Florida’s governor has created a new task force to help clean up the state’s lakes and rivers.
Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the formation of the Blue-green Algae Task Force during a news conference Monday at the Nathaniel P. Reed Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge.
The five-member group will make recommendations to reduce nutrients in Lake Okeechobee and downstream estuaries as well as look at connections to the red tide algal blooms that have affected Florida’s coasts.
Last year had the worst blue-green algae bloom in Florida history, an Ocean Conservancy report said earlier this year. That was coupled with a devastating red tide outbreak along the state’s beaches that caused respiratory irritations in people and killed sea turtles, manatees, dolphins and fish.