Marine Resources Council

August's events line-up is here 💟

Be sure to check out the Jupiter Island Native Planting in Mid-August. We'll need all the hands we can get to put hundreds (yes, hundreds) of native plants in the ground at the Jupiter Island Greenway! 🌾

Let us know in the comments 👇🏼 which events are you planning on joining us for?

At last week's Regular Council Meeting, Councilman Johnson presented a proclamation recognizing July 26, 2026, as Mangrove Day.

😎 Our final Lagoon Explorers Summer program will investigate the mighty mangroves of the Indian River Lagoon!

Join our Lagoon Explorers on August 5th for one last summer hurrah before school starts. Register students grades 1 - 6 at givebutter.com/LagoonExplorers 💚

🌱 With all the talk about seagrass in the Indian River Lagoon, we are super excited to announce August's Lagoon at Noon speaker, Nick Curto!

👨🏻‍🔬 Nick is the Florida Oceanographic Society's Research Technician and will share details about their seagrass nursery!

📝 Register to join us in person or virtually at givebutter.com/AugustLagoonatNoon

We love mangroves, and as it turns out, our local communities do too. 💚

📝 This month, we've worked with nine municipalities to locally proclaim July 26th as Mangrove Day! Working with these community leaders, we're hoping to spread the word about the importance of the mangrove ecosystems.

🍃 Read the proclamation language by visiting lovetheirl.org/advocacy and let us know what you think!

🗺 The featured LagoonWatch map for this month is May 2026 surface water Enterobacteria levels. In May, volunteers collected water samples for Enterobacteria for analysis performed by MRC and the Surfrider Foundation. Most sites showed low, safe levels of this mammalian bacteria family, while one location near Palm Bay and two in Valkaria registered higher counts. The Florida Department of Environmental Quality sets water quality standards for Enterobacteria limits.

🦠 While many strains of Enterobacteriaceae are naturally occurring and harmless, elevated levels in recreational waters can signal the presence of harmful bacteria and are an important public health indicator for swimmers and paddlers. For the most up-to-date bacteria information, visit Surfrider's interactive map at https://bwtf.surfrider.org/explore.

Residents of Volusia, Orange, Brevard, & Indian River Counties are subject to irrigation and watering restrictions! These restrictions are designed to preserve water and provide efficient use for irrigation purposes.

Refer to your house address number for when you can water! Watering should occur only when needed, and not between the hours of 10 AM - 4 PM. Users should water for no more than one hour per zone.

For the eagle-eyed readers of our newsletter who noticed we made a mistake, it's been corrected here! More information about watering restrictions can be found on the St Johns River Water Management District webpage (https://www.sjrwmd.com/wateringrestrictions/)

🗑 If you missed the July Lagoon at Noon talk from our Science Communication & Outreach Coordinator, Brooke Blosser, you can now view the talk on YouTube.

🚯 Wondering how much litter MRC has collected this year? Or what types of litter? Visit our YouTube page to watch the full talk!

🍃 Popping onto your timeline with Mangrove Month Fact #2 to clear up some misconceptions about trimming mangrove trees on private property!

✂ According to DEP regulations, you can trim mangrove branches when the tree is between 6 ft & 10 ft tall. Trimming of roots or trees smaller than 6 ft is never allowed. Between 10 ft & 16 ft, a professional mangrove trimmer is required, and anything about 24 ft requires a Florida Department of Environmental Services Permit!

📲 We regularly get calls from folks who were unaware of the trimming regulations. When in doubt, refer to the Florida DEP website for their trimming rules (https://floridadep.gov/sites/default/files/mangrove-trimming-2-08-16.pdf).

💚 If you do need to replace mangroves on your property, our nursery is your one-stop shop for all three native mangrove species.