Written by: Perk Perkins, CEO of the Orvis Company
Orvis CEO Perk Perkins (right) met with Florida Governor Rick Scott to discuss Everglades restoration.
Photo by The Everglades Foundation
Editor’s note:Yesterday, Orvis CEO met with Florida Governor Rick Scott to discuss efforts to save the Everglades. Other CEOs from around the State of Florida—including Scott Deal, CEO of Maverick Boats, and Rob Kramer of the International Game and Fish Association—also joined Perkins.
CEOs from around the State of Florida have banded together to advocate on behalf of one of the world’s great ecological treasures, the Everglades, as this irreplaceable ecosystem hangs in the balance both environmental and economically.
Our meetings at the Capitol with Governor Rick Scott and members of the Florida Legislature are to ask for their leadership this legislative session to see through a long-term and permanent solution to the tragic decline of the Everglades. Senate Bill 10, introduced by Senator Rob Bradley, and House Bill 761, introduced by Representative Thad Altman, call for funding to increase storage, treatment, and conveyance of water south of Lake Okeechobee. This is the answer we need to solve a problem that has existed for decades and is accelerating in its destruction of the Everglades.
Our message is simple: Florida must act now. We urge the Governor and the legislature to take advantage of the opportunity we have this session to save this unique and spectacular ecosystem that is a symbol of Florida and an engine of our state’s economy.
If you have not yet done so, please sign the #NowOrNeverglades Declaration to show your support for these efforts.
I hate to think of what Tom might be doing in Perk’s office while he is away…
Thank you Orvis for you strong commitment to Everglades Restoration and SB10. It’s #NoworNeverglades.
Florida has a big problem, and it’s rooted in agricultural pollution, and water usage beyond sustainability. The current facilitator of the resource exhaustion is the guy standing next to Perk. Gov. Scott has a track record of denying mans contribution to climate change in one of the arguably most impacted states of our union. He’s firmly in the pocket of agriculture, and believer in jobs over resources from what I can tell.
A reservoir to be built by our federal government in today’s political climate with voluntary release of water rights sounds a little pie in the sky. This seems like a band aid which, sure, may be good in the very short term.
So Perk, tell me I’m wrong about Gov Scott. Why do you think Gov. Scott in his heart is committed to doing this right?
Can Gov. Scott admit that agricultural runoff from decades of pesticide-laden crops is the cause here? Have to address the core problem before you can come close to a solution.