ASLO International Conference/ William Meléndez new multimedia editor at local newspaper/ New mural at the Caño Martín Peña

Photo credit: Spectacled Caiman by Robert Lawton

This week update (October 23, 2010 to October 29, 2010) is as follow:

1) SJBEP’s Caiman study highlighted at El Nuevo Día newspaper’s editorial: Last Wednesday’s editorial was devoted to the topic of invasive species and our Caiman study was highlighted and used to call for the attention of authorities regarding this issue:

http://www.elnuevodia.com/columna-urgeunplanparaespeciesinvasoras-806079.html

Next week we will have another meeting with DNER’s Dr. Miguel García to continue discussing the management plan for the Caiman species.

2) William Meléndez new multimedia Editor in Chief of Primera Hora newspaper- Our communications contractor, William Melédez, recently accepted an offer to become the Editor in Chief of the new multimedia department of the Primera Hora newspaper. We will miss him and his truly extraordinary job. Next week Javier Laureano will be interviewing several candidates recommended by Meléndez and other stakeholders.

3) SJBEP key local sponsor of ASLO international conference: The professional society for the Advancing the Science of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO), and the society’s president, Carlos Duarte, invited Dr. Jorge Bauzá to serve on the local organizing committee for the Aquatic Sciences Meeting that will take place for the first time in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in February 2011. The meeting will attract more than 2,000 aquatic scientists from all over the world. The organizing committee meeting concluded Wednesday and more than 500 abstracts were analyzed to organize the conference. The San Juan Bay Estuary Program is one of the main local sponsors of this meeting and scientists all parts of the globe will visit the ecosystem through boat field trips.

Link of the international meeting: http://www.aslo.org/meetings/sanjuan2011/

SJBEP as one of the key organizers: http://www.aslo.org/meetings/sanjuan2011/sponsors.html

4) Informative meeting to discuss the Condado Restoration’s RFP took place at the SJBEP: The informative meeting to discuss the Request for Proposals for the water quality and seagrass restoration project at the Condado Lagoon was held on Monday in the SJBE Program offices. Approximately 22 environmental consulting firms attended the meeting where Dr. Jorge Bauzá presented a brief PowerPoint presentation about the SJBE program and a more detailed discussion about the Condado Lagoon restoration project. After the presentation, Dr. Bauzá addressed questions regarding proposals submission and project objectives.

5) On the run for the MAPFRE Foundation’s Environmental Improvement Award- Javier Laureano is preparing the submission package and will send it to MAPFRE Foundation next week. This is a key environmental award for Spain and Latin America. Thanks to Ernesto Díaz from the DNER; Pedro Carrión from the Corredor del Yaguazo and Carlos Fernández Luego from McConnell Valdes for sending their endorsement letters. Gladys Rivera is preparing a set of key pictures to include it as part of the submission package.

6) Guachinanga island restoration and enhancement: On Friday morning, Dr. Jorge Bauzá is attending a field trip with staff from the USACE, PRDNER, Peninsula de Cantera and USEPA around the Guachinanga Island in the San José Lagoon. The purpose is to explore alternatives to perform an aquatic clean-up and floating weed removal project around the Island and in the mouth of Caño Martín Peña. The main objective of this project is to restore the tidal circulation over the area.

7) Please, go and see the extraordinary murals of the FOCUS students at the MAC!!- Javier Laureano attended the award ceremony of Wyland’s Foundation’s “Forest, Ocean, Climate and Us-FOCUS-” outreach initiative in Puerto Rico on Thursday, October 28, 2010 at the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo. As part of the project, 300 students from several communities of the island painted murals with the guidance of an artist using the theme “Mangroves, where the forests meet the sea”. The exhibit opened yesterday and will be for two weeks and the MAC.

http://www.wylandfoundation.org/education-FOCUS.shtml

8) Restoration of the Devil Island’s Urban Creeks- On Friday afternoon, Dr. Jorge Bauzá will participate in a field meeting discussion with hydrologist , Dr. Greg Morris and Dr. Jorge Ortiz at the Isla del Diablo urban creek. The objective is to discuss viable alternatives for the restoration of this polluted urban creek.

