Everglades Foundation

SPECIAL FEATURE - For Immediate Release
State Must Purchase US Sugar Land to Save the Everglades and South Florida's Water Supply.

Acquiring land within the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) remains critical to the success of long-term restoration goals. There is widespread agreement in the scientific community that in order to save the Everglades, protect our water supply and prevent the decline of coastal communities on the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers, large tracts of land must be assembled in the EAA to store and clean water flowing into the Everglades. The U.S. Sugar Corp. land acquisition remains a critical first step in accomplishing long-term objectives. Even Florida Crystals (the Fanjul-family owned competitor of U.S. Sugar Corp.) now acknowledges in its own public statements the necessity of converting tens of thousands of acres of agricultural land for restoration purposes. Unfortunately, Florida Crystals continues to block progress on Everglades restoration.

From a cost-benefit standpoint, the land acquisition remains the most viable, cost-effective option available to solve the most critical water challenges facing the Everglades and our state. The critics of this initiative fail to offer sound alternatives to the U.S. Sugar Corp. land acquisition. This is the first time a willing seller has come forward with land that has always been considered the "missing link" for Everglades restoration. With South Florida's entire water supply and economic well-being at stake, we have no choice but to seize the opportunity to reclaim land from U.S. Sugar Corp. The alternative--storing billions of gallons of water underground in costly, energy-intensive, underground storage wells-will force taxpayers to spend money unnecessarily and is widely recognized by the scientific community as an unsuitable option for this magnitude of water storage.

Economic realities have necessitated a phased approach to purchasing land. When the initial proposal to purchase more than 180,000 acres of U.S. Sugar Corp.-owned agricultural land was announced, the economic climate was much different. The land acquisition has been restructured to account for current economic realities. It only makes sense to purchase what the state can now afford, while still holding the option to acquire additional tracts of land in the future as the economy recovers and the state's finances improve.

Abandoning or delaying the purchase of the initial 73,000 acres is not an option. If the state fails to acquire this land when it is for sale, it may never again be available for purchase by a willing seller. If the state of Florida walks away from this transaction, taxpayers could be faced with paying for more expensive, risky, unproven large-scale water storage options if U.S. Sugar Corp. decides to quickly sell off key parcels to other potential buyers (rock miners, developers and other sugar companies) who have no interest in providing these strategic tracts of lands for Everglades restoration. Once these properties are lost to other land uses, they are lost forever.

Everglades restoration is a multi-decade process that requires a long-term vision and plan. Planning adequately to manage present and future water resources is particularly challenging facing the economic situation and priorities of the South Florida Water Management District. There are no quick-fix, short-term solutions. Land must first be acquired when available before plans can be devised to save our water supply and protect the Everglades. It took the state many years to acquire the land currently being utilized to restore 55,000 acres of wetlands in the Picayune Strand. It was a lengthy and painstaking process, but now we are already seeing a spectacular rebound of the ecosystem and the recovery of critical habitat for the Florida panther and other wildlife. The federal government is finally providing long-promised funding. Over the next 25 years, state funding will increase as the state's economy improves

Opponents of this land acquisition are pulling out all the stops to block this historic opportunity to save the Everglades. Florida Crystals and other competing sugar companies are eager to prevent this land from being reclaimed by the people of Florida. Florida Crystals executives realize that once the land is put to use to protect the people's water supply and the Everglades, it is doubtful they will ever again have the opportunity to profit from it. It is for this reason they have spent millions of dollars on lobbyists, consultants and lawyers to block this land purchase that benefits the people.

We should not let a handful of well-funded opponents halt recent momentum on Everglades restoration. In the last two years, we've witnessed tremendous breakthroughs for the Everglades. Construction has begun on the long-awaited first phase of the Tamiami Trail bridging-to allow fresh water to flow once again into Everglades National Park. A key project to improve the quality of water flowing into the Park and Florida Bay broke ground earlier this year. The Kissimmee River restoration project is producing measurable results that have exceeded expectations, producing a dramatic rebound in wildlife habitat and providing recreational opportunities for the public.

The U.S. Sugar Corp. land acquisition provides us with the opportunity to achieve progress on Everglades restoration at a lower cost, in a more efficient manner than had ever been envisioned when the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan was first passed in 2000.

The talented scientists and staff of the Everglades Foundation will continue to work closely with our partners in the environmental, business and agricultural communities to advance this and many other critical initiatives so we can save this spectacular natural resource for future generations.