Report: Political climate threatens to doom Everglades restoration

Dwindling federal support for the Everglades rescue mission is tipping the scales in favor of reserving water, the River of Grass’ lifeblood, for farms and urban developments, according to a landmark scientific report.
The lack of funding also has led to frustrating delays, missed opportunities to buy land at favorable prices and fissures in the project’s state and federal partnership.

“With the (Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan) only in its fifth year and no projects actually completed, it is highly likely that the partnership will see more rather than fewer tests of its cohesiveness,” the National Research Council panel wrote.
The 200-page report, released Monday, is the first in a series of Congress-mandated progress reports on the $10.9 billion restoration project.
While praising water managers for several accomplishments to date, the report paints a gloomy picture of the political climate that threatens to doom the project.

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In 2004, Gov. Jeb Bush tried to give the project a boost by announcing the state would infuse $1.5 billion of its own money to accelerate eight of the 68 projects. Smith and other critics were wary of the plan, which, they said, placed too much emphasis on the wrong types of projects.

“It sent a message to the federal government that the state was assuming control,” Smith said.

That, in turn, eroded federal support.

“There certainly are concerns that the feds have not come through with their end of the bargain,” the former senator, now living in Sarasota, added.

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