9) New mural on the Barbosa bridge, one of the main access to the Martín Peña communities: please, refer to the following newspaper link:

http://www.elnuevodia.com/develadounmuralhechoporjovenes-806379.html

10) Meeting with Manny el Manatí cartoon creators: Gladys Rivera and Javier Laureano met with the creators of Manny el Manatí, the first Puerto Rican cartoons series for TV. The producers will submit a proposal to have a 30 minutes program devoted exclusively to the San Juan Bay Estuary. Follow the link for a preview of the cartoons show:

http://mannyelmanati.com/MANNY_EL_MANATI/%22PRONTO_EN_LINEA%22.html

11) Educational module update: The Universidad del Sagrado Corazón (Sacred Heart University) is devoting one of their curriculum classes to the update our educational module. Gladys Rivera and Javier Laureano met with the students this week and they are doing a remarkable job updating with current technology this key outreach outlet for 4th grade students.

12) TV interview: María Lourdes Rivera, from the Península de Cantera, and Javier Laureano were interviewed on the live show “Ellas” at Channel 13 last Tuesday to promote the EcoCantera documentary.

13) Estuary’s Green Cinema: Last Saturday, October 13, 2010 we screened the EcoCantera documentary and the movie “Full Moon”. Representatives of the movie in Puerto Rico offered posters and premiums of Twilight and Full Moon to the attendees.

Save the Date!! EPA’s 40th Anniversary-December 10th, 2010- The Environmental Protection Agency is celebrating its 40th Anniversary with an all-day seminar comprised by themes related to Vieques, Recycling and the Martín Peña dredging. The event will take place at the Inter American University on December 10, 2010 from 8am to 5:30pm. Judith Enck, EPA Regional Administrator, will highlight EPA’s priorities for the island. For reservations please call Mrs. Brenda Reyes at 787-977-5869

EcoCantera/ DNER Pump Station's Sanitary Discharges/ CAPECO/ PC 1676

Weekly update for October 17, 2010 to October 23, 2010

EcoCantera New Sanitary Sewer Campaign: The Corporation for the Integration of the Cantera Community and the San Juan Bay Estuary Program launched on Tuesday, October 19, 2010 "EcoCantera", a new outreach campaign to inform the community on the construction of its new sanitary infrastructure that will connect 1,000 homes to the Puerto Nuevo Wastewater Treatment Plant. For a preview and press coverage please follow the links:

http://vimeo.com/16000043

http://www.wapa.tv/noticias/especiales/-ecocantera--ambiente-para-su-gente-/20101019202658


Community Leaders Urge Action on the DNER Pump Station’s Sanitary Discharges: The situation was brought to the attention of Javier Laureano in a meeting held with Cantera community representatives on Wednesday, October 20, 2010. The pump station is suppose to alleviate from flooding the neighborhoods of Ocean Park and Llorens Torres, but instead of discharging stormwater, this mechanism is instead discharging into the lagoon raw sanitary sewage on a volume that is portrait by the community “as a creek of sanitary water inlet into the waters that border the Cantera community”. The SJBEP is taking several actions to help solve the problem.

The San Juan Municipality’s Executive Director Endorses Bill PC 1676: Last Monday, October 18, 2010, Mrs. Lourdes Rovira endorsed the bill of the House of Representatives (PC 1676) that will create by law the San Juan Bay Estuary Program’s Implementation Committee. According to this legislation, all mayors of the watershed, government agencies and quasi-governmental entities (Enlace and Cantera) will appoint a representative to our Implementation Committee to track and coordinate the implementation of our Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan. At the end of each year, the Implementation Committee will publish the CCMP Implementation Annual Report. Pedro Gelabert sent a thank you note to Mrs. Rovira for her endorsement of the bill, that will further vigorously the implementation process of all our restoration actions.

First Anniversary of the Caribbean Petroleum (CAPECO) Explosion Hits Today’s Front-Page News: EPA and local agencies confirmed that remaining petroleum tanks do have leaks; CAPECO filed bankruptcy and didn’t pay fines or acquired land for the Cucharillas Marsh Nature Reserve; community is concerned with potential hazards to human health-

http://www.elnuevodia.com/unpeligroquenoseesfuma-802351.html

One-Hour Documentary on the San Juan Bay Estuary On Its Way: Emmy-Award Director María Falcón interviewed Javier Laureano and has been working since Friday, October 15 with Dr. Jorge Bauzá in the shooting of a new documentary about the San Juan Bay Estuary. It will be presented in a TV program geared to schools students and teachers.

Dr. Jorge Ortiz Contracted for CCMP Revision: Limnologist and Environmental Scientist Dr. Jorge Ortiz was contracted yesterday, Wednesday, October 20, 2010 to draft ten (10) new actions related to the fresh water tributaries of the San Juan Bay Estuary, climate change and others. Attached please find his CV. We expect to hire a small group of specialists to keep revising and drafting new CCMP actions.


