• March

    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.
  • 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.
  • 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

    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.
  • 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.
  • 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 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).
  • 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.
  • New Faces of Engineering: Viktoria Bogina

    Viktoria Bogina, E.I.T., a civil engineer with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Jacksonville District, was one of the USACE nominees for this year's New Faces of Engineering program. “I’m really excited for this recognition, and I couldn’t be more thrilled!” said Bogina. Each year, the National Engineers Week Foundation – a coalition of engineering societies, major corporations and government agencies – asks its members to nominate colleagues 30 years old and younger who have shown outstanding abilities and leadership. The program promotes the accomplishments of young engineers, highlights the impact of their engineering contributions on society and inspires students to consider engineering careers.
  • January

    Corps Deputy Commanding General visits south Florida project sites

    Maj. Gen. Michael J. Walsh, Deputy Commanding General for Civil and Emergency Operations for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, visited Jacksonville District project sites in south Florida Jan. 23 and 24, including the Tamiami Trail Modifications project and the Herbert Hoover Dike Rehabilitation project.
  • Jacksonville Engineer Tim Brown wins big at national engineering conference

    Timothy R. Brown, a senior project manager with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District, responsible for leading interdisciplinary project delivery teams in the execution of large scale civil works projects, is the recipient of this year’s Special Recognition award for the 2013 BEYA STEM Conference.
  • Federal, state partners celebrate completion of key component in Everglades restoration

    Federal and state partners celebrated the completion of a key component in improving freshwater deliveries to the southern end of the Everglades ecosystem Jan. 11 in Homestead, Fla., at the C-111 Spreader Canal Western Project Dedication Ceremony.
  • Busy year for nation’s largest regulatory permitting program

    Jacksonville District’s regulatory permitting program, the largest in the Corps, exceeded all national performance standards in Fiscal Year 2012. Particularly noteworthy is the fact that 94 percent of general permit decisions were completed within 60 days of receipt of a complete application and 82 percent of individual permit decisions were completed within 120 days of receipt of a complete application.
  • Milestones reached at Herbert Hoover Dike as dedication to water management balance continues

    The past year saw both low water and high water at Lake Okeechobee, as well as completion of one project and the start of others on Herbert Hoover Dike (HHD). The best news occurred in October, when the last section of cutoff wall in the dike between Port Mayaca and Belle Glade was accepted by Jacksonville District construction representatives. The action meant 21.4 miles of cutoff wall that had been under construction since 2007 was in place, reducing the risk of failure for the southeast portion of the dike.
  • Invasive Species biologists combat explosion of aquatic plant growth

    The year 2012 brought many challenges for the Invasive Species Management (ISM) Branch to tackle. Multiple factors led to the highest levels of water hyacinth on Lake Okeechobee since 1986. Water hyacinth invades lakes, ponds, rivers, marshes and other types of wetland habitats. According to the Early Detection and Distribution Mapping System website, water hyacinth can reproduce and quickly form dense floating mats of vegetation, sometimes doubling in size over a two week period. These dense mats reduce light and deplete oxygen levels for submerged plants and aquatic invertebrates.
  • Ports are focus of national spotlight in 2012

    Ports were thrust into the national spotlight in 2012 after President Obama announced the “We Can’t Wait” Initiative, which placed several of Jacksonville District’s port projects and studies onto the fast track for implementation. As a part of the initiative, President Obama identified seven nationally and regionally significant infrastructure projects to be expedited to help modernize and expand five major ports in the United States, including the port of Jacksonville and the port of Miami.
  • From state-of-the-art school to complex environmental projects, IIS sets the standard

    Innovation and outside-of-the-box thinking were some of the keys to success for the Interagency and International Support (IIS) Branch in 2012. Jacksonville District has begun work on the Antilles Elementary School at Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico. The $51 million project is being constructed for the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) under a design-build contract awarded in June 2012 to Gilbane Building Company.
  • When the call comes, Jacksonville District team members respond

    Jacksonville District’s Emergency Management Branch has been working with nearly 50 district employees on deployment missions at home and abroad during 2012. At the end of November, 32 district team members had deployed to Afghanistan, while 16 others had responded to three tropical systems that impacted Florida and the north Atlantic – 12 were sent to New Jersey and New York to assist with emergency response following Hurricane Sandy, while seven others had earlier assisted with damage assessment following Tropical Storms Debby and Isaac.
  • Everglades restoration takes several leaps forward

    For Everglades restoration, the year started off with lots of excitement and momentum as the Central Everglades Planning Project (CEPP) accelerated, with the ambitious goal of delivering – within two years – finalized plans for congressional authorization for a suite of restoration projects in the central Everglades.
  • Dredging and beach programs experience active year

    Florida’s shorelines saw a flurry of activity during 2012. The state experienced several storm systems that caused erosion impacts to a host of federal beach projects. In addition, a few beaches saw new sand placed on their shores as a result of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ dredging projects.