Dave Jensen
Owner, Jensen's Marina & Twin Palm Cottages

When your livelihood depends on fishing, water quality is a big deal. So it is for Dave Jensen, owner of Jensen's Marina and Twin Palm Cottages. He's seeing some disturbing changes.

"The fishing's not as good," says Dave. "One of our guests who's been coming here for years to fish has kept a log of what he's caught over the years. Last year was the first year he's experienced several days without catching any fish."

He also cites bad red tide as one of the signs he sees of a growing problem. While he hasn't felt the issue negatively impact his business yet, he believes there's cause for concern. "If they (visitors) experience two trips in a row without good fishing, we'll feel the impact" he says.

He calls the developments a "personal wake-up call" to look in his own backyard to make changes. To him, every resident impacts the water simply by virtue of living in the area. As a result, he has taken on more personal responsibility and changed his lawn maintenance practices. He also plans to get involved.

"The bottom line is more community involvement in our own backyard. We spend too much time talking about someone else, when we need to change our own backyards," he says. “We're all so busy that we stay away from community involvement and knowing what's going on. But we've got to get out and see what our elected officials are doing."