Today Vice Chair Richard Schwab conducted the SRWMD meeting with a quorum present due to new appointee Harry Smith, described below.
Harry Smith
Tallahassee, Fla. — Today, Governor Ron DeSantis announced the appointment of Harry Smith to the Suwannee River Water Management District Governing Board.
Harry Smith
Smith, of Lake City, is the Vice President of Feed Operations for Central States Enterprises. An avid outdoorsman, his work revolves around businesses that need water to operate and grow. He received his bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Florida.
This appointment is subject to confirmation by the Florida Senate.
Three speakers during the Public Comment period lamented the lack of an environmentalist on the water district board, Lu Merritt, Steve Gladdin and OSFR President Mike Roth. Indeed we see this as an issue of extreme importance which can only be interpreted as a governor who puts the environment at the bottom of the heap.
This is especially tragic when we have highly qualified individuals who are available and willing to work who were nominated to our governor.
Others who spoke on environmental issues were Merrillee Malwitz-Jipson, hydrologist Dennis Price and your historian.
Our Santa Fe River, Inc is a Florida not-for-profit 501 (c)(3) organization composed of concerned citizens working to protect the waters and lands supporting the aquifer, springs and rivers within the watershed of the Santa Fe River. We do this by promoting public awareness pertaining to the ecology, quality, and quantity of the waters and lands immediately adjacent to and supporting the Santa Fe River, including its springs and underlying aquifer.
Joanne Tremblay on Santa Fe Spring: “Its true, so many people love to recreate in the river and springs. People are crowding out our natural areas…” Jun 30, 16:24