Salvation for the St. Lucie River ... maybe
In my four decades as a Floridian, I have witnessed the slow, systematic scourging of our beautiful coastal habitats, marine ecosystems, and natural riverine and wetland networks. I have watched as the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie Rivers have been inexorably reduced from clear, pristine, fish-choked streams to fouled, nearly lifeless sludge drains.
This devastation was perpetrated in the name of "water management," "progress," and "public safety" by the annual fertilizer- and toxin-laden discharge of billions of gallons of Lake Okeechobee water -- and of course to further the water needs of the sugar corporations situated between the lake's southern shore and headwaters of the Everglades.
Those of you familiar with The B2 Journal have read B2's river laments in past issues, as well as those of a local celebrity, author Carl Hiaasen. Over the years, you have also probably read about or participated in efforts to stop the madness, all culminating in the same Quixotic, windmill-tipping fate.
Until now. Perhaps, just perhaps, the madness is finally coming to an end.
Mind-boggling agreement
This Tuesday, Governor Charlie Crist announced the purchase of land to restore life to the dying Everglades and river systems. The $1.8 billion deal, including agreements between the South Florida Water Management District and U.S. Sugar Corporation, will feature the restoration of the natural flow way between Lake Okeechobee and the Everglades.
"This is analogous to the USA hockey team's Miracle on Ice in the 1980 Olympics -- only better."
Which means no more discharge pulses from the lake into our rivers. Which means no more polluted water or freshwater-to-saltwater imbalance. Which means a possible recovery of the St. Lucie River's natural vitality.
Incredibly, it also means that sugar agriculture and refining are coming to an end at the bottom of The Big Lake. You see, the deal calls for U.S. Sugar to sell the state 187,000 acres of land in the Everglades Agricultural Area.
After all this time, after all of the damage done, nobody -- and I mean NOBODY -- ever thought that this day would come along. Not one person I know, B2 included, ever believed it was possible to undo all the damage that had been done and that the Everglades and the rivers could be restored, not with all of the political and economic entanglements. How could we imagine such a wondrous thing when we knew that Big Sugar would be in operation forever?
This is analogous to the USA hockey team's Miracle on Ice in the 1980 Olympics -- only better.
Still some questions to answer
The agreement calls for the land to be transferred over a six-year period as U.S. Sugar fulfills contractual obligations and the district and the state design the flow way system that will take the place of sugar cane fields. However, the Everglades Foundation has indicated that it could take up to 15 years before the St. Lucie River and Indian River Lagoon see "a tremendous amount of benefit" from the deal.
And the $1.8 billion that will make this happen? Well, that money likely will come from property tax dollars already bonded as payments under the Everglades Restoration Act. Hmm, no wonder U.S. Sugar joined environmental groups in lobbying the state Legislature this year to keep money for the Everglades in the budget. Mind you, I don't care a whit for their reasoning as long as this deal ultimately rectifies all of the harm caused by 50 years of stupidity. But it makes you wonder what U.S. Sugar knows, what caused them to suddenly throw in their lucrative towel, after decades of obstinance.
A friend asked me what would happen to the Lake Okeechobee water level when the flow way is opened up and the lake is allowed to naturally discharge into the Everglades. Would it's level be drastically reduced, or even drain itself empty? The one-word answer is -- no. The flow way will be a vegetative sieve, a vast, living retention filter that will slowly meter effluent into the Everglades ecosystem. And don't forget that those billions of gallons of lake water annually discharged into the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie Rivers will be nothing more than a bad memory.
It's in the blood
As a card-carrying, dues-paying Upstater, B2 was raised in a conservation-minded environment. We were taught to respect the land and all the rest of God's abundant natural gifts, so much so that to this day you rarely see even one piece of paper along our Upstate roadsides. Heck, we'll even stop our vehicles to pick up any such litter.
Which is why after all of these years in Florida, respecting the land, appreciating its natural glory, and doing my part for its conservation, this week's news is, to me, very nearly a miracle.
I won't live to see it, but God willing maybe the old St. Lucie has some life in her yet.