Save the Date!! TODAY- Jueves de Río Piedras - The San Juan Bay Estuary Program is presenting its Estuary’s Green Cinema on the Jueves de Río Piedras activity, a community event that takes places on the square across from the Urban Train stop and La Tertulia library at Río Piedras (Plaza del Roble) at 8:00PM We will be featuring the new documentary EcoCantera. The producers of the event will present local movie El Clown.

Save the Date!! SATURDAY- Estuary’s Green Cinema- We will be presenting the movie Full Moon as well as the new documentary EcoCantera. Like every 2nd and 4th Saturday of the month, the event takes place at the Condado Lagoon Park at 7:00pm thanks to the sponsorship of the Puerto Rico Parks Company and EPA.

Save the Date!! EPA’s 40th Anniversary-December 10th, 2010- The Environmental Protection Agency is celebrating its 40th Anniversary with an all-day seminar comprised by themes related to Vieques, Recycling and the Martín Peña dredging. The event will take place at the Inter American University on December 10, 2010 from 8am to 5:30pm. Judith Enck, EPA Regional Administrator, will highlight EPA’s priorities for the island. For reservations please call Mrs. Brenda Reyes at 787-977-5869

Media coverage of Caiman study/ EPA Grant arrived/ CAC Regional meeting/ IGERT Graduate students

Weekly update for October 9, 2010 to October 16, 2010

Caiman study press conference covered by all local media: we are very proud to announce that local media, EFE News Service and Associated Press covered our press conference on our Caiman crocodile study in the San Juan Bay Estuary, please, follow the links to view electronic articles:

http://www.caribbeanbusinesspr.com/news03.php?nt_id=49405&ct_id=1&ct_name=1

http://www.elnuevodia.com/temenexistanotroslagartosagresivosenlaisla-797918.html

http://www.primerahora.com/rodeadosporcaimanes-433733.html

http://www.wapa.tv/noticias/locales/cuidado--caimanes-en-nuestros-cuerpos-de-agua/20101013175703

Dr. Jorge Bauzá and Javier Laureano were interviewed by several radio and TV stations. EFE sent the information to its Miami subsidiary and it redistributed the news to several Latin American and US media outlets. Citizens have been calling our office to receive orientation regarding the species. We want to thank our communications contractor, William Meléndez, for all his hard work to achieve this level of visibility, as well as staff members Gladys Rivera and Cathy Ortiz for all their support.

Meeting with Dr. Miguel García to discuss management alternatives of the Caiman crocodile: The SJBEP’s staff met with Dr. Miguel García, Director of the Bureau of Fisheries and Wildlife of the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources, to discuss the immediate actions to take on the Caiman crocodile presence at several communities of the Martín Peña Channel. The staff handed Dr. García a letter addressed to the DNER’s Secretary from community leaders and organizations (including the SJBEP) regarding this issue.

Manatee signs installed: Our graphic designer informed us that the Manatee crossing signs were installed at the San Juan Bay on the facilities of the San Juan Nautical Club area.

Our EPA Grant just arrived! Dona J. Vizian, Assistant Regional Administrator for Policy and Management at EPA-Region 2 sent our Cooperative Agreement CE 99206916-0 with an approved budget of $800,000. Thanks to this Grant we will be able to continue our restoration, research, outreach and community-based initiatives, with special emphasis on the Condado Lagoon restoration, that received an allocation of $300,000 this year. Targeted restoration activities include work at Capetillo, Barrio Obrero Marina, Isla Verde, and other communities of the watershed. Research supported by the Grant includes our Water Quality Monitoring Program. We thank EPA as well as our Resident Commissioner, Hon. Pedro Pierluisi, for his endorsement of the annual appropriation of the National Estuary Program.

Precedent-setting Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) Regional meeting: Our CAC President, Gretchen Guzmán, traveled to EPA Regional HQs in New York City to meet with other CAC members and leaders. Thanks to the vision and leadership of EPA’s Regional Administrator, Judith Enck, the citizens of several National Estuary Programs from the north eastern coast were able to network, share information, and know each other.

IGERT Graduate Students in the SJBEP: Thanks to a grant from the National Science Foundation to the University of Puerto Rico’s Environmental Science Program, four doctoral students will work with our organization in an interdisciplinary project to study two communities of the watershed. Using an interdisciplinary approach the students will base their research on Juana Matos (Cucharillas Wetland) and Capetillo (Juan Méndez Creek’s watershed), and will compare the sanitary infrastructure of the communities, poverty, oral history, and the structure of its community leadership, among several other indicators. The students met with the SJBEP staff on Thursday, October 14, 2010. You can find more information regarding IGERT on the following link:

http://www.igert.org/

RFP Announcement on the Benthic Restoration of the Condado Lagoon: The organization published the RFP announcement on last Sunday’s edition of El Nuevo Día newspaper (October 10, 2010). We have been receiving calls and emails from several interested parties. The document was made public last Friday in our website:

http://estuario.org/rfp_pdf/RFP_Depresions.pdf

SAVE THE DATE! Press conference to announce Eco Cantera documentary set for October 19, 2010 at 10:00am: The SJBEP is very glad to announce that the documentary on the new sanitary infrastructure of the Cantera community is ready and will make the first screening on a press conference set for October 19, 2010 at 10:00am in Cantera.

