The 53-member Everglades Coalition, led by co-chair and Audubon Senior Everglades Policy Associate Julie Hill-Gabriel convened in Weston last weekend for their 26th annual conference. The theme of this year’s conference, “Renewal of Life for the Everglades: Moving Forward Together” proved appropriate upon news announced by U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar. The promise of the establishment of a new National Wildlife Refuge south of Orlando at the headwaters of the northern Everglades resonated with Coalition groups and conference attendees. 50,000 acres are projected to be purchased by the federal government, while 100,000 additional acres of private lands would be protected by conservation easements. Preserving this vast amount of land would provide the opportunity for improving the quality of the water flowing into Lake Okeechobee.
Though sources of funding to secure acquisition of these lands need to be identified, the exciting news of the initiative made headlines across the state. Audubon of Florida Executive Director Eric Draper discussed the initiative in the Miami Herald and Julie Hill-Gabriel commented on the announcement in the Palm Beach Post.
Utilizing agricultural lands to secure benefits for the Everglades was an ongoing theme throughout the conference. Florida Commissioner of Agriculture, Adam Putnam, delivered a keynote speech noting the opportunity for partnerships between agriculture and the organizations working to preserve the northern Everglades. Ann Mills, Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, explained the role of agricultural lands in environmental preservation, citing the July 2010 encompassment of thousands of agricultural acres near Fisheating Creek—a Lake Okeechobee tributary—within the USDA Wetland Reserve Program as an example.
U.S. Senator Bill Nelson and former Senator Bob Graham addressed the crowd and described the uniqueness of the River of Grass and challenged conference participants to forge ahead with restoration efforts. Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Jo-Ellen Darcy pledged she and her team would look for ways to shorten the Army Corps of Engineers process for approving restoration projects so that ecological benefits can be achieved faster, while U.S. Representative Debbie Wasserman-Schultz’s office delivered a promise to continue to wave the flag of Everglades restoration in our nation’s capitol.
Over 300 conference attendees attended sessions and workshops focused on various restoration projects and efforts throughout the Everglades ecosystem, gaining up to date knowledge and information. The 26th annual Everglades Coalition conference provided the platform needed for all parties involved in Everglades restoration to move forward together toward a promising, even if challenging, 2011.
