Scott a no-show at Glades Meeting

[Keith W]

No big surprise here. Expect this new governor to do go all out to finally kill the US Sugar deal, which was the best hope for actual Everglades restoration we have had since the CERP was begun.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/01/05/2000822/scott-a-no-show-at-gl...

[Juan Estevez]

What's the point of buying land for restoration and then leasing it back?

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/water-district-rents-land-to-flor...

 

I'm afraid there is no hope for Everglades restoration.

[Swamp Hunter]

" ... I won't lie to you -- it's a damn good price for that land," said the [U.S. Sugar] executive, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he had signed a nondisclosure agreement. "But it's not as good a deal for the Everglades. If the district doesn't have any money after this purchase, then they won't be able to do any restoration projects. It could be a disaster in the making."    http://www.grist.org/article/florida-everglades-restoration-now-a-b...

 

The district needs money and leasing it back at least keeps exotics from taking over until the restoration can take place. The US Sugar deal is a mess though. The state accepted appraisals of the company’s land that used figures from the height of the real estate market.  Its been severely downsized since and US sugar will keep what they need to stay in business, selling instead elevated sandy citrus grove land to the west in Hendry County— good panther land but land that is not beneficial to Everglades restoration.

 

"An environmental assessment presented to the district revealed that 49,000 acres of the United States Sugar land was contaminated with high levels of copper, DDT, selenium and other chemicals. Arsenic was detected at levels above human health standards in more than 6,000 acres of land, the documents showed." http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/08/us/08everglades.html?pagewanted=1...

 

Besides being polluted, after 80 years of farming and burning, the black muck land is also much lower than historic levels. And since water cannot flow downhill, Im afraid we will be left with a huge polluted lake. I often dream of what it used to look like with huge expanses of Popash and Pondapples. A sight we will never see again.

 

That being said, I still believe we need to buy it and lease it back at a decent rate to raise funds, under our watchful eyes, if necessary, until it can be restored but who can we trust?  You are correct it doesnt look good for the Everglades.

[Swamp Hunter]

Heres is an article on the US Sugar land purchased back in October. http://swflorida.blogspot.com/2010/10/florida-buys-us-sugar-land-in...

Does anybody have a map showing the exact locations?

 

The way I understand it, the aquisition basically comprises of 17,900 acres of Hendry County citrus grove "leased" backed to US Sugar rent free and 8,900 acres to the SE in Palm Beach County leased back at $150/acre. The muck land in question immediately south of Lake Okeechobee polluting Everglades Shark Valley is business as usual.

 

 

 

Note: "An exclusive 3-year option to purchase either a specifically identified 46,800 acres or the entire 153,000 acres (from US Sugar) at a fixed price of $7,400 per acre."  I recently purchased a high and dry beautiful wooded acre for $5000 in Hendry County so it appears to me the selling price is a bit too high for submerged polluted land.

[Swamp Hunter]

Heres a map of US Sugar aquisitions but I dont know exactly what land was aquired. http://www.ussugar.com/downloads/Acquisition-Lands-Map.pdf

[Juan Estevez]

... and now fu^%$#@ golf courses coming to a state park near you.

http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2011/mar/08/no-headline---tc_mc_nicklaus/

 

Juan