Releases of polluted Lake Okeechobee water help fuel discharges like this one from the St. Lucie Lock into the river downstream. (2005 file photo, TCPalm)

After years of waiting, activists for the St. Lucie River will face off Friday with the federal government in a lawsuit in which they say the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers violated their property rights by polluting the waterway with discharges from Lake Okeechobee.

The plaintiffs, whose suit is being paid for by the nonprofit Rivers Coalition Legal Defense Fund, are seeking $50 million in damages, the combined market value of their riverside properties.

“It’s an historic case that could have ramifications not just in Florida but across the nation,” said Karl Wickstrom, coordinator for the Rivers Coalition.

A hearing is scheduled at 1 p.m. in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in Washington. A decision is not expected that day.

Martin County Commissioner Sarah Heard, Stuart City Commissioner Mike Mortell and Sewall’s Point Commissioner Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch plan to attend the hearing.

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PORT MAYACA — Three hunters trapped in a thicket on the east shore of Lake Okeechobee, endured by standing on submerged trees in 4 feet of water for at least 11 hours, Martin County Fire Prevention Chief Doug Killane said Tuesday.

The trio, whose identities have not been disclosed, and their four dogs became trapped in the marshy thickets sometime Monday, Killane said.

“The call came into us shortly after noon,” he said, “but no one could figure exactly where they were. They were using their cell phones.”
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Alligator believed to have attacked fisherman on Monday. Photo provided by FWC.

The 47-year-old Okeechobee County man was casting his net in the popular fishing spot in the northeast side of Lake Okeechobee when an alligator yanked him under water on Monday afternoon.

The gator bit him across the arm and chest before Prado’s 24-year-old son, Jonatan, rushed to his aid, hitting the 11-foot beast with a pair of pliers, according to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials. The hit distracted the gator, who released Prado just before his son was able to drag him back to shore.

Prado was flown to Lawnwood Regional Medical Center in Fort Pierce, where he underwent emergency surgery, according to FWC spokeswoman Gabriella Ferraro. He survived the attack with no loss of extremities.

After the attack, a trapper called to the scene by FWC caught the gator and shot him.

The gator – likely used to people and the fish tossed behind as scraps — was still in the area of the attack when the trapper arrived, Ferraro said.

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Several long-awaited Everglades restoration projects got a cash infusion from the $410 billion spending bill President Obama signed into law Wednesday.

The bill included nearly $200 million for seven projects aimed at restoring flows and reducing pollution in the struggling and shrinking ecosystem. The Everglades Foundation cheered the spending, saying the projects would create hundreds of jobs, protect the drinking water supply and contribute to the long-term health of the tourism, fishing and other dependent industries.

The bill includes $74 million to reinforce Lake Okeechobee's Herbert Hoover Dike, $4.5 million to clean and restore the Indian River Lagoon and $60 million to raise a segment of Tamiami Trail so water can flow underneath. Other Everglades projects that will receive money include restoration work in Florida Bay and the Kissimmee River.