IRLNews:Kennedy Space Center to Launch Indian River Lagoon Restoration Plan
- Bill Nelson, former State Representative and U.S. Senator, grew up in Melbourne, Florida and graduated from Melbourne High School. [1]
- Robert Cabana, NASA Astronaut Corps member, lived in Indian Harbour Beach from 2008 to 2021 during his tenure as KSC Director.[2]
- Janet Petro, KSC Associate Director 2008 - 2021, grew up in Satellite Beach and graduated from Satellite High School.[3]
All three newly appointed NASA executives have been Brevard County residents; have seen the demise of the Indian River Lagoon; now have the authority to improve the Kennedy Space Center environment. And it appears that the countdown to restoration has already begun.
Two local environmental groups, Indian River Lagoon Roundtable and Sierra Club Florida sent introductory letters to Director Petro, and received responses that reveal a new "KSC Indian River Lagoon Health Initiative Plan" coming this fall:
“We started the KSC Indian River Lagoon Health Initiative Plan early last year, and are working with experts and stakeholders to finalize our initiative. This plan takes into consideration the approximately 140,000-acre Federal property and the Indian River Lagoon estuary on and adjacent to our NASA Center. It proposes projects and restoration actions that promote the lagoon's health and biodiversity and will serve as a reference to enable informed decisions regarding future lagoon health projects to help increase understanding of water quality, habitat quality, living resources issues, and restoration needs.” Janet Petro, KSC Director
In addition, Director Petro has introduced the IRL Roundtable to a KSC conservation biologist who is involved in the plan’s development. The biologist is expected to speak to the citizen environmental group this month. Hopefully, the presentation will include information about the upcoming launch of the Kennedy Space Center Indian River Lagoon (IRL) Health Initiative Plan.
Web Links
- NASA Feature - Administrator Bill Nelson
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-administrator-bill-nelson/
- NASA Biographies - KSC Director Janet Petro
https://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/about/biographies/petro.html
- NASA Biographies - Associate Administrator Robert D. Cabana, https://www.nasa.gov/biographies/associate-administrator-robert-cabana
Documents
- NASA - Bill Nelson, https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/nelson-b.pdf (PDF 2pp)
- NASA - Robert D. Cabana, https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/cabana_robert.pdf (PDF 2pp)
References
- ↑ Biographical Directory of the United States Congress - Bill Nelson, retrieved 2021-09-05.
- ↑ Wikipedia - Robert D. Cabana, retrieved 2021-09-05.
- ↑ Orlando Sentinel - Janet Petro, retrieved 2021-09-05.
