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  • January

    Contracting Division awarded a $221 million contract for the Miami Harbor Deepening Project, which deepens the channel to 50 feet. This prepares the Port of Miami to receive larger shipping vessels following the completion of the Panama Canal expansion in 2015.

    Contracting Division exceeds expectations

    With a staff of dedicated, hard-working employees, Jacksonville District’s Contracting Division executed 1,218 contract awards for a total of $573 million in obligations during fiscal year 2013, the highest number of awards the district has ever executed in a single fiscal year.
  • U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District Commander Col. Alan Dodd spoke on the “Where is all the Water Coming From? A Coastal Perspective on Solutions for Water Management in the Northern Everglades and Lake Okeechobee” panel Jan. 11, 2014, at the Everglades Coalition Conference in Naples, Fla. Also serving on the panel were (from left) Mark Perry of the Florida Oceanographic Society, Florida Sen. Lizbeth Benacquisto, (not pictured) South Florida Water Management District Governing Board Member Mitch Hutchcraft and Drew Bartlett of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Eric Draper (right) from Audubon of Florida moderated the panel.

    Corps discusses restoration progress and Lake Okeechobee management at annual Everglades Coalition Conference

    JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Collaboration, innovation and long-term solutions were key discussion points

  • Regulatory Division is meeting environmental, economic needs

    Protecting the nation’s aquatic resources while simultaneously meeting its economic needs requires dedication and an ability to balance often competing needs. Through the execution of the Department of the Army’s responsibility, authorized under the River and Harbors Act of 1899 and the Clean Water Act of 1972, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ regulatory program reviews multitudes of proposed projects annually, and either issues or denies permits based on these and other applicable laws.
  • Crews work on the De Diego bridge in San Juan, Puerto Rico as part of the Rio Puerto Nuevo flood control project. The contract is one of 100 contract awards worth a combined $1.6 billion that’s being overseen by the Jacksonville District Construction Division.

    Construction Division accomplishes big things in 2013; prepares for bigger 2014

    In 2013, the Construction Division was involved in more than ensuring that authorized projects were built; they were also involved in another type of construction project. They were rebuilding the division.

  • December

    Biologist Nicole Liette (right) visits the bait and tackle store at Roland Martin’s Marina as part of the regular face-to-face outreach the Corps does every few weeks around the lake.

    Invasive Species Management Branch ramps up outreach

    Invasive Species Management Branch ramps up outreach programs with social media.
  • A boater approaches LaBelle on the Caloosahatchee River, part of the Okeechobee Waterway in south Florida. Jacksonville District is educating boaters on its anchoring policy to improve safety and reduce the risk of an accident on the 152-mile long waterway connecting Stuart and Fort Myers.

    Rangers educate boaters on Okeechobee Waterway anchoring policy

    Jacksonville District park rangers along the Okeechobee Waterway are educating boaters on navigation and anchoring policies adopted to promote safety.
  • Matos, a two-year-old Belgian Malinois that works as an explosive detection dog, picks up a scent and focuses on leading his handler, Stevie Valencia of AMK9, to a buried training target during a demonstration on the Mullet Key Formerly Used Defense Site at Fort DeSoto Park near St. Petersburg, Fla. The specialty dogs are being used as a demonstration technology, to evaluate the potential for using them on other similar sites.

    These noses know no limits

    Don is a five-year-old German Shepherd, one of several explosive detection dogs that are working alongside their handlers at the Mullet Key Formerly Used Defense Site (FUDS) at Fort DeSoto Park in Pinellas County near St. Petersburg, Fla.
  • Florida bark scorpions have been found under rocks and in monitoring well sleeves during inspections of the 143-mile long Herbert Hoover Dike levee around Lake Okeechobee.

    Presentation on poisonous species benefits field staff safety

    Clewiston biologist Nicole Liette provided an overview of the many poisonous plants and animals in south Florida for South Florida Operations Office and lock employees who spend a lot of time outdoors or in the field,to help them be educated,alert,aware and safe during their normal duties in south Florida.
  • Enge’s estate preserved this classic salt marsh wetland habitat along the Nassau River, viewed from the Nassau River Bridge, dominated by black needle rush and smooth cordgrass.

    Corps retiree inspired others, left a lasting legacy

    In September 2013, Corps retiree Noble Enge’s sisters deeded land to North Florida Land Trust in his name, to ensure its permanent protection and preservation. The Noble Enge Trust encompasses 500 acres, much of it classic salt marsh habitat near and adjacent to the Nassau River on North Main Street in Jacksonville, Fla. within the Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve. "When you spend your life on a river, you can't help but want to see it preserved."

  • November

    Lygodium microphyllum, or Old world climbing fern, pictured here in Loxahatchee, Fla. Native to Africa, Asia, Australia and the Pacific Islands, the plant invades open forest and wetland areas in Florida and Alabama.

