Ralph Brown, Project Engineer, St. Johns River Water Management District and Keith Fisher, Manager, St. Sebastian River State Buffer Preserve will be presenting this month's program to give us some details about the process to dispose of the muck that will be removed from the St. Sebastian River. We also expect to get an update on the progress of the dredging project for the river.
    There were several suggestions for possible disposal sites of the muck and they will tell us about some of the details, and the sites considered in the design of the project and assessment for its disposal.
    We will also be presenting our annual "Environmental Enhancement Award" at the meeting.  This year's recipient is the Marine Resources Council - please see the article below for details on this year's award.  In addition to receiving the award, the MRC will give a brief presentation on their work for Brazilian pepper eradication.
    The January meeting is also our "annual meeting" and therefore we will be conducting some administrative business, such as voting for nominees to our Board of Directors.  The meeting will be on Tuesday, January 28, 7:30 PM at the North Indian River County Library in Sebastian.  All are welcome and refreshments will be served following the program.

    Each year we present our "Environmental Enhancement Award" to someone who we feel has done the most in the past year to improve or protect the quality of the St. Sebastian River and its surrounding habitat.  This year we have chosen the Marine Resources Council (MRC) for their continuing work throughout the Indian River Lagoon and especially the St. Sebastian River, to eradicate Brazilian peppers.
    The MRC is involved in many projects throughout the lagoon.  The Brazilian pepper project is one for which they apply for and have received grant funding for the last several years.  The goal being to eradicate the peppers throughout the entire Indian River Lagoon basin.
    If you are familiar with the Brazilian pepper, you know that it is an introduced exotic pest plant that is very invasive.  It is also in the poison ivy family and causes similar allergic reactions.
    The MRC has limited staff to work on this project and can always use more volunteers.  For more information or to find out how you can help, please call the MRC at 321-504-4500, or check out their website at: www.mrcirl.org.
    Congratulations and keep up the good work!