Protect the Apalachicola River, Protect the Gulf

Next week the Governors of Florida, Alabama, and Georgia will be meeting with federal officials to decide the future of the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint river ecosystem. This critical meeting will be part of the process of charting the future of the Gulf Coast of Florida and Alabama. The fate of places like Apalachicola Bay hangs in the balance. The health of the northern Gulf of Mexico, and the people and wildlife who define it, will be directly impacted by these negotiations on how much water will flow from Georgia down into Alabama and Florida, eventually reaching the Gulf of Mexico.

As the southeastern U.S. continue to experience a record drought, the Governors of Florida, Alabama, and Georgia, in negotiations with federal agencies, have wrestled with setting the flow of water that will eventually reach rivers like the Apalachicola River and Apalachicola Bay, an issue which impacts the entire Gulf of Mexico.  The health of the coastlines of Alabama and Florida are tied to the health of the seafood industry, wildlife, tourist economy, and future of the entire Gulf of Mexico. The precedent set here in terms of how much clean water ultimately reaches the beaches and estuaries of the Gulf of Mexico impacts everyone in the Gulf region.

Please take a few moments and send a message directly to the Governors of Alabama, Florida, and Georgia as well as U.S. Interior Secretary Dick Kempthorne.  Let them know that the Gulf of Mexico matters, and that our region's future is in their hands: http://action.healthygulf.org/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=22005

United for a Healthy Gulf,

Joe Murphy
Florida Program Coordinator
Gulf Restoration Network