Stuart environmentalist proposing using U.S. Sugar's Everglades property as 'restoration reserve'

http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2009/feb/28/stuart-environmentalist-proposing-using-us-sugars-/?partner=yahoo_headlines

TC Palm
By Tyler Treadway
Originally published February 28, 2009

If the purchase of 180,000 acres of sugarcane between Lake Okeechobee and the Everglades goes through as planned, the restored “River of Grass” will recharge groundwater systems, reduce phosphorous pollution and save the St. Lucie River estuary from disastrous discharges.

Since summer, the South Florida Water Management District has been negotiating what’s become a $1.34 billion deal with U.S. Sugar Corp. to buy the firm’s land in order to save what’s left of the Everglades; but Karl Wickstrom of Stuart says we might as well kayak and canoe, fish and bird-watch there, too.

Wickstrom, publisher of Florida Angler magazine and a leader of the Rivers Coalition, is proposing a “restoration reserve” he said would “attract birders from throughout our country and from all over the world. It would have some of the best kayaking trails in Florida, as well as some of the best freshwater fishing.”

Parts of the reserve also could be dedicated to more intensive park activities: baseball diamonds, soccer fields, tennis courts and picnic areas.

Wickstrom said the cost of implementing his vision “will depend on what we do and how we do it.”

Noting that the cost of land usually is the biggest hold-up in preservation efforts, Wickstrom said, “We’re in an extraordinary situation: We’ll already have the land. ... As much as possible, I think the reserve should be self-sustaining.”

Visitors would need places to eat and places to sleep, as well as concessionaires to rent kayaks and guide anglers and birders, Wickstrom said, all generating revenue for the reserve and surrounding communities.

Kirk Fordham, chief operating officer of the Everglades Foundation, said his group is in favor of “any proposal that would make the Everglades ecosystem more accessible. The whole purpose of the restoration is not just creating water supply and saving endangered species, but bringing natural resources back to the people.”

Melissa Meeker of Stuart, the Treasure Coast representative on the water district’s governing board, said the organization “definitely (is) looking at getting some eco-tourism and green-friendly business opportunities, as well as some sustainable agriculture, into the mix.”

Meeker added that whatever recreational facilities are developed will depend on the project’s “footprint” after the sale and any land swaps with other sugar interests.

RESTORATION SOFTWARE

• To learn more about the land purchase, including upcoming planning workshops, go to www.sfwmd.gov and click on “Reviving the River of Grass.”

• For more about Karl Wickstrom’s proposal, go to www.riverscoalition.org and click on “Coalition Endorses Restoration Reserve.”