2024-04-22 21:16:42
Gov. Ron DeSantis has committed to authorizing $1.5 billion in next fiscal year’s budget for Everglades restoration and water quality improvement projects — an effort to preserve the cherished southern portion of the peninsula, dubbed the River of Grass.
The governor has yet to sign the Florida legislature’s state budget for the fiscal year that begins this July 1, but he pledged his support during a Monday press conference for several projects that address the state of the Everglades and water quality across the state.
On Earth Day, the governor also touted the amount of money he’s invested in those areas — he claims up to $6.5 billion since taking office in 2019.
“That’s more than any period in the entire history of the state of Florida, even adjusted for inflation,” DeSantis said Monday during a press conference in West Palm Beach.
The governor’s office provided Florida Phoenix with a one-page spread detailing some of the projects comprising the $1.5 billion sum discussed by DeSantis on Monday. The one-pager includes $850 million for Everglades restoration projects.
The bulk of that pot, $614 million, will go to the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) and the Everglades Agricultural Area Reservoir, according to the one-pager.
“You’re going to see it as a lasting legacy with the things that are going to go into preserving Florida’s natural resources. At the end of the day, my view is that as Floridians, as Americans, we want to utilize natural resources. We want natural resources enjoy,” DeSantis said. “It’s great that people make trips to Florida every year to fish, or to boat, or to enjoy our beaches.”
He continued, “What we’ve done over the last five plus years is really ensure that we leave the state of Florida to the next generation better than we found it.”
DeSantis also highlighted water quality improvement projects that will cost $530 million, including $135 million reserved for a grant program aimed at reducing harmful nutrients in waterways. Another $100 million would be for the support and health of the Indian River Lagoon, according to the one-pager. And Biscayne Bay and Caloosahatchee Estuary will receive $45 million.
The governor seems to be leaning on Everglades restoration as part of his legacy. Before turning to culture wars, DeSantis began his tenure as governor with an emphasis on environmental issues. In fact, his first press conference following suspending his presidential campaign focused on his record on the environment.
But for Matthew Schwartz, the executive director of the South Florida Wildlands Association, the governor’s numbers are not impressive, he told the Phoenix in a phone interview. Schwartz sees wetlands, which are areas that are completely covered by water for at least part of the year, as critical to restoring the Everglades.
“It’s very easy to say we’re pumping money into a degraded ecosystem,” he said. “But unless you can explain how that plumbing and infrastructure is going to fundamentally change the problem and solve the problem — and why it’s better than using the same money to acquire the farmland south of Lake Okeechobee — then I’m not going to accept it .”
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