Funding for Everglades Restoration Plan Runs Into Maelstrom

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL-Gov. Jeb Bush has unveiled a proposal that would use money the state already collects or is sitting in the state’s coffers to fund Florida’s portion of the $8.4 billion federal/state Everglades restoration project, about $100,000 per year, for the next eight years.

The purpose of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan is to capture fresh water as it runs toward the sea, and direct it back to the ecosystem for revitalization. The plan is also supposed to improve water supplies for people and farms.

The 20-year project, considered the most ambitious wetlands restoration in American history, covers 18,000 square miles in 16 counties of southern Florida. A total $2.2 billion of the $8.4 billion will be used to purchase private property and protect it from any future development.