• June

    The student connection: Corps employees reach out to local schools

    For the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District, this time of year provides an opportunity to educate future engineers and scientists on the breadth of the district’s work and the contributions it makes to the quality of life in Florida, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. All Corps team members are representatives for the Corps in their own communities. Every interaction provides a potential opportunity to share information about the district’s programs and projects.
  • Lake Worth Inlet moves forward with release of draft report to public

    In May, the Lake Worth Inlet project team reached a major milestone with the release of the draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) to the public. A public meeting to introduce the plan to the community was attended by nearly 70 interested residents and stakeholders in Palm Beach.
  • Corps recognized for role in making Florida panther corridor a reality

    Panther scientists estimate that there are only 100 to 140 Florida panthers remaining in the wild, and the last remaining breeding population of Florida panthers is in south Florida, south of the Caloosahatchee River.
  • Volunteers take pride in accomplishments at Take Pride in America Day

    Like anything worthwhile, Jacksonville District’s observance of Take Pride in America Day took a lot of planning, preparation and hard work. For the Corps employees and volunteers who participated in the May 4 event, the results were well worth the effort again this year. It was a win-win for everyone involved.
  • Female lock leader honored with Steel de Fleury

    Forty years ago, career choices for women were generally not as diverse as they are today. Pam Peralta never let that stand in her way. Her choices leaned toward the non-traditional and resulted in several historic firsts.
  • National Trails Day

    In addition to the trails at St. Lucie Lock and Dam, visitors can enjoy walking, hiking, rollerblading, bicycling and horseback riding around Lake Okeechobee. Designated as part of the Florida National Scenic Trail in 1993, the Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail (LOST) is an approximately 110-mile trail encircling the lake. More than half of the trail is paved, and the remainder consists of a two-track gravel roadway on top of the 35-foot high Herbert Hoover Dike.
  • Tiger Mom effect served Asian American Pacific Islander Month speaker well

    Florence Chen, partner at the Yau Law Firm in Jacksonville, Fla., is a second generation Chinese-American and a current member of the Florida Bar. Chen visited Jacksonville District May 16 to celebrate Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month. She shared her insights on being raised by a ‘tiger mom’ and how it impacted her career and cultural values.
  • HHD named Project of the Year

    The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Palm Beach Branch has given its Outstanding Project of the Year Award to Jacksonville District, for its work in designing and constructing the improvements to reduce the risk of failure at the dike. The award is presented annually by the organization to recognize the best example of an innovative or outstanding design/construction project in Palm Beach County.
  • May

    Restoration project may serve as regional prototype

    Nationwide Permit (NWP) 27 specifically authorizes aquatic habitat restoration, establishment and enhancement activities, and it was this general permit, issued by Linda Elligott, project manager in the Fort Myers Regulatory Office, that authorized a unique hydrologic and habitat restoration project in Charlotte County.
  • Violation of consent decree in Century Homebuilders Clean Water Act case settled

    A 2006 Clean Water Act violation case against Century Homebuilders has been closed with the receipt of payment of $400,000 in civil penalties plus the purchase of $60,000 in mitigation credits from Everglades National Park.
  • One man’s legacy lives on through scholarship fund

    The Michael Allen Schultz Endowed Scholarship fund was created in 2012 by Schultz’s wife, Susan, in honor of her husband. The fund assists deserving undergraduate, civil, environmental, agricultural or biological systems engineering students enrolled at Iowa State University.
  • Areawide Environmental Impact Statement addressing phosphate mining in Central Florida Phosphate District completed

    The final Areawide Environmental Impact Statement (AEIS) addressing phosphate mining in the Central Florida Phosphate District (CFPD) has been completed and released and a Notice of Availability is scheduled for publication in the Federal Register May 3.
  • Water managers prepare for wet season

    A different challenge facing water managers this year surrounds Lake Okeechobee and a higher water level this year, when compared to the previous two years. On April 23, the lake level was 13.59 feet, more than two feet higher than it was on the same date in 2011 and 2012. The lake has stayed within the Corps’ preferred range of 12.5 and 15.5 feet all winter. As a result, the district has been able to provide regular discharges of water to meet a wide variety of needs, including releases to the Caloosahatchee Estuary to keep the saltwater-freshwater mix in an acceptable range.
  • Corps project manager sets future conditions in Afghanistan

    Robert Medlock, a 10-year veteran of Jacksonville District, just returned from his second deployment with the Corps in February and is now incorporating new skill sets he acquired while overseas into his management of Everglades restoration projects in the district’s Ecosystem Branch.
  • Giant African snails attack south Florida

    The giant African land snail (GALS) is considered one of the most damaging snails in the world, known to consume at least 500 different types of plants and possibly pose a health threat to humans, according to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) website.
  • An overview of projects and missions in the Antilles

    Puerto Rico, at its widest point, is 110 miles long from east to west and only 40 miles wide from north to south. The main mountain range, La Cordillera Central and the smaller cordilleras that run east-west through the center of the island are sparsely populated, but take up half of the available land. Most of the population lives in the narrow coastal band around the cordilleras. In the mountainous region above the city of Ponce in the south, slopes average 45 degrees and Cerro de Punta, the highest point of the island, at 4,393 feet, is only 14 miles from the coast.
  • Injury underscores importance of 3R safety message

    The potential for encountering military munitions on Culebra and in the surrounding waters is high, and the Corps consistently informs the community about that possibility while promoting safety precautions.
  • April

    Air Potato Roundup yields big results, educates community

    National Invasive Species Week, held March 2 through 8, focused on raising awareness of non-native threats to local ecosystems and endangered species. Invasive species smother native plants and are one of the greatest ecological threats to natural communities, according to the U.S. Department of the Interior, which also estimates the costs to prevent, monitor and control invasive species at about $137 billion annually.
  • Army Family Action Plan

    AFAP is input from the people of the Army to Army leadership. It's a process that allows Soldiers, Department of the Army (DA) civilians, retirees and family members to say what's working and what isn't – and what they think will fix it. It alerts commanders and Army leaders to areas of concern that need their attention and it gives them the opportunity to quickly put plans into place to work toward resolving the issues.
  • Coastal menace from the Carolinas creeps towards Florida

    The rapidly spreading beach vitex, an invasive vine native to countries in the western Pacific, is creeping down the eastern coast from the Carolinas towards Florida, impacting beach stability and endangering sea turtles.