Update: FL has shot in 'water wars'

Apalachicola Bay, a Florida Panhandle estuary – often known as the ‘Forgotten Coast – has been recognized by the United Nations for its uniqueness, once produced 10 percent of the nation's oysters, and 90 percent of those in the state of Florida. It may not matter much longer. The U.S. Supreme Court was scheduled to hear the three-decades-old Florida v. Georgia case Jan. 8. The case is all about the fight for water. It pits metro Atlanta and South Georgia farmers against conservationists and seafood producers in Northwest Florida. Both states need fresh water. Georgia has been the big winner for water to date, and aided by decisions by the Army Corps of Engineers. The wide flood plains of this fragile small-town in NW Florida serve as a spawning ground for crab and fish in the Gulf of Mexico. It nourishes the largest stand of tupelo trees in the world. Florida argues that Georgia’s over-consumption of water endangers its estuary that is home to the highest density of amphibian and reptile species in North America that supports hundreds of endangered or threatened animal and plant species. Florida blames the lack of fresh water for leading to a collapse of Apalachicola Bay’s oyster fishing that has led to higher salinity in the bay that supports predators that are devastating the oysters. (Source: Washington Post 01/07/18) UPDATE Jan. 9: Florida lawyers appeared to have fared well during the court hearing, according to officials who sat through the hearing. The court only heard arguments, and will make a decision at a later date in the decades-old legal fight between Florida and Georgia over water flow into the Apalachicola River and basin. U.S. Rep. Neal Dunn (R-2nd District of Florida, whose district includes Apalachicola) was among them. He said the state has a “real shot of winning the case.”