A proposal to create a new wildlife refuge in the headwaters of the Everglades has sparked a strong backlash against what opponents are calling "another government land grab." At four public hearings over the past month, hundreds of people showed up, most of them to rail against plans for a 150,000-acre Everglades Headwaters National Wildlife Refuge in Central Florida. The size of the crowds — more than 600 at one hearing — surprised officials of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. As a result, the deadline for commenting on the plan has been pushed back from Feb. 28 to March 31.
The Fish and Wildlife Service has called this area "one of the great grassland and savanna landscapes in eastern North America." The River of Grass originated there, the water from the Kissimmee flowing slowly southward into Lake Okeechobee, then spilling over the lip of the lake into the main Everglades — until the Army Corps of Engineers altered the flow in the 1960s.
But now, instead of buying up all 150,000 acres, the federal government would take a different tack. About 50,000 acres would be purchased outright, and then on about 100,000 acres the Fish and Wildlife Service would buy only the development rights — in effect guaranteeing that the property would never be turned into subdivisions, golf courses, parking lots or big-box stores like a lot of the state's rural land.
To have your say, you can send an e-mail to EvergladesHeadwatersProposal@fws.gov
[Source: St. Petersburg Times]