SFWMD Governing Board Names New Executive Director

The South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) Governing Board yesterday unanimously named Ernie Marks the District’s new Executive Director, effective Wednesday, August 2.

“Ernie Marks has amassed over 20 years of public service in natural resource management, with 13 of those years solely concentrated on the restoration of America’s Everglades,” said SFWMD Governing Board Chairman Dan O’Keefe.

“His dedication to the environment and the science that ensures its future is well known throughout Florida and a primary reason I am confident in his abilities to strengthen our partnerships and head the multi-billion-dollar Everglades restoration effort.”

Marks becomes executive director at a time when the District is making major restoration progress for Florida’s Everglades, thanks in large part to the implementation of Gov. Rick Scott’s $880 million Restoration Strategies Plan and the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP).

The District is also engaged in a crucial planning study that will identify opportunities to store water around Lake Okeechobee to accomplish numerous goals including reducing damaging discharges to the coastal estuaries.

Additionally, the District is building several projects to fulfill its key missions of providing flood protection, restoring water quality, reconnecting natural systems and ensuring water supply from Orlando to the Florida Keys.