Florida to convert sugar lands to wetlands

by Shawn Schuster
Jun 24th 2008 @ 7:02PM

Filed under: Climate Change

The State of Florida has recently announced its plans to spend $1.75 billion in a purchase of up to 300 square miles of Everglades from US Sugar Corp., the nation's largest producer of cane sugar. The state plans to eventually restore this land to its original natural wetland state.

There are some hitches, of course. Number one, the deal still only exists as a statement of principles, as the final details will be worked out within 75 days. Plus, US Sugar Corp. will continue to farm the land for six more years until they go out of business, as planned. Currently, there are a total of 250,000 acres under cultivation by other companies. So while this may not sound like the most ideal plan, Florida Governor Charlie Crist sees it as monumental as the creation of Yellowstone Park and represent "the largest conservation purchase in the history of the state of Florida."

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