On November 8, the Tampa Bay Estuary Program will host a community forum in St. Petersburg on residential fertilizer use and water quality issues, open to all registered guests.

As more people and municipalities become aware of how fertilizer use by home and property owners affects our watersheds and coastal estuaries, the forum provides an opportunity for Tampa Bay residents to get up to speed with the news, science and ecological aspects of the issues. Space will be limited, so register before October 31 to reserve a spot.

The use of high phosphorus and high nitrogen count fertilizers, long associated with the over-nutrification of waterways and resultant problems like red tide and red algae, has now come under regulation by some governments on Florida’s southwest coast. Sanibel first legislated restrictions on fertilizer use, and in August, Sarasota County enacted new laws that are among the toughest in the state. The laws go into effect January 1, 2008. Sierra Club and Healthy Gulf Coalition were instrumental in seeing these new laws enacted.

“This is a great example of a local government responding not only to its people but to a problem,” says Joe Murphy of the Gulf Restoration Network about the new laws.

“It’s a very important issue, and Sarasota County deserves a lot of credit for taking action on it and not waiting for the state,” Murphy says. “Because they led the way, counties from Escambia all the way to Monroe can now find it a little bit easier to pass similar laws for an immediate positive effect. After civic education programs, which counties have had now for awhile, ordinances are the next step.”

The state of Florida now has discussions under way for a statewide policy regarding fertilizer use, as do many other states and municipalities across the country. Many authorities suggest Sarasota County’s direction will lead the way for other cities and counties in Florida and even, perhaps, signal strength for similar measures from the state. It’s all good news for anglers and naturalists concerned with the health of our waters, and it’s by no means bad news for gardeners and landscapers, either. There are plenty of labor, water and cost-saving methods of caring for lawns and gardens without the use and overuse of expensive fertilizers, including composting, mulching and natural soil revitalization methods.

The Tampa Bay Estuary Program’s forum, called The Cost of Green, will be professionally moderated, include a panel of experts from ecological fields and business, and include a question and answer period. The forum will be held at 4:00 p.m. Nov. 8 at Weedon Island Preserve Cultural and Natural History Center, 1800 Weedon Drive N.E, St. Petersburg. For more info on the upcoming event, call Nanette O’Hara at the Tampa Bay Estuary program, (727) 893-2765 and www.tbep.org or Joe Murphy at the Gulf Restoration Network, (352) 583-0870 and www.healthgulf.org.