Hope on Everglades' horizon

Editorial

Despite their political differences, key Florida leaders are showing a united front on behalf of the Everglades, which should encourage citizens who care about the state's natural wonders.

The recent spending bill passed by Congress and signed by the president included $142 million for restoring the Everglades and the Kissimmee River. Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson and Republican Rep. Bill Young of St. Petersburg teamed on the effort to ensure the funding remained in the bill.

The spending is justified. The Everglades, a vast watery network that stretches from Central Florida to Florida Bay, produces most of South Florida's drinking water. But the unique resource also provides critical habitat, offers countless recreational opportunities and attracts tourists from around the world. The water that flows through the Everglades helps sustain the sport and commercial fishing industries.

But the River of Grass, as author Marjory Stoneman Douglas called it, was damaged through the years by ill-conceived projects – drainage canals, dikes, roads, subdivisions and an array of water-control projects. The natural flow of water through the Everglades was disrupted. Runoff from agricultural operations polluted its waters. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers channelized the Kissimmee River. The meandering, vegetated river naturally filtered pollutants; the channel flushed the junk straight into Lake Okeechobee.

Fortunately, outdoors enthusiasts protested, and elected officials came to their senses. A plan was launched to save the Everglades. Washington and Florida would share the costs, since both were responsible for most of the harmful projects.

There is no undoing all the damage, but the plan to develop water-filtering reservoirs, restore the Kissimmee River and other renovations should ensure the Everglades a more natural flow of clean water.

Indeed, $97 million of the appropriations will go toward Everglades' restoration work while $45 million goes to repairing the Kissimmee. The measure also includes authorization for bridges along the Tamiami Trail that would allow more water to flow to the Glades, though funding will have to be won later.

It's also good news that Gov. Rick Scott, who often boasts of Florida's natural appeal, requested $40 million in his proposed budget for Everglades work.

Last year he gave it short shrift, asking for only $17 million. Lawmakers ended up allocating $30 million.

The governor's mandated cuts to the water management districts will likely jeopardize Everglades cleanup work in the coming years, but at least the governor is signaling an appreciation for the Glades' value.

Too often of late, politicians have acted as if environmental preservation were an example of government waste.

In fact, conservation is, as its name implies, conservative. It preserves environmental and economic assets and avoids costly problems later.

Protecting Florida's water supply, its natural beauty, its tourism industry and its fishing industries is a smart investment — the reason conservation and Everglades preservation should always be a bipartisan cause.