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  • August

    This panther kitten was discovered in the Fakahatchee State Park Preserve, just east of the Picayune Strand Restoration Project area.

    It’s a girl! Kitten born to rescued and released Florida panther

    In September 2011, a pair of orphaned five-month-old Florida panther kittens was rescued by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) biologists, after their mother was found dead. Too young to survive on their own, they were raised in captivity at White Oak Plantation in Yulee, Fla., with the goal of one day releasing them back into the wild.

  • July

    Survey technician Jack Salzer at the helm of the Florida II. Salzer was working for the Corps when the Florida first arrived in 1973

    New survey vessel brings enhanced capability to support district missions

    The Florida II is a 62-foot aluminum hydrofoil-assisted catamaran hydrographic survey vessel that was built to Corps specifications by All American Marine and commissioned in February 2013. The

  • June

    Outreach program specialist and former middle school teacher Erica Skolte spoke to eighth grade students at Polo Park Middle School about what the Everglades were like prior to being altered by man.

    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.
  • Panther biologists have tracked Florida panthers crossing north in a section of the Caloosahatchee River that narrows to about 92 feet across and has relatively gradual banks. It is just a few miles west of the Ortona Lock and Dam.

    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.
  • Steve Dunham, chief of the South Florida Operations Office in Clewiston (in white shirt) and park ranger Richard Bailey speak with army instructor Sergeant First Class Brian Lamberton as JROTC volunteers plant Royal Palms along the entrance to the Port Mayaca Lock & Dam.

    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.
  • Adam Morrison (left), Jacksonville District Equal Employment Opportunity Office, visited lock leader Pam Peralta (right) and lock operator Robert Holmes (center) at Moore Haven Lock and Dam on the Okeechobee Waterway.

    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.
  • On summer afternoons, there is often a ring of clouds around Lake Okeechobee, and sometimes, it looks like the water meets the sky as the horizon on the big lake seems to disappear.

    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.

  • May

    Looking upstream to its source in the central mountains, the Río Puerto Nuevo basin drains 24 square miles of metropolitan San Juan, 75 percent of which is highly developed with a population of 250,000. The plan of improvements includes channels, high velocity channels, debris basins and modifications to bridges, in an effort to protect the population against a 100-year flood.

    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.

  • April

    W.P. Franklin Lock volunteers measure twice and cut once when replacing re-planed boards in shelters.

    National Volunteer Appreciation Week

    Volunteers play a vital role in the success of the recreation and environmental stewardship programs at Lake Okeechobee and along the Okeechobee Waterway. Each year, approximately 350 volunteers provide more than 16,500 hours of service.
  • The “Flamboyán” tree, known in English as a Royal Poinciana or Flame Tree, is named for its flamboyant display of orange-red petals. The tree, planted by Corps employees in 1976, still graces the grounds of the Antilles office today.

    A brief history of the Antilles Office through the eyes of the people

    If the responsibility for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers office in Puerto Rico was a dance, it would probably be closer to the currently popular “Harlem Shuffle” than a salsa. Though responsibility for the office was shuffled over the years from New York to Panama, then to Puerto Rico, and finally to Jacksonville District, the importance of having a Corps office located on the island has never shifted. Corps civilian and military activities in Puerto Rico include administration, coastal defense projects, facilities construction on military bases and flood risk reduction, as well as maintenance and improvement of inland waterways and harbors. Specific navigation projects have included Arecibo Harbor, San Juan Harbor, and Mayaguez Harbor in Puerto Rico.
  • The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC) released a female Florida panther that had been rescued as an orphaned kitten in 2011. Biologists released her in the Picayune Strand Restoration Project area in Collier County in southwest Florida.

    Rescued Florida panther released into Picayune Strand

    This year, Earth Day in the south blocks is a very different story. It’s an environmental success story with a variety of subplots. The Picayune Strand Restoration Project, the first component of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) to begin construction, is well under way. Though the project is not yet complete, benefits are already being observed. Groundwater levels have improved and vegetation is recruiting naturally in an orderly succession. Wildlife continues to use the area, traveling long-used trails and open areas, including a bridge across one of the canals near the Merritt Pump Station, even during the construction phase.