INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Dr. Duane De Freese, executive director of Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program and the recently formed Indian River Lagoon Council, will give a presentation at the Friends of St. Sebastian River’s General Meeting this month, on the efforts to restore the Indian River Lagoon.
The Indian River Lagoon has suffered a significant decline in its ecosystem health over the last several years, resulting in major algae blooms. The northern part of the Lagoon is once again being affected by a “brown tide” this season, and a State of Emergency has been declared by the Governor as a result of unprecedented water releases from Lake Okeechobee in the southern Lagoon.
De Freese will speak on topics that will help attendees understand a variety of Lagoon related issues when he delivers his presentation on March 22 at the Friends meeting in Sebastian.
For more than three decades, Dr. De Freese has been a champion of science-based, common-sense ocean and coast conservation in Florida. He is recognized for his ability to “see and communicate the big picture” by integrating environmental, economic and social considerations into a vision for Florida’s future.
He was instrumental in helping secure U.S. EPA National Estuary Program designation for the Indian River Lagoon (IRL) in 1990. In September 2015, his career came full circle when he was named Executive Director of a new special district in the state of Florida (Indian River Lagoon Council) that will serve as the host of a reorganized IRL National Estuary Program.
In this new role, De Freese is working with federal, state and local government agencies, scientific research organizations, academic institutions, elected officials, industry and the general public. The goal is to develop a restoration strategy for one of the nation’s most threatened estuarine ecosystems.
The Friends of St. Sebastian River meeting is March 22, 7:30 p.m. at the North Indian River County Library, 1001 Sebastian Blvd in Sebastian. All are welcome and encouraged to attend.