Researchers in the Suwannee River Basin met on June 1, 2006 to discuss science updates and strategies.  The meeting was held in Gainesville, FL, and once again a large number of people turned out: at a meeting intended for two dozen, over 50 participants crowded the room throughout the course of the day.  The meeting was hosted by the University of Florida Water Institute and the U.S. Geological Survey.  Presentations covered topics from water quality, to juvenile sturgeon recruitment, to web portal options. 

Changes to the agenda included John Good (SRWMD),  Willie Harris (on land applications of phosphorous), and Chris Mundy in place of Sandra Fox (SJWMD). Final discussions focused on implementation and cooperation in the Santa Fe basin, and the need for small meetings with topical focus.

Setbacks have occurred and progress has been made in the months since the Folkston, GA workshop. Despite a shift of USGS resources from the Suwannee River to the Flint River basin, progress continues to be made in web portal development, data inventory, and monitoring of ground water flow and contaminants.  Watch the USGS website for further developments. http://gulfsci.usgs.gov/suwannee/index.html 

Highlights:

Suwannee River Water Management District (SRWMD) is in the process of setting Minimum Flows and Levels (MFLs) for the Lower Suwannee, Middle Suwannee, and the Waccasassa Basin.  The district welcomes additional research and data pertinent to these sub-basins.  

The Santa Fe basin, a tributary entering from the east in the Lower Suwannee basin, has been identified for a pilot effort in data integration and hydrologic modeling.  Led by the UF Water Institute, agency and research efforts will concentrate on web portal protocol and the development of predictive tools for nitrate fluctuation in the basin. Wendy Graham (UF) also presented data showing nitrate flux behavior changes from above to below Cody scarp.  

Mike Randall (USGS/UF) presented new research indicating successful juvenile Gulf sturgeon recruitment correlates with flow in excess of 4,000 cfs.  A Suwannee faunal inventory and database is being developed by Pam Schofield (USGS FISC) in Gainesville.  Tom Manning (VSU) continues research on marine natural products in human health applications.  Laura Gauron (USGS FISC) presented a user-friendly visualization tool to be used in combination with science-based web portal. 

One impediment to coordinated research and modeling is the lack of timely, web-available data from State agencies.  The research community is still looking for an effort by public agencies to provide public web-access to state-monitored data on discharge, water quality, and biology. Currently, data is provided only by request, if it is known to exist, and thus the need for data and research inventories for the research community.  State agencies indicate either lack of funding or concern that web access might pose a security risk to system. 

Other topics of concern:

• Continued need for searchable inventories and metadata to coordinate knowledge and data in different forms
• Phosphorus crisis – potential break-through from soils to springs
• Need increased instrumentation and monitoring of ground water in the Lower basin
• Basin researchers still need habitat mapping and change monitoring
• A floral (plant) inventory is needed in addition to the faunal inventory
• A general science and ‘research’ inventory is also needed to provide information on scientists, research efforts, and data sets acquired in the basin
• The citizen group, SOS, is interested in establishing a complementary monitoring program in the Lower Suwannee and have asked for assistance from a ‘science team’.
• Improved communications and partnerships to accomplish tasks in the face of declining resources