Florida Governor Ron DeSantis held a news conference Tuesday, March 30 near the Miccosukee Village in Miami-Dade County where he addressed the progress in the Everglades Restoration Project.
“We obviously had a bold vision, we were expecting to do a lot of things, we set the standard very high and we’re meeting it. We are ahead of schedule on some of these projects,” the Governor said.
DeSantis signed off on $625 million for Everglades restoration and other water quality projects in last year's state budget.
According to the governor, the 2021 budget for restoration projects will be completed in the next few weeks, which he predicts will see "a big win in this legislative session for a lot of the key initiatives that so many Floridians care about."
DeSantis said the state’s legislature is halfway through their current session and the budget should be done in the next few weeks which will hopefully include more funding for Everglades restoration. The governor added that he is working with the legislature to put a portion of the federal funding toward infrastructure through their work program, and with resilient efforts to build infrastructure to protect some of the state's most vulnerable areas.
"This is really an important milestone. We are highlighting this project to remove over five miles of roadbed from the old Tamiami Trail," DeSantis said Tuesday. "This roadbed removal is expected to increase the flow of clean, fresh water into the Shark River Slough by billions of gallons."
The Governor believes this project is a huge step forward in preserving the ecosystem and a positive sign of what’s to come.
Map of SFL Everglades and Shark River Slough
Governor Ron DeSantis announced earlier last year that the Florida Department of Environmental Protection has reached an agreement with Kanter Real Estate LLC., that will allow for the purchase of 20,000 acres of critical wetlands in Water Conservation Area 3 (WCA 3) within the Everglades Protection Area located in Broward County. This acquisition would represent the largest wetland acquisition in a decade.
By the end of January 2020, the state of Florida would purchase a large portion of land in the Everglades in order to prevent oil production in the area. The 20,000 acres will be bought from Kanter Real Estate, the same group that was given approval to drill an exploratory oil well in the Everglades.
South Florida Water Management District will be putting up between $16.5 and $18 million depending on when the purchase goes through. The land will become publicly-owned for restoration and recreation. As a result, the state hopes billions of gallons of water can move through the bay.
Florida Department of Environmental Protection says they are moving forward with the buyout within the next 75 days.
“Protecting Florida’s natural resources for future generations has been a priority of my administration since day one,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “At my direction, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the South Florida Water Management District continue to prioritize expediting crucial Everglades and water quality projects.”
The Tamiami Trail Projects and other critical Everglades restoration projects were identified by Governor DeSantis in his Achieving More Now For Florida’s Environment Executive Order to be expedited and completed as quickly as possible.
With the purchase of 20k acres from the Kanter Real Estate group last year, this mass restoration of the Everglades will have a greater impact and will certainly much better affect the environment near our homes than any oil mine would.
Gov. DeSantis’ Presser near Miccosukee Village
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