XML FeedsPossible Flaws in State Plan to Rescue the Everglades
By damageva on Jul 4, 2008 | In General, Land, Water, Land + Water, Preservation & Open Space, Agriculture, Forestry and Food, Florida, Natural Resource Damages, Newspaper/Mag/TV/Media Story, Ecosystem Valuation, Regulatory Analysis, Costs and Benefits | Send feedback »
Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/02/us/02everglades.html?th&emc=th
Florida’s proposed purchase of nearly 300 square miles of land for Everglades restoration moved forward this week when water managers who would oversee the property endorsed the state’s $1.75 billion offer.
But even as most environmentalists here continue to cheer about the acquisition, skeptics have identified complications that they fear will keep the Everglades from being saved. The state, say some hydrologists, federal officials and environmentalists, has bet a huge sum on oft-fertilized farmland that could take at least a decade and billions of dollars to rehabilitate
In short, a rescue plan with more land faces more of the same limitations that have undermined Everglades restoration efforts since the ’80s: too much human impact and too little money.
“We’ve had a lot of projects for a lot of years, and they never get done,” said Terry L. Rice, a hydrologist who advises the Miccosukee Tribe, some of whose members live in the Everglades.
By Damien Cave
The New York Times www.NYTimes.com
Published: July 2, 2008
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/02/us/02everglades.html?th&emc=th
