6 Years and Going Strong:
Bay Soundings Marks a Milestone

Most of us think in neat increments of five and ten, pausing at these mileposts to celebrate anniversaries and reflect on accomplishments.

When our own five-year anniversary approached last spring, frankly we were having too much fun to pause long enough to mark the occasion. There were stories to write, people to interview and new places to explore. That’s
the joy of having a beat that provides an endless supply of storylines spanning everything from science to business and recreation.

Bay Soundings got its start six years ago this Summer as an independent news journal dedicated to informing and educating people about news and issues affecting Tampa Bay, Florida’s largest open-water estuary. Beyond that, we hope to write stories that inspire people to protect this magnificent resource and understand how actions we take every day in the watershed affect the quality of water and life downstream.

Our community sponsors share that vision. Funding support comes from the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council, Tampa Bay Estuary Program and Southwest Florida Water Management District, with additional support from the Florida Department of Transportation District Seven. We also are indebted to the Pinellas County Environmental Fund, whose seed funding helped sustain us in the critical first years of publication. Thanks to these organizations, Bay Soundings is available free to subscribers and through more than 200 community distribution outlets across the region, from aquariums to bait shops to restaurants.

One of the advantages of a quarterly publication is the opportunity to address topics in-depth, giving readers more than a cursory treatment of complex issues. Over the years, that’s allowed us to probe issues of fundamental importance to the health of the bay and surrounding watershed, from long-term water supply planning and stormwater management to the effects of phosphate mining and, most recently, climate change and state efforts to reduce heat-trapping pollutants like carbon dioxide that fuel global warming.

Along the way, we’ve had the privilege of introducing our readers to individuals who are making a difference, from scientists working to untangle the riddle of damaging red tides to ordinary citizens devoting their time to ridding the coastline of invasive plants and cleaning up fouled waterways.

Now, we’d like to take this opportunity to introduce you to a few more – our own dedicated support crew who works tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure the success of each issue:

• Suzanne Cooper and Sue Young at the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council, which administers funding for Bay Soundings and first conceived of the publication.
• Charlie McShane and his team at McShane Communications, the graphics studio responsible for bringing our stories to life with eye-catching graphics and layout, including the design of our award-wining Web site.
• And Shell Jaroy, our printing representative, who sees to it that the quality of the work that’s sent to print is reflected in the newspaper that rolls off the presses ready for shipment.

Throughout the years, we’ve gained invaluable feedback and story ideas from an editorial advisory committee made up of scientists, writers, citizens and representatives of organizations committed to bay protection – and from readers like you.

Keep it coming. We invite comments, story suggestions and letters to the editor. Send them to editor@baysoundings.com.