Letter to Governor Scott: Complete the purchase of U.S. Sugar lands before the exclusive option expires next month

September 23, 2013

Office of Governor Rick Scott
State of Florida
The Capitol
400 S. Monroe St.
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001

Dear Governor Scott,

On behalf of afflicted coastal residents, South Florida taxpayers and millions of people whose drinking water depends on a restored Everglades, we call on the State of Florida to complete the purchase of up to 153,000 acres of U.S. Sugar lands before the exclusive option expires next month.

Five years ago, the South Florida Water Management District announced it would purchase 187,000 acres of U.S. Sugar’s land south of Lake Okeechobee to restore clean water to the Everglades and provide relief to coastal estuaries. On October 12, 2010, the District closed on a contract to purchase 26,800 acres of land for $197 million, while retaining a three-year exclusive option for the rest.

The state’s exclusive 3-year option -- to purchase either a specifically identified 46,800 acres or the entire 153,000 acres at a fixed price of $7,400 per acre -- will expire next month forcing the state to pay market prices for the land and compete with other buyers.

On November 18, 2010, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that the U.S. Sugar purchase “serves the public purpose of conserving and protecting water and water-related resources.”

Never before has that public purpose been more evident. Coastal estuaries served by the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie Rivers are collapsing along with their local economies. While short-term solutions can provide limited relief, the permanent solution is to send more water south to the Everglades by buying more sugar land to store, clean and eventually flow water south.

The purchase of U.S. Sugar lands before October 12, 2013, represents the most cost-efficient method for storing, treating and moving water south. We strongly urge you to make the investment in Florida’s future at a price that may never come again.

Sincerely,

Frank Jackalone

Senior Staff Manager

Sierra Club

Jennifer Hecker

Director of Natural Resource Policy

Conservancy of Southwest Florida

Manley Fuller

President and CEO

Florida Wildlife Federation

Mark Perry

Executive Director

Florida Oceanographic Society

Rae Ann Wessel

Natural Resource Policy Director

Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation

Kathleen E. Aterno

Florida Director

Clean Water Action

Katie Tripp, Ph.D.

Director of Science and Conservation

Save the Manatee Club

Sandy Gilbert

Chairman

START

(Solutions To Avoid Red Tide)

Michael J. Holsinger

Holsinger Horticultural Services

Russ Hoffman

Beautiful Ponds

Carol Leonard

Board of Directors

Coastal Wildlife Club, Inc.

Terry Brant

Legislative/Legal Affairs Chairman

Florida Water Conservation Trust

American Health Trust

Island Aeromarine Services

Linda Young

Florida Clean Water Network

Burton Eno PhD, PE (ret)

President

Rainbow River Conservation, Inc.

Donna Melzer

Martin County Conservation Alliance

Dan Hilliard

Director

W.A.R., Inc.

Kings Bay Springs Alliance

Peter Anderson

Chairman, President and CEO

REEF RELIEF

Karen Fraley, CIG

Sarasota Bay Guardians Coordinator

Manager/Naturalist

Around the Bend Nature Tours LLC

John McCabe

President

Ding Darling Wildlife Society

Alexis Segal

Executive Director

Biscayne Bay Waterkeeper

Mike Chenoweth

President

Florida Division of the

Izaak Walton League of America

Florida Keys Chapter of the

Izaak Walton League of America

Pamela Pierce

Cypress Chapter of the

Izaak Walton League of America

Michael Orchin

Cape Coral Friends of Wildlife

Laurie Macdonald

Director, Florida Programs Defenders of Wildlife

Matthew Schwartz

Executive Director

South Florida Wildlands Association

John Marshall

Chairman

Arthur R. Marshall Foundation

Alan Farago

President

Friends of the Everglades

Karja Hansen

President

Urban Environment League

Charles Pattison

1