I hope we're not at the edge of the flip,

remember that we had 10 good years of water clarity and seagrass recovery 

right up until the superbloom.

I think that if we could essentially eliminate ornamental fertilizer

we could "buy" another 20 years.

This would be similar to the years "bought" by implementing the NPDES

which took the domestic wastewater discharges out of the Lagoons.  

Follow that up by realistic legacy load removal, ie: dredging for muck,

not just navigational dredging with a feel good "muck removal" component added in,

and full septic to sewer conversion and we have a real shot a saving the Lagoon.

Cheap and easy first - fertilizer control.   And start directing $$ to the other two expensive solutions.

Problem is sustained effort.  Few actually care if it's not in the news.

St. Augusting lets you know when it is getting hungry. You know who and when fertilizes during the wet season by the color and vigor of the grass.

It is a majority of people still.

I doubt if 1% of people riding over the causeways have any idea what the brown water below means. If they don't see/smell rotting carcases everywhere or see some crazy neon green color they just don't get it.

Plus there are a lot of people that refuse to be regulated on principle. I had one NSR regular tell me emphatically that natural lawns look like shit and that it was his land to do with as he pleased. The point about his not owning the receiving waters was not well recieved. He felt that if people care so much about the lagoon then they'll voluntarily change their ornamental horticulture practices. I think that opinion regarding the commons is common around these parts.

yes, those attitudes are out there and anecdotal

I don't have any measure of how prevalent they are compared to those who might be more interested in conservation

regaredless, that should not prevent repeating a formula of how we can restore the IRL

who knows, if you repeat it often enough....

Take a drive in August and you'll see who feeds lawns right through the wet season.

Some fraction of those don't have a clue and some fraction don't care.

Doesn't seem to matter which is which or who is who.

I'm curious to read the water bill that Scott just signed into law.