Another successful Estuary’s Green Cinema screening: Last Saturday, October 9, 2010 we presented another successful screening of our outdoor cinema experience at the Condado Lagoon Park. Over 200 persons attended the activity, where we showed the movie Twilight, as well as our educational documentaries.

RFP for the Condado Lagoon restoration/ Press conference on Caiman study/ Citizen's Agenda

Weekly update for October 2, 2010 to October 8, 2010:

RFP Announcement on the Benthic Restoration of the Condado Lagoon set for Sunday, October 10, 2010: Next Sunday the San Juan Bay Estuary Program will release this key RFP geared to obtain proposals on the filling of the artificial depressions of the Condado Lagoon. The RFP was drafted by Dr. Jorge Bauzá and was reviewed by our STAC and EPA. The RFP will be published on the newspaper on Sunday and on our website.

Press conference on invasive species Caiman crocodile set for next Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2010: Due to the great responsibility the findings of the study places on the San Juan Bay Estuary Program, the organization decided to make public the study in a Press Conference to take place at the SJBEP’s offices next Wednesday, October 13, 2010 at 10:00am. The staff will meet with Miguel García from the Wildlife Division of the DNER at 1:00pm that same day in order to discuss urgent management actions.

Full media coverage on the Feasibility Study of the Martín Peña Channel’s dredging: Proyecto Enlace released to the media their recent contract with PBS&J to perform the feasibility study of the dredging of the Channel as required by the USACE. After the feasibility study is submitted, it is expected that the Government of Puerto Rico will be able to access over $100 million dollars as authorized by the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) for this key public work for the restoration of the San Juan Bay Estuary flushing and water circulation. The announcement was covered by all key local media, as an example we present the Primera Hora newspaper coverage:

http://www.primerahora.com/largocaminoporrecorrerantesdeldragadodelcano-430100.html


SAVE THE DATE!! Estuary’s Green Cinema: NEXT SCREENING WILL BE HELD ON SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2010 AND WE WILL BE PRESENTING “TWILIGHT”. We expect a great turnout so please, get there on time!! 7:00pm at the Condado Lagoon Park.

Team of experts to lead our Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP) revision: Instead of contracting a single person or firm to lead the revision of our CCMP, our entity is approaching several experts on fields such as herpetology, oceanography, limnology, ecology, environmental planning, and oceanography to draft the recommended new actions of our master plan. Javier Laureano has been interviewing several specialists interested in collaborating with the revision process. The announcement was published on our website:

http://estuario.org/rfp_pdf/ContratoCCMP.pdf

Press Conference to announce Eco Cantera documentary set for October 19, 2010 at 10:00am: The SJBEP met with personnel of the Corporation for the Integral Development of the Cantera Peninsula and with Prensa Comunitaria, and is very glad to announce that the documentary on the new sanitary infrastructure of the Cantera community is ready. Prensa Comunitaria performed a very good job thanks to the direction of Carla Cavina.

SJBEP on the Environmental Citizen’s Agenda Meeting: Javier Laureano participated all day Friday, October 8, 2010 on this initiative, lead by CAPECOM and El Nuevo Día newspaper, to think and draft several actions and proposals to improve sustainability in Puerto Rico. On the meeting participated the head of several government agencies, including Jorge Ortiz Vázquez, PRASA’s President, as well as Pedro Nieves, EQB President, EPA, community leaders, including Rosa Hilda Ramos, Gretchen Guzmán (our CAC President), NGOs (such as the Puerto Rico Conservation Trust), and private sector representatives, including PRMA and Triple-S. The proposals to improve sustainability will be published on a special publication of El Nuevo Día newspaper.

