There’s no doubt about it: each year our economy is driven by the millions of people who visit Florida to enjoy the outdoors. And more than that, our entire way of life is tied to preserving public land and protecting our environment.

So, I’m excited to share with you some big environmental progress from this week:

• We permanently reauthorized the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which has invested more than $1 billion across Florida to conserve fish and wildlife habitats, enhance public hunting and fishing access, and restore the Everglades - all without spending a single taxpayer dollar.
• We introduced the Local Water Protection Act to combat non-point source pollution (from agricultural runoff, leaky septic tanks and more) that fuel toxic algal blooms and are a key cause of our ongoing public health crisis.
• We also held a hearing with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Florida Department of Environmental Protection and others to discuss harmful algal blooms and other environmental issues in Florida. I talked about the myth of “shared adversity.” Right now, we get all the adversity and none of the prosperity….this is exactly what needs to change! Watch that video here.

Watch this week’s Week In Review to learn more.