It might be just what the Florida Trail needs to guarantee a route north from Big Cypress. In Florida Sportsman’s online magazine, Karl Wickstrom proposes the concept of turning the 180,000 acre land purchase from US Sugar into Florida’s largest reserve, the River of Grass Restoration Reserve, open to paddling and hiking, fishing and seasonal duck hunting, with education centers built around some of the region’s economically depressed communities. It would showcase the restoration of the Everglades.
It’s an idea under serious discussion this morning at a meeting hosted by The Rivers Coalition at 11 AM today at City Hall in Stuart, Florida.
It’s sensible stewardship of the land with economic development and tourism built in.
Read Karl’s article here.
That would be incredible. The talk of state park closures had me wondering how likely it was, but it sounds like it’d be a federal project. From the sounds of it, that wouldn’t just be great for hikers, but for the Everglades as well.
US Sugar is trying to find a better price for their land than what SFWMD offered and they have a little time left to do it. Plus they are also working out a deal so they can lease the land back for the next seven years.
I would also love to see the area be restored for the health of the glades and for recreational use, but like the smoke rising from burning sugar can fields the whole deal just seems a little cloudy and it smells kind of funny.
Bart