    A Community of Practice is born

    The Invasive Species Leadership Team was established to provide direction to the ongoing research program, represent the Corps on regional invasive species councils and assist Corps headquarters in the development of national invasive species policy and program management.
  • W.P. Franklin Lock and Dam Recreation Area volunteers Don Chapman (left) and George Schisler clean and repair one of the many Purple Martin “palaces” that they have built over the years, in preparation for the return of Purple Martin colonies in January.

    Corps volunteers prepare for annual return of Purple Martins

    Along the Okeechobee Waterway, the return of the Purple Martins is one of the much-anticipated annual rites of spring. Corps volunteers have worked hard over the years to attract these delightful birds to Corps recreation areas for the enjoyment of all.
  • Hispanic Heritage Month Coordinator José Bilbao (third from right) created and organized the cook-off event. He is joined by the Equal Employment Opportunity Office staff (left to right): student intern Melanie Daniels, Equal Employment Opportunity Manager Collen Shanklin, and Equal Employment Opportunity Specialists Lucy Soto and Adam Morrison.

    Jacksonville District savors the flavors with Hispanic Heritage Month Cook-Off

    In José Bilbao’s family, like many Hispanic families, food brings people together. “For most Hispanics, food is such an important part of our culture, history and way of life,” he said. “Families often come together, spend the day together and cook all day long.”
  • Col. Alan Dodd (left), district commander, received the 2013 Richard Bonner Award from Don Donaldson, sponsor for Palm Beach County and Debbie Flack, FSBPA president, during the FSBPA’s 57th Annual Conference at Delray Beach Sept. 25-27.

    Protecting lives and infrastructure from the next storm

    The Florida Shore and Beach Preservation Association (FSBPA) presented awards in recognition of Hurricane Sandy and Tropical Storm Debby recovery efforts to two Jacksonville District team members during its 57th Annual Conference at Delray Beach Sept. 25-27.

  • October

    Central Everglades Planning Project

    Corps extends comment period for Central Everglades Planning Project

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District will be extending the deadline to submit
  • The Faka Union Pump Station is scheduled to be completed in fall 2014.

    Corps awards final pump station contract for Picayune Strand restoration

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District has awarded the construction contract for the third and final pump station for the Picayune Strand Restoration Project in Collier County, Fla.
  • Pablo Vázquez-Ruiz (center) leads a tour of the Portugués Dam project for a group of engineering students from the American Concrete Institute, Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico. As president of the Association of Engineers and Surveyors of Puerto Rico, Vázquez-Ruiz places a high priority on continuing education and on encouraging students to pursue degrees and careers in science, technology, engineering and math.

    Pablo Vázquez-Ruiz assumes leadership role with vision of promoting STEM education

    Pablo Vázquez-Ruiz, south Puerto Rico resident engineer, has been elected as president of the Ponce Chapter of the College of Engineers and Surveyors of Puerto Rico (CIAPR in Spanish acronym) as well as treasurer of the College of Engineers and Surveyors of Puerto Rico. Vázquez-Ruiz has been resident engineer for the Ponce Resident Office since April 2001.
  • Crowds line the fence during a demonstration held at the St. Lucie Lock & Dam August 3 to protest the discharges from Lake Okeechobee to the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee River Estuaries. An estimated 5,000 people attended the event.

    All in a day’s work: South Florida Operations Office multi-tasks all summer

    During normal operations, the staff is responsible for the Okeechobee Waterway, the recreation areas around the locks, maintenance on Herbert Hoover Dike, and numerous other tasks. However, as the water rose on Lake Okeechobee this summer, SFOO staff had to adjust duties to accommodate other priorities, such as weekly inspections of the 80-year-old dike.
  • Frank Araico (left), project manager for the Mullet Key Bombing and Gunnery Range Formerly Used Defense Site, shows a local news reporter maps that detail where military activities took place on the site during World War II. A Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study is currently under way.

    Work begins at Mullet Key Formerly Used Defense Site

    Investigations have begun on the Mullet Key Bombing and Gunnery Range Formerly Used Defense Site, now known as Fort DeSoto County Park on Tampa Bay. Soon after the Labor Day holiday, contractors for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began surveying the site to mark the areas for investigation, which will then be cleared of brush and swept with digital metal detectors to identify buried metallic objects that may potentially be munitions remaining from past military activities.
  • Wild hogs cause problems at levees because they dig around them, allowing other invasive plants to get established and increasing costs for treating invasives on the levee that normally wouldn’t be there.

    Going Hog Wild

    With their growing population, feral hogs are threatening human, animal and native species health throughout Florida. Their rooting behavior destroys habitat, kills plants and creates disturbed areas where invasive plants can easily grow. They carry diseases that can infect livestock or humans.
  • Murika Davis (right), CEPP engineering lead, and Gretchen Ehlinger (left), CEPP environmental lead, discuss the project’s Tentatively Selected Plan with meeting attendants during the open house portion of the Sept. 17 meeting in Fort Myers, Fla. (

    Public input received during series of public meetings for Central Everglades Planning Project

    Five public meetings were held throughout south Florida Sept. 16-19 and Sept. 25 to discuss the draft report. Meeting attendants ranged from environmental, agricultural and recreational interest groups to high school students and local residents.