahatchee on its annual list of most endangered rivers for 2006. Massive releases of highly-polluted water from Lake Okeechobee by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the South Florida Water Management District threaten the health of the River. So the advocacy organization ranked it number 7 on this year’s list. President of the Conservancy of Southwest Florida, Andrew McElwaine, he says his organization lobbied to get the listing.
“It is I think a significant development for bringing national attention, we’ve had plenty of regional attention, but we need the national attention because ultimately the Army Corps of Engineers, a national agency, is responsible for its management, or mismanagement in this case.”
Each year, ‘American Rivers’ solicits nominations for the Most Endangered Rivers report, which highlights the waterways facing the most uncertain futures rather than those suffering from the worst chronic problems. The report highlights ten rivers that face a major turning point in the coming year, where the group says citizen action can make a difference.