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  • April

    Beach vitex leaves are round, silvery gray-green, have a spicy fragrance and purplish blue flowers. If beach vitex is spotted, do not dig it up; contact Jacksonville District’s Invasive Species Management Branch.

    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.
  • 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.
  • USACE is the nation’s largest federal provider of outdoor recreation, managing more than 400 lake and river projects in 43 states and hosting more than 370 million visits per year. Through its partnership with FLW Outdoors, USACE is helping to shape future stewards of the nation’s natural resources.

    U.S. Army Corps of Engineers partners with FLW Outdoors to connect America’s youth with the outdoors

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) will partner with FLW Outdoors and the FLW Foundation on future events and activities designed to connect America’s youth to their natural resources while promoting education, conservation and an active lifestyle.
  • Confined blasting method, using 3,000 pounds of explosives to crack rock beneath the water’s surface in Miami Harbor.

    Residents learn about proposed confined blasting for Jacksonville Harbor

    When most people hear the term “blasting,” they imagine a cosmic explosion of material that shoots into the earth’s atmosphere and shakes foundations. However, for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville Harbor Deepening Study, the proposed confined blasting technique to remove rock obstacles will sound more like a bullet as it is fired from a gun and will barely cause a blip on the radar.
  • 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.
  • Work continues on a water control structure replacement at the Culvert 11 site south of Port Mayaca. Jacksonville District plans to remove or replace 30 structures at Herbert Hoover Dike over the next five years.

    USACE begins Dam Safety Modification Study on Herbert Hoover Dike

    “The Dam Safety Modification Study is a comprehensive, system-wide study intended to identify risks in the system, and to recommend the necessary measures that can reduce the risk of failure,” said Tim Willadsen, HHD project manager. While certain sections of the dike have been studied before, HHD has never undergone a review this comprehensive and detailed. Each segment of the dike will be thoroughly reviewed for its geology and geometry, with particular attention given to scenarios that would cause the dike to fail.
  • 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.

  • March

    As part of the Tamiami Trail One-Mile Bridge Opening Ceremony on March 19, 2013, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Jo-Ellen Darcy and Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar cut a ribbon on the bridge deck prior to taking the inaugural drive across the fully-constructed bridge, which will be opened up to traffic in the upcoming weeks.

    Completion of critical project milestone celebrated for Tamiami Trail One-Mile Bridge

    Federal, state and local officials stood atop 5,280 linear feet of restoration progress as they came together to celebrate the completion of the Tamiami Trail one-mile bridge March 19 in Miami, Fla.
  • Everglades Day at the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge brings many families and children like Sara Green to the Corps booth, where they spin the “Wayne Drop” wheel and learn about the Everglades and water safety.

    Reaching out in South Florida

    Reaching out to the communities we serve, to engage them by providing information as well as seeking their input on our projects and processes, is a basic tenet of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District. From formal meetings about the Central Everglades Planning Project to participating in community-based events, the Jacksonville District team is continuously engaged in a multitude of public interactions in south Florida.
  • U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District’s Antilles Office, San Juan, Puerto Rico.

    The relationship between the United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands

    The first of this series of four stories about the history of Jacksonville District’s Antilles Office described the location of the archipelago of islands that includes Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. This installment will look at how Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands are related to the United States.
  • After inspecting the channel at Cowbone Marsh, Regulatory Division issued a cease and desist order, requiring the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission to stop sidecasting dredged material into the channel.

    Cowbone Marsh to be protected through Regulatory Division action

    Located within central Glades County, Fla., eight miles upstream of the mouth of Fisheating Creek at the western shore of Lake Okeechobee, lies Cowbone Marsh, an approximately 5,500-acre freshwater marsh system. Fisheating Creek, the only remaining free-flowing waterway feeding into the lake, flows through Cowbone Marsh. Most of the surrounding land is either publicly owned or under conservation easements that restrict development, making it one of the most valuable aquatic and wildlife resource areas in the country.
  • Col. Alan Dodd (right), district commander, presented a plaque to Jacksonville Mayor Alvin Brown to thank him for his participation in the Black History Month closing ceremony Feb. 27. Brown is the first African American mayor of Jacksonville, and has made military affairs a priority for his administration.

    Jacksonville Mayor celebrates Black History Month with Corps Employees

    Jacksonville District wrapped up its 2013 Black History Month events with a visit from Jacksonville Mayor Alvin Brown Feb. 27. “Black history means accountability, responsibility and opportunity. It means that we have the ability to work together to fully empower people and believe that they too could live the American dream by getting a good education, by focusing on what they can do to be successful,” said Brown.
  • Carlos Clarke (left) and Robert Meekie, Contracting Division, celebrate their victory as 2013 Brain Brawl champions. Photo by Christina Swanson.

    Close competition in the 2013 Black History Brain Brawl

    Jacksonville District divisions are about to go head to head in the 2013 Black History Brain Brawl. The defending champions, Regulatory Division, walk in and set a large trophy on the table in front of them.
  • Savannah Shelton (left) and Rebecca Wright of Yulee High School’s all-girl team, The Plastics, check over their bridge after placing third in the Take Home Project part of the Engineering Career Day competition.

    Engineering Career Day engages students and promotes STEM careers

    STEM is a national and regional effort to better prepare the workforce of tomorrow by encouraging today’s students to engage in studies, events and careers involving science, technology, engineering and math. The Engineering Career Day event invites student teams to compete in building and entering a take home project, completing a surprise project assigned the day of the event and a trivia challenge. Team 2 from Bishop Kenny, Thunder Buddies, was the overall winner of the competition.

  • February

    Jessica Spencer (left) of the Invasive Species Management Branch describes two new plants that have recently invaded Jacksonville, Fla. –Old World climbing fern and Saltcedar – at the 2013 Timucuan Science and History Symposium Jan. 25.

    Spencer discusses invasive plants at local science symposium

    In an effort to educate land managers and the public about two plants that are just beginning to invade the Jacksonville area, biologist Jessica Spencer gave a presentation at the 2013 Timucuan Science and History Symposium Jan. 25 in Jacksonville, Fla.
  • The Antilles is an archipelago or chain of islands, including several islands that are part of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

    Where in the world are the Antilles and Puerto Rico?

    Jacksonville District’s area of responsibility includes the Antilles and Puerto Rico, but some have only a vague idea of the location of the Antilles, its relationship with the United States, and what the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers does there. This first installment in a series provides a bird’s eye view of the Antilles.
  • 2013 Engineering Career Day takes place Feb. 22 beginning at 8:30 a.m.at the Jacksonville District headquarters, 701 San Marco Blvd. Keynote speaker will be Eric Bush, chief of the Planning and Policy Division. This year’s theme is “Future Connections.” Students will focus on projects that incorporate several different engineering disciplines.

    Motivating, recruiting students was driving force behind Engineering Career Day

    A desire to motivate students to pursue engineering degrees and jobs ten years ago by a handful of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District engineers and other young professionals resulted in what has become an annual high school competition on Engineering Career Day. These enterprising engineers from several different disciplines within the Corps came up with a plan to make students aware of a possible future in the fields of science, engineering, math and technology via a take home construction competition.
  • Burmese pythons have been known to consume a wide variety of wildlife, including alligators, wood storks and Key Largo woodrats.

    Burmese pythons threaten native species and restoration efforts

    A hunt for Burmese pythons in south Florida is not a hoax; this non-native invasive species is threatening Everglades ecosystem restoration efforts and native wildlife. The one-month ‘Python Challenge’ organized by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission allows anyone older than 18 to hunt the snakes on state land. Burmese pythons are exceptionally difficult to locate, due to their camouflaging capabilities. The ISM branch has initiated efforts to detect the pythons by using dogs and thermal energy remote sensing by an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV).
  • Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts (right) administers the oath of office to President Barack Obama during the inaugural swearing-in ceremony at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., Jan. 21, 2013. First Lady Michelle Obama holds a Bible that belonged to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and the Lincoln Bible, which was used at President Obama’s 2009 inaugural ceremony. Daughters Malia and Sasha stand with their parents.

    African American/Black History Month

    In observance of African American/Black History Month, which takes place Feb. 1-28, 2013, Jacksonville District’s Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Office has planned several events with the theme, “At the Crossroads of Freedom and Equality: The Emancipation Proclamation and the March on Washington.” Mayor Alvin Brown of the city of Jacksonville is the keynote speaker for a program scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 27 from 10 to 11 a.m.

  • Quick response by Regulatory Division keeps St. Thomas running

    Early in December 2012, Regulatory Division’s Antilles Office staff received word that the island of St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands was on the brink of losing electrical power, absent a permit to make necessary modifications to a dock at Krum Bay which would facilitate the delivery of fuel.