Under a tentative agreement reached on June 24th, U.S. Sugar Corp., the nation’s largest producer of cane sugar, would go out of business in a $1.75 billion deal to sell its nearly 300 square miles of land to Florida for Everglades restoration, the company and the state’s governor said Tuesday. Under the deal, the state of Florida would buy U.S. Sugar’s holdings in the Everglades south of Lake Okeechobee, the virtual heart of the ecosystem. Negotiations are still ongoing, but officials hope to sign an agreement by September. If the proposed deal is consummated, U.S. Sugar would be allowed to farm the 187,000 acres of land for six more years before shuttering its business. A $1.75 billion tentative agreement is as one of the biggest conservation initiatives ever.
The 300-square-mile tract of the Everglades would be returned to its natural state, as part of an attempt to undo ecological damages caused by decades of pollution and encroaching development. The Florida Everglades is one of the largest wetlands in the world. The Everglades are the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States, and it is home to rare and endangered species, such as the American crocodile and the Florida panther.
As part of the proposal, U.S. Sugar would operate for six more years, then go out of business and allow its 187,000 acres, refinery and other assets to be taken over by the state. Florida wants the property to return to its natural state as part of a plan to clean up the famed “River of Grass.”
Posted by: Attorney Sanders
Categories:
wetlands