June 25, 2008

A Sweet Deal for the Everglades

Florida buys out the nation's largest sugar producer to help save the Everglades

By Jessie Maxwell

For more than a century, people have been polluting and destroying the Everglades. Fortunately, this is all about to change.

On June 24, Governor Charlie Crist, who is known as "the Everglades governor," announced plans to make one of the biggest conservation deals in United States history. Crist said that the state of Florida would spend almost $2 billion to buy nearly 300 square miles of land in and around the Everglades from U.S. Sugar Corp. The state will then protect the land from future development and clean up pollution caused by the sugar company and other local farms and industries.

MARC SIROTA—GETTY IMAGES Officials hope to save the habitat of endangered species like this Rosetta Spoonbill.

This is big news for the Everglades. Never before has the government taken such a large step to preserve, restore and protect the unique ecosystem. "It's mind-blowing," Kirk Fordham, executive director of the Everglades Foundation, told TIME. "Who would have thought we'd see this in our lifetimes?"

Endangered Everglades

The Everglades make up the largest subtropical wilderness in the U.S. Located on the southern tip of the Florida peninsula, the area is home to a diverse group of animals. Fourteen of these Everglade inhabitants are threatened or endangered species, including the American crocodile, Florida panther and West Indian manatee.

JOE RAEDLE—GETTY IMAGES Run-off from sugar cane farms like this one pollute the Everglades.

The U.S. Sugar Corp. has been growing sugar cane in and around the Everglades since 1931. Until recently, the company made no effort to lessen its impact on the environment. Among other damaging practices, the company would block water from entering the ecosystem and suck water out of its rivers and marshes. A pollution lawsuit settled in the mid-1990s forced Sugar Corp. to clean up its act. Since then, the company has stopped practicing such environmentally damaging activity. Still, the Everglades continued to be threatened by agricultural and industrial development.

Bye, Bye Sugar

The deal between U.S. Sugar Corp. and the state of Florida will not stop all sugar production in the Everglades. But officials say that it will enhance conservation efforts. "It makes [things] a lot more manageable," explained Ken Ammon, deputy executive director of the South Florida Water Management District. "It totally changes the face of Everglades restoration."

Officials hope to finalize the agreement with U.S. Sugar Corp. by September.

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