More Land for the Everglades – Sweet!

 Today the New York Times reported that United States Sugar, the nation’s largest sugarcane producer, has agreed to sell 187,000 acres north of Everglades National Park to the state of Florida for $1.75 billion.

This news is so good in so many ways.

The Everglades have long been considered America’s most endangered national park because decades of sugar cane fertilizer run-off and drainage canals have turned so much of the one-time river of grass into stagnant marshland. Even though the Everglades and Big Cypress National Preserve are federally protected, they were still down river to the sugar refineries.

Today’s news gives us hope that the dying Everglades can return to vibrant life.

The Times reports that:

The impact on the Everglades could be substantial. The natural flow of water would be restored, and the expanse of about 292 square miles would add about a million acre-feet of water storage. That amount of water — enough to fill about 500,000 Olympic size swimming pools — could soak the southern Everglades during the dry season, protecting wildlife, preventing fires, and allowing for a redrawing of the $8 billion Everglades restoration plan approved in 2000.

Last week I told you about my recent kayak purchase and how my husband and I have taken a few canoe trips. One of those places was a three-day paddling trip through the Everglades. Our trip there inspired us and made us fall in love with the natural beauty of south Florida. A beauty that we thought would be fleeting but now will be restored.