State of the Bay/ CCMP Awards/ Caiman report/ Estuary Day

Weekly update for September 25, 2010 to October 1, 2010:

Contractors submitted their report on invasive species Caiman crocodile/ Press conference in approx. 2 weeks: Proyecto Coquí and Ambienta Inc. submitted to the SJBEP their report on the ecology and natural history of the invasive species Caiman crocodile and its effect on local biodiversity ("Rapid Assessment Procedure: Survey of the Spectacled Caiman in the San Juan Bay Estuary of Puerto Rico"). The SJBEP’s staff is working with the communications contractor to decide the action to take regarding the announcement of the report to the media and to community groups in a press conference or other outlet. We expect to be able to announce the results of the study by mid-October in coordination with the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources’s wildlife division.

State of the San Juan Bay Estuary Conference and Report 2010: The symposium took place on September 28, 2010 at the Caribe Hilton Hotel from 8am to 12 pm. Several stakeholders attended the event, including members of the Board of Directors, students, teachers, and representatives from the municipal, federal and state governments. The report “Informe de la Condición del Estuario de la Bahía de San Juan” was distributed among the participants and the media. We want to thank the participation of all our speakers and to Noemí Mercado and David Tomasko for traveling from D. C. and Florida for the activity. Please, follow media links for media coverage:

El Nuevo Día newspaper- “Successful Environmental Program”: http://www.elnuevodia.com/exitosoprogramaambiental-788487.html

Primera Hora newspaper- “Let’s take care of the Estuary”: http://www.primerahora.com/acuidardelestuariodelabahiadesanjuan-427905.html

Outstanding CCMP Awards Ceremony!: Thanks to the great generosity of the San Juan Nautical Club’s Commodore, Mr. Ralph “Agie” Vicente, we were able to acknowledge and celebrate our CCMP implementation partners in a very special ceremony where an original artwork by local artist Jorge Zeno was granted to recipients. The activity took place at the San Juan Nautical Club on Tuesday, September 28, 2010 from 6pm to 10pm. Community leaders, representatives from government agencies, members of our Board of Directors and other stakeholders attended the event.

Kickoff meeting of the Martín Peña Channel dredging at the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE): The SJBE Program joined Enlace at this key meeting with stakeholders, technical personnel from state and federal environmental agencies (USEPA, USACE, DRNA, EQB, etc), and contractors for the kickoff meeting of the Martín Peña Environmental Dredging. The SJBEP’s Scientific Advisor is a member of the Technical Committee of the project.

EPA released their list of impaired waters in PR (303 (d) list); SJBE’s mixing zone was included: On Wednesday, September 30, 2010 EPA’s Region 2 released their list of impaired bodies of water, and it included all the bodies of water of the SJBE. The SJBEP sent a press release to local media explaining the process to our citizens and the general public. Please follow these links to local news on the topic:

Primera Hora newspaper (SJBEP’s press release):

http://www.primerahora.comprogramadelestuarioacogerecomendaciondeepaparadesarrollarparametrosdecontaminacion-428840.html

Primera Hora (EPA’s press release): http://www.primerahora.com/cuerposdeaguacontaminados-428943.html


Successful Estuary’s Day Celebration/ $1,000 donation: On September 25, 2010 the SJBEP celebrated its second consecutive Estuary’s Day with a cleanup at La Esperanza island on the San Juan Bay, where volunteers from MillerCoors, V. Suarez distributors, and community representatives remove 1,200 lbs of debris from this fragile ecosystem. MillerCoors donated $1,000 to the Corporation of the Conservation of the San Juan Bay Estuary. The organization shared the donation with the community group that helped organize the event, Corredor del Yaguazo. Please refer to attached photos.

SAVE THE DATE!! Estuary’s Green Cinema: Approximately 180 persons attended last Saturday’s screening of Wall E. (September 25, 2010). NEXT SCREENING WILL BE HELD ON OCTOBER 9, 2010 AND WE WILL BE PRESENTING “TWILIGHT”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2T7d8j6I5I We expect a great turnout so please, get there on time!! 7:00pm at the Condado Lagoon Park.

Ernesto M. Olivares contracted as Water Quality Monitoring Coordinator: After analyzing several resumes and interviewing candidates for the contract, the Corporation for the Conservation of the San Juan Bay Estuary contracted Mr. Olivares on October 1, 2010, who acquired ample experience in water quality monitoring as part of his MA on Tropical Zones Integrated Management. Olivares holds a BA on Geography and Psychology from the UPR at Río Piedras, and is currently writing his thesis titled “Economic Valuation of the Northeastern Ecological Corridor” at the Center for Research on Ocean Sciences and Limnology of the University of Costa Rica.

Team of experts to lead our Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP) revision: Instead of contracting a single person or firm to lead the revision of our CCMP, our entity is approaching several experts on fields such as herpetology, oceanography, limnology, ecology, environmental planning, and oceanography to draft the recommended new actions of our master plan.