Everglades Restoration

U.S. interior secretary wants to proceed with Everglades restoration
Groups being asked to settle differences
By William E. Gibson Sun Sentinel Washington correspondent
June 25, 2009
WASHINGTON After a decade of foot-dragging, it's time to get moving on Everglades restoration, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said today."We are going to be on this project with everything that we have," he said.Salazar brought the main players overseeing Everglades restoration to Washington for the first time to underscore the Obama administration's commitment to reconstruct South Florida's ecosystem after years of talk, planning, litigation and delays.
"It can be a template for other global landscapes," he told the South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Task Force, a group of government officials and representatives of the Seminole and Miccosukee tribes.Fresh from a tour of the Everglades last month, Salazar said he wanted to look back four years from now, at the end of President Barack Obama's term, to see progress toward restoring an ecological landmark.These were welcome words for the often-squabbling coalition of environmentalists, water-management, tribal and state officials who have complained for years that Florida has had to carry the whole weight of the work.The federal government pledged in 2000 to be a full partner in restoration and to pay half the cost. Since then, the state has bought land and begun preliminary work, but the first federal dollars for restoration construction did not begin flowing until this year.Much of Salazar's task is to overcome inter-agency divisions that have created bureaucratic delays."There's been in recent years tension and disagreement between the Army Corps of Engineers, the White House and the Department of Interior about how to carry out restoration projects and how to pay for it," said Eric Draper, deputy director of Audubon of Florida. "Given that the new president is all about cooperation, we can start with agencies working together on restoration."One of the first actions will be construction of a 1-mile bridge over Tamiami Trail in western Miami-Dade County to allow fresh water to flow into Everglades National Park and Florida Bay.An injunction blocking construction was removed last week when a judge ruled against the Miccosukee tribe, which fears the project dubbed Modified Waters will flood and pollute tribal land.The tribe's attorney warned Wednesday of disastrous floods, a jarring note amid the mutual congratulations at the Washington meeting."When this happens, your political support will abandon you in a heartbeat," said Dexter Lehtinen, who represents the tribe.But the task force is determined to move ahead, with several projects slated to begin this year or next.The Army Corps plans over the next few months to build pumping stations at Picayune Strand on the western edge of the Everglades. The pumps will spread water in sheets across the Everglades to nurture plants and wildlife, reversing the past practice of channeling water out to sea.The state bought the land, plugged canals and removed roadways to prepare the way.Spending by Congress has unleashed the Army Corps to complete Picayune Strand and start work on other projects.Congress approved $241 million for the Everglades this year. The economic-stimulus bill added $119 million. And the administration has proposed $278 million for the Everglades in the fiscal year that begins in October."I hope you have seen from the Obama administration up to this point that he is walking the walk," Salazar said.