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Florida, U.S. Sugar Negotiate Sale Of Everglades Acreage

Associated Press file photo (2006)

Sugar fields, upper right, are shown next to the Florida Everglades Tuesday, July 18, 2006.

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The Associated Press

Published: June 23, 2008

WEST PALM BEACH - The state of Florida and U.S. Sugar Corp., the nation's largest producer of cane sugar, are negotiating the sale of thousands of acres of farmland in the Everglades to help restore the wetlands, three officials familiar with the potential deal said Monday.

The 187,000 acres sit south of Lake Okeechobee, the virtual heart of the ecosystem.

The land would be used to help restore a more natural flow to the wetlands that has been stymied for years by agriculture and development.

Farming in the region has long been considered a hindrance to restoration, contributing fertilizers and pollutants to the wetlands, and blocking its natural flow patterns.

The officials work for various parties involved in the negotiations and spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks that began last year had not been announced.

They told The Associated Press that the potential deal would call for the state to pay about $1.7 billion for the land. U.S Sugar would then still be allowed to continue farming for several years under leases.

The company and the South Florida Water Management District declined to comment. Gov. Charlie Crist's office also declined to comment.

However, Crist planned a news conference on Tuesday to make a "major Everglades announcement."

"It's like the Louisiana Purchase for the Everglades," John Marshall, of the Arthur R. Marshall Foundation, said of the potential deal. His group advocates for Everglades restoration.

Marshall said he was unaware of the negotiations.

"It would be a great deal," Marshall said. "This would finally be having our dream realized of being able to connect the entire system from the Kissimmee basin to Florida Bay."

Jeff Danter, The Nature Conservancy's state director, called the potential deal "an unprecedented opportunity to completely rewrite the course of Everglades restoration."

The entire restoration effort is the largest of its kind in the world, attempting to undo and reroute decades of flood control projects that have diverted water to make way for growth.

A key component was approved by Congress in 2000 and is formally known as the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan.

It was originally estimated to cost $7.8 billion and take 30 years. The price tag has now ballooned to billions more because of rising construction and real estate costs, and it's unknown how long it could take.

The plan called for the state and federal government to be 50-50 partners, but to date, Florida has committed more than $2 billion, while the federal government has spent only several hundred million dollars.

Last year, Congress authorized about $1.8 billion for Everglades projects but the money has yet to be allocated and competition is stiff from other states.

If the U.S. Sugar deal goes through, the entire restoration plan may have to be reworked, taking into account the massive amount of new land that would be available for the effort.

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