Florida Will Buy 20,000 Acres Of Everglades Wetlands To Protect From Oil Drilling

Jan 20, 2020 by apost team

There are an additional twenty thousand acres of Florida Everglades wetland protected thanks to the State of Florida, which recently reached a deal to purchase the land. Florida governor Ron DeSantis worked with government officials, the owners, and the stakeholders in an oil project to make a deal to ensure the land would be spared from destructive drilling.

As reported by The Miami Herald, the acreage in question was going to be the site of a new drilling operation, owned by a family that bought it specifically for that purpose. With regulations regarding oil drilling being lifted, the land is now legally able to be drilled. However, both the state, state government, and various environmental organizations realize the potential for damage to both the environment and the human population in the area that would follow any drilling.

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This purchase made with the real estate firm run by the family that owns the land would prevent the oil drilling from happening. While the family has owned the piece of land for over fifty years, they have never been able to drill on it. That changed this year following a court battle between the family and the Florida EPA, resulting in those permits for drilling to be granted to the family, the Miami Herald pointed out.

The family maintains that it intended to drill with special attention being given to the conservation of the surrounding area, but oil drilling of any kind and with any degree of care comes with risks. The only way to effectively guarantee minimal impact on the area would be to eliminate drilling the land altogether.

Because of the legal rights to drill on the land that the owners had, the state had to negotiate with them to come to an agreed amount for the sale of the land. The $16.5 million price tag was competitive in order to entice the family to the sale and loss of revenue that they expected to generate by drilling.

Now that the state owns the land, they can designate it as protected land so that no one is ever able to drill on it. This also means that several species native to Florida and the Everglades will see their habitats secured, CNN reports.

Environmental groups, such as the Sierra Club, and citizens living and working in the area are in general pleased with the outcome of the purchase, believing that the land is meant to be protected. Governor DeSantis has worked diligently to protect the states natural areas, passing budgets that allow money for restoration and further protection for the Everglades to happen, CNN continues.

As there is additional Everglades land in Florida that is privately owned and at risk of development, there is still worry over onshore drilling that the Tampa Bay Times reported on in 2019.

Do you think the state and federal government should be doing everything it can to protect and conserve natural areas like the Everglades? Tell us about your thoughts in the space below and send links about this to your friends and family who care about the environment.