June is Florida Rivers Month

June is Florida Rivers Month

Launch of contest allows photographers to showcase beauty of waterways

TALLAHASSEE, FL – Governor Charlie Crist recently signed a proclamation honoring June as Florida Rivers Month, recognizing the more than 50,000 miles of rivers and streams throughout the state. Florida’s famed waterways include the 310-mile St. Johns River, one of the only rivers in North America flowing north, as well as two designated National Wild & Scenic Rivers, the Wekiva and Loxahatchee Rivers.

To help showcase these majestic places and celebrate rivers month, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is launching its inaugural Florida Rivers Month Photo Contest. The contest invites residents and visitors, experienced and novice photographers, to submit images of favorite Florida rivers and water basins.

"Water is the lifeblood of our state, and celebrating Florida Rivers Month allows us to recognize how important our rivers are to our environment and economy," said Janet Llewellyn, director of DEP’s Division of Water Resource Management. "By launching the photo contest we hope to encourage the appreciation, conservation and protection of these rivers which define Florida’s landscape."

Color photos will be accepted through July 31, 2008 and should capture the environmental richness, unique landscape, flora and fauna, human involvement, recreational opportunities or simply the exceptional beauty of Florida’s rivers and surrounding landscapes. Photographs will be judged in six geographic categories with specific river basins within each region.

Northwest District: Ochlockonee-St. Marks Rivers, Apalachicola-Chipola Rivers, Choctawhatchee River and Bay-St. Andrew Bay, Pensacola Bay, Perdido River and Bay

 Northeast District: Suwannee River, Lower St. Johns River, St. Marys-Nassau Rivers, Northeast Coast Lagoons

Central District: Ocklawaha River, Middle St. Johns River, Upper St. Johns River, Kissimmee River, Indian River Lagoon

Southwest District: Tampa Bay, Tampa Bay Tributaries, Sarasota Bay and Peace-Myakka Rivers, Withlacoochee River, Springs Coast

South District: Everglades West Coast, Charlotte Harbor, Caloosahatchee River, Fisheating Creek, Florida Keys

Southeast District: Lake Okeechobee, St. Lucie-Loxahatchee Rivers, Lake Worth Lagoon-Palm Beach Coast, Biscayne Bay-Southeast Coast

The grand prize winner, who will be announced August 13th, will receive a DEP gift basket, award plaque and congratulatory letter from DEP Secretary Michael W. Sole. For complete details, rules and an entry form visit http://www.dep.state.fl.us/water/rivers2008.htm.

Over the last seven years, Florida has acquired more than one million acres of environmentally-sensitive land to protect water quality in rivers, lakes, estuaries and streams through Florida Forever and its predecessor, P2000. The acreage includes nearly 130,000 acres of natural floodplains and more than 500,000 acres of functional wetlands.

Florida is using the best science to identify and restore degraded rivers based on the first state law of its kind in the nation. Through stringent water quality standards, rigorous environmental permitting requirements and a strong commitment to reuse, the state has eliminated nearly 300 discharges of industrial and domestic wastewater into Florida’s rivers in the last twelve years. In addition, Florida has invested $3.1 billion since 1999 to protect the state’s rivers by cleaning up stormwater pollution and improving wastewater treatment.