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  • June

    District responds following Florida Panhandle storms

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District initiated emergency permitting procedures in response to conditions resulting from the April 2014 storm that affected the Florida Panhandle. The emergency permitting procedures will be in effect through October 2014.
  • As her school bus arrives at a project site at Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico, a first grade student from Antilles Elementary School views the solar panels that were installed by Fort Buchanan’s Environmental Division as an alternative energy source.

    Antilles students learn about harnessing nature’s power

    Antilles Elementary School students at Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico had the unique opportunity to make an up-close-and-personal visit to local U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project sites, in a follow up activity to a recent classroom presentation by members of the Antilles team (please see page 3 of the May issue of JaxStrong for more on the classroom presentation). The April 22 field trip was the second phase of a Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) initiative, co-sponsored by Jacksonville District and the Department of Defense Education Activity, to encourage students to pursue education and eventual careers in those fields.
  • Mark Claudio serves the nation as a lock operator and the “face of the Corps” at the St. Lucie Lock and Dam on the Okeechobee Waterway.

    Corps team members live the Army Values

    One man grew up in a small town in Virginia and the other was raised near New York City. Despite the differences in their backgrounds, they became men of remarkably similar character. Each embodies the all-encompassing Army value of honor. Many say they live all of the Army values – loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity and personal courage every day.
  • Jacksonville District’s Haiti Feeder Rural Road team performed a site assessment for Mahotiere Road, in the Kenscoff region of Haiti, outside Port-au-Prince. Pictured left to right are Tony Smith, Edwin Cuebas, Pierre Massena, Stephen Meyer, Crystal Markley and Edgardo Velez.

    Corps of Engineers takes the road less traveled to assist in rebuilding Haiti

    USAID called on the expertise of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District, to assist in rehabilitating and improving more than 150 kilometers of rural roads in Haiti. Poorly designed, constructed and maintained feeder rural roads (FRR) are a major constraint to agriculture development in Haiti. High transport costs and significant spoilage due to the poor condition of roads in Haiti have reduced competitiveness in domestic and regional markets.
  • Hurricane Charley caused widespread damage to homes and businesses in southwest Florida when it came ashore near Port Charlotte on Friday, August 13, 2004.Charley was one of four hurricanes that hit the state that year.

    Jacksonville District prepares for hurricane season

    Although some people living in Florida may have forgotten how to prepare, Stormant and his assistant, Logan Wilkinson, have been putting in extra hours in preparation for the 2014 hurricane season. They’ve been educating state and local officials about the Army Corps of Engineers’ emergency capabilities and learning about scenarios where assistance might be requested.

  • May

    Capt. J.C. Cordon, deputy commander for the Antilles, was impressed by the questions asked by first grade students when he and fellow team members participated in an April 10 Science, Technology, Engineering and Math(STEM) event at the Antilles Elementary School, Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico.

    Antilles team reaches out to elementary school students

    Inquisitive minds, vivid imaginations and lofty goals greeted members of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Antilles Office when they visited the Antilles Elementary School at Fort Buchanan April 10. The team, along with Dr. Jorge F. Bauza-Ortega from the San Juan Bay Estuary Program, partnered with the Department of Defense Education Activity to promote science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education.
  • The new survey vessel SB-48 goes through some tests in advance of its delivery to Jacksonville District. The boat replaced a 25-year-old vessel in the fleet, and will perform primarily near-shore and inland surveying missions in Florida.

    New survey boat arrives in Jacksonville District

    The modernization of Jacksonville District’s fleet of survey boats continues with the arrival of its newest vessel.
  • The U.S. Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal team conducted a blow-in-place to dispose of a 100-pound munition found by a snorkeler in Flamenco Bay on the island of Culebra, Puerto Rico.

    Munitions item found at Culebra one week before spring break

    One week before hundreds of spring break tourists were due to arrive at Flamenco Beach on the island
  • Tim Brown, an engineer with the Jacksonville District, was in Afghanistan when a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti. In October 2013, Brown went to Haiti to initiate Jacksonville District’s technical assistance to USAID/Haiti program.

    Employees put others before themselves, at home and abroad

    When a 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit the country of Haiti in January 2010, Tim Brown was moved by the catastrophic event even though he was half a world away, in Kabul, Afghanistan.
  • Jason Harrah, Jacksonville Harbor project manager, shows Mayport Elementary Coastal Sciences Academy fifth graders examples of projects that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has built across the country.

