Crist calls Everglades Restoration deal ‘historic’
(AP Photo/Bill Cotterell, Tallahassee Democrat)
Gov. Charlie Crist of Florida talks with reporters at the State Capitol in Tallahassee, Fla., on Monday, Nov. 24, 2008.
Published: December 18, 2008
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Gov. Charlie Crist says an ambitious Everglades restoration plan that will cost the state $1.34 billion “creates unprecedented possibilities.“
The South Florida Water Management District this week approved a plan for U.S. Sugar Corp. to turnover some 180,000 acres of land — or about 285 square miles. If the deal happens, it would be the most expensive conservation land purchase in state history. Environmentalists have fought for years to restore natural water flow to the Everglades after decades of overdevelopment and farming.
Some have expressed concern about the cost of the deal when the state was in the midst of an economic crisis.
Crist said at a news conference Thursday it will be the “most historic step taken toward true Everglades restoration.“
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.
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