Ernie Barnett

This week, Brett sits down with his friend and Executive Director of the Florida Land Council, Ernie Barnett.  Ernie has a wealth of experience from his days in leadership positions at the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, as well as the South Florida Water Management District.  

They discuss his long and consequential public service career; how a scientist ends up as an effective communicator and policy expert; his eventual shift into a successful career in the private sector; and Florida’s shifting understanding of the science behind water quality impairment in South Florida and beyond.  

Oh, and did we mention that Ernie grew up in a friend group that included dolphins?  More on that, too.   

To learn more about Everglades restoration, head here: https://www.evergladesrestoration.gov

To see how the dolphins in Ft. Walton Beach are doing today, check out the Gulfarium’s website here: https://gulfarium.com

This episode of Water for Fighting is brought to you by my friends at RES.  

RES is the nation’s leader in ecological restoration, helping to restore Florida’s natural resources with water quality and stormwater solutions that offer communities guaranteed performance and outcomes. Check them out at www.res.us 

This episode is also thanks to my friends at Collins Land Services.

When it comes to your disaster recovery and land management needs, you’re looking for the perfect combination of competence, reliability, and affordability.  And that means you’re looking for Collins Land Services.  Check them out at www.collinsland.com

Please be sure to check out the Florida Specifier Podcast hosted by Ryan Matthews and Brett as part of a new venture where they’re striving to become Florida’s first source for environmental news, educational tools, and unique perspectives on our state’s natural environment and the events that shape it.  To learn more about its flagship print publication and more, visit The Florida Specifier.

You can follow the show on LinkedIn and Instagram @flwaterpod, and you can reach me directly at [e-mail] with your comments and suggestions for who and/or what you’d like to know more about.

Production of this podcast is by Lonely Fox Studios. Thanks to Karl Sorne for making the best of what he had to work with. And to David Barfield for the amazing graphics and technical assistance.  

And finally, a very special thank you goes out to Bo Spring from the Bo Spring Band  for giving permission to use his music for this podcast.  The song is called Doing Work for Free, (Apple Music | Spotify) and you should check out the band live, or wherever great music is sold.