    Fifth grade students take on Jax Port deepening debate

    Mayport Elementary Coastal Sciences Academy fifth graders are studying the Jax Port “dredging debate” and recently invited the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District to present its case. The kindergarten through fifth grade academy teaches students the importance of preserving habitats and ecosystems through resources conservation.
  • Col. Dodd

    CEPP may have hit speedbump but is far from dead

    April 30, 2014Last week, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Civil Works Review Board (CWRB) decided to

  • April

    Volunteers, including students from Sandalwood High School, harvested air potatoes that had fallen to the ground during the winter in 2014.

    8th Annual Air Potato Roundup raises awareness about invasive species

    Volunteers observed National Invasive Species Awareness Week in a “hands-on” way, by participating in the 8th Annual Air Potato Roundup March 1, hosted by the First Coast Invasive Working Group.

  • Jacksonville District team members employ the Golden Rule

    Inside the South Florida Operations Office (SFOO) in Clewiston, Chester “Wayne” Sullivan has earned respect as a civil technician, but he is also greatly admired for his smooth and easy-going manner in communicating with others.
  • Now that the project is completed, shorelines and adjacent roadways are protected. The evacuation area and homes are protected from the bayous.

    Tarpon Springs project protects infrastructure, hurricane evacuation route

    Fifteen years after its initial start and nearly 10 years after the execution of the Feasibility Cost Sharing Agreement (FCSA) with the city of Tarpon Springs, Jacksonville District completed construction on the Whitcomb and Kreamer Bayous Hurricane and Storm Damage Reduction Project. The project, located in Tarpon Springs, is a Continuing Authorities Program (CAP) Section 103 Hurricane and Storm Damage Protection Project.
  • The Everglades Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area battles non-native animal species such as pythons and this black and white tegu, a voracious egg-eater that targets the nests of threatened and endangered animals such as sea turtles, crocodiles and birds.

    Working together to combat invasive species

    The Florida Invasive Species Partnership (FISP) is a collaborative group of federal, state and local agencies and non-government organizations, all with a stake in managing non-native species in Florida. As stated on the FISP website, “Because species can spread beyond fence lines, our goal is to connect private landowners and public land managers with invasive species expertise and assistance programs across boundaries...FISP increases communication, coordination and the sharing of resources to protect Florida's natural landscape.”
  • Workers flatten delivered sand on a Broward County beach so it fills an engineer-designed template, which includes the sand placement’s height and width along the beach.

    Two shore protection projects completed

    In November 2013, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District began an unprecedented project in Broward County to reconstruct 5.1 miles of eroded shoreline. The project, completed Feb. 28, was the first of its kind because it included 10,000 truck deliveries of sand from a mine in central Florida. The district uses the dredge delivery method to renourish federal beaches, but this project had to be completed prior to hurricane season and all dredges had been deployed to other projects.
  • Monitoring is the primary tool used by RECOVER to assess CERP performance by determining if ecosystem responses are desirable, if progress is being made toward interim goals and targets, and whether refinement of CERP implementation is needed.

    Draft Everglades System Status Report available for public review

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the South Florida Water Management District — the two

  • March

    Black History Month events engage and educate

    This year’s African American/Black History Month theme, “Civil Rights in America,” highlighted the 50th anniversary of the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. This landmark piece of civil rights legislation outlawed major forms of discrimination against racial, ethnic, national and religious minorities and women. It ended voter registration inequality and racial segregation in schools, workplaces and facilities that serve the general public.

  • Corps plan for Flagler County project well received

    The Flagler County Hurricane and Storm Damage Reduction Project team hosted a public meeting to present the draft integrated feasibility study and environmental assessment. Many meeting attendees, including city and county officials, complimented team members for a job well done on the study and in presenting the information.
  • Adam Tarplee, natural resources program manager (left) and Chris Abernathy (right) of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary partnered with Anna Stewart of the Drowning Prevention Coalition of Palm Beach County to educate the public about water safety at the South Florida Fair.

    Corps shares water safety messages at south Florida events

    As the nation’s largest provider of water-based recreation with an important water safety mission, one of the most effective ways for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to promote its safety message is to take it to events where it will reach the maximum audience. In south Florida, this means hitting events like the annual South Florida Fair in West Palm Beach and the FLW fishing tournament.