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GOVERNOR CRIST CELEBRATES EVERGLADES LAND ACQUISITION VOTE

December 18, 2008

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GOVERNOR’S PRESS OFFICE
(850) 488-5394

TALLAHASSEE – Governor Charlie Crist today joined the chairman of the South Florida Water Management District, state environmental and economic officials, and leading environmentalists to celebrate the SFWMD Governing Board’s approval this week in favor of an historic land acquisition for Everglades restoration. The $1.34 billion land-only agreement with the United States Sugar Corporation represents one of the largest environmental land acquisitions in the nation’s history

The vast acreage in Everglades National Park are the “missing link” that the South Florida Water Management District needs to protect Florida’s coastal estuaries and better revive, restore and preserve one of America’s greatest natural treasures – the Everglades.

“This land acquisition is the most important, most historic step taken toward true Everglades restoration. It creates unprecedented possibilities for the River of Grass and for our environment,” said Governor Crist. “I am grateful to the members of the South Florida Water Management District Governing Board for their support, which came after thoughtful and deliberate consideration. This land purchase reflects the courage and tenacity of so many people who, like the late Marjory Stoneman Douglas, have worked to protect this unique environmental treasure.”
Officials with the South Florida Water Management District on Tuesday voted in favor of the land purchase deal, in which the state will buy land from U.S. Sugar for $1.34 billion. U.S. Sugar will remain on the land for a period of time, subject to a final lease agreement. Governor Crist first announced plans to pursue the land purchase in June at the 2008 Serve to Preserve Florida Summit on Global Climate in Miami.
The vast real estate – roughly the size of New York City — will be used to reestablish a part of the historic connection between Lake Okeechobee and the fabled River of Grass through a managed system of storage and treatment. The land also will be used to safeguard the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers and estuaries.

Acquiring the enormous expanse of land offers water managers the opportunity and flexibility to store and clean water on a scale never before contemplated. Water managers expect that dedicating significantly more land in the Everglades Agricultural Area to restoration will build upon and enhance the 30-year state-federal Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan and the State of Florida’s Northern Everglades program to restore and protect Lake Okeechobee, the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers and their respective estuaries. Governor Crist and his administration also are committed to working with the Glades, Hendry and Western Palm Beach Counties, including the City of Clewiston, to pursue economic development opportunities for the area.

“This historic acquisition also represents a catalyst for the diversification of the local economy,” said Dr. Dale Brill, executive director of the Office of Tourism, Trade and Economic Development. “Our team will work tirelessly with the local communities, Enterprise Florida and the sister agencies within the Rural Economic Development Initiative (REDI) structure to ensure we seize this opportunity to facilitate greater prosperity for the entire region.”

Benefits from the land acquisition include:
· Huge increases in the availability of water storage, significantly reducing the potential for harmful discharges from Lake Okeechobee to Florida’s coastal rivers and estuaries when lake levels are high.
· The ability to deliver cleaner water to the Everglades during dry times and greater water storage to protect the natural system during wet years.
· Preventing tons of phosphorus from entering the Everglades every year.
· Significantly reducing the need for “back-pumping” water into Lake Okeechobee from the Everglades Agricultural Area to augment the water supply needs.
· Additional water storage alternatives, relieving some pressures on the Herbert Hoover Dike while the federal government undertakes repairs.

Joining Governor Crist and Dr. Brill today were Mike Sole, Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection; and Eric Buermann, Chairman of the South Florida Water Management District. Also in attendance were Representative Franklin Sands; Eric Draper, Deputy Director, Audubon Florida; David Guest of EarthJustice; Sue Mullins, Defenders of Wildlife; and Janet Bowman and Andy McLeod of The Nature Conservancy.