Some good news...
The South Florida Water Management District today approved a $1.34 billion buyout of the U.S. Sugar Corp. for a very ambitious plan to restore the Everglades.
http://www.wpbf.com/...
The plan will buy a huge chunk of property -- 180,000 acres, nearly 300 square miles -- between Lake Okeechobee and the Everglades National Park.
I'm viewing today's SFWMD approval as a necessary and crucial hurdle, rather than a done deal.
[I]t is not automatically binding because an extra financial escape clause for the state was added. The deal must still be approved by U.S. Sugar and is subject to financing.
Hmm, financing? That may be difficult to accomplish given the present economic conditions. However, U.S. Sugar has been in negotiations with the state since June and does seem willing to shut down their operations here and sell the property.
more after the fold...
The plan to restore water flow from Lake Okeechobee south through a largely agricultural area to the existing Everglades National Park has been talked about for years.
One of the natural and original functions of the Everglades was to absorb and filter the outflow of water from Lake Okeechobee before reaching the coast and ocean. The agricultural development also cut off most of the Everglades' primary and historical source of water.
Presently, most excess water from Lake Okeechobee is diverted east through a series of canals, dumping into the Indian River Intracoastal Waterway (technically a lagoon) on the southeast coast of Florida from Port St. Lucie to West Palm Beach. Over the years, the excess water has caused a number of unintended consequences including algae blooms, fish kills, fish lesions and perhaps a (yet, unproven) contributing factor to the decline of the coral reefs located just off the coast.
Environmentalists are in favor of the plan.
"Without this land, we can't move forward for the future of the Everglades and the future of South Florida," said Sara Fains with the Everglades Coalition.
Marjory Stoneman Douglas, noted author and environmentalist, was an outspoken advocate of the Everglades, writing The Everglades: River of Grass in 1947. Although she died in 1998 at the age of 108, she instilled in many Floridians the value of protecting and restoring The Everglades. She would be pleased. I also give credit to Governor Charlie Crist. The plan seemed to languish for many years but gained new impetus with his support.