Page 5 - Eve Samples News Today

"Maggy’s impact on Florida’s conservation movement cannot be overstated," said Eve Samples, Executive Director of the Friends of the Everglades

The struggle over control of Lake Okeechobee water took center stage on the floor of the State Senate in Tallahassee on Thursday.

The money will go toward funding projects in the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, a Florida law passed in 2000 that consists of 68 different projects that will cost a total of $23 billion.

Biden’s Infrastructure Bill Includes an Unprecedented $1.1 Billion for Everglades Revitalization

Half lost to farms and cities, the Everglades has suffered from the disruption of the natural flow of water by canals, levees and roads. Although a restoration plan focuses on the Everglades’ sawgrass-dominated core, projects attempt to improve habitat along the coasts and on the fringes of the Everglades.

Everglades restoration advocates face a new concern — and it’s a custody battle — as the U.S. Army Corps puts the final touches on the Lake Okeechobee System Operating Manual,

More than a year after Miami-Dade County, Fla., commissioners approved a project to allow general aviation use of Homestead Air Reserve Base, there is still no final answer from the U.S. Air Force.

The Monroe County Commission has adopted a resolution opposing non-military aviation uses at the Homestead Air Reserve Base and asking the U.S. Air Force to uphold its 2001 decision that

Right now, it's burn season for farmers around the state, meaning you might see more plumes of smoke as farmers, like sugarcane farmers, prepare for harvest.

Environmentalists say the change to the Lake Okeechobee plan benefits the sugar industry at the expense of both the Everglades and the coastal communities that suffer from periodic plagues of pea-green algae. The Army Corps of Engineers calls the provision a sensible measure that makes sure there’s enough water for all sides, from farms to cities to the Everglades.