Everglades Boosters: Environmental Restoration Can Spur Economy, Bipartisanship

WESTON, Fla. -- During the worst recession in a generation, we can't afford to engage in environmental restoration. Or can we?

Tying environmental restoration to economic recovery is the emerging strategy for environmentalists as political turnover transforms government away from Democratic control, big spending and earmarks. That was the theme recently at the annual conference of the Everglades Coalition, an alliance of 53 national and local organizations involved in the largest environmental restoration effort in the history of the planet.

The conference draws policy-makers from all levels of government, along with scientists, educators, students, journalists and the general public, all focused on the Everglades. Keynote speakers this year included Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Florida's Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson. They and other speakers described the political shift from blue to red as like nothing in recent memory. They also talked about a new study by Mather Economics, which found that a $13 billion restoration plan authorized by President Clinton in 2000 will generate more than $46 billion in benefits for 16 South Florida counties over 50 years, and create more than 443,000 jobs.

The study, commissioned by the Everglades Foundation, cited benefits such as water supply protection, enhanced real estate values and better tourism and recreation. The Everglades, an 11,000-square-mile region stretching from Central Florida to the state's southern tip, supports dozens of federally threatened and endangered species, includes at least 1,400 square miles of farmland, and generates some 200 million gallons of drinking water daily.

"It's also about the long-term economic health of South Florida and the jobs that come along" with restoration, Salazar told conference attendees. "As we move forward with the Everglades and restoration efforts and other conservation efforts all around this country, let's always remind those who care about our mission that it is inextricably linked to the economic health of our nation."

The other emphasis at the conference was bipartisan collaboration, which will be important as Republicans now have control of the House and the Florida governorship, cabinet and legislature. Former Gov. Charlie Crist, a moderate Republican-turned-independent, considers a $197 million deal purchasing 27,000 critical acres from U.S. Sugar Corp. among his administration's greatest achievements. But his successor, Republican Rick Scott, has shown less support for such acquisitions. Scott, sworn in last week, missed the conference, the first governor to do so since 1987. Florida, like many states, faces a budget shortfall.

"You ought to be duly concerned with this new era of politics that we're in," Sen. Nelson, a fifth-generation Floridian who has shown strong support for environmental issues, told conference attendees. "It's true some earmarks have been abused. But I can tell you that although I will eschew most earmarks, I will not deny myself the constitutional responsibility to represent my country and my state to the best of my ability, and when that means recommending and requiring appropriation for major projects like Everglades restoration, I will continue to do so."

Salazar also acknowledged the political turnover but exuberantly announced an Obama administration plan for a new national wildlife refuge and conservation area south of Orlando in the Kissimmee River Valley, near the Everglades' headwaters. Still in its infancy, the plan would set aside some 50,000 acres through government purchase, and another 100,000 acres through conservation easements and cooperative agreements, keeping the land in private hands.

The plan expands restoration in central Florida, where cattle ranchers, farmers and sprawling Orlando (with its theme parks) have been problematic. A century ago the Kissimmee River carried water from Orlando to Lake Okeechobee, which dispersed the water through the Everglades to Florida Bay. Since then the historic river of grass has shrunk by half, drained for agriculture and development. Salazar reminded conference attendees that Everglades restoration is a model for wetlands restoration worldwide.

Attendees said they were not bothered by the new governor's absence -- he'd been on the job only a few days, they said. Instead they were enthused about a speech by Adam Putnam, the new Republican commissioner of Florida's Department of Agriculture and Consumer Affairs. Putnam promised to bridge any gap between environmentalists and agricultural interests, two groups that have feuded in the past.

Malia Hale, a lobbyist in Washington for the National Wildlife Federation, said the political turnover will require education for members of Congress unfamiliar with the Everglades and the region's complex history. Citing the "new ideology with a lot of these tea party members," she said the NWF needs "to help educate them so they don't think of the Everglades . . . as just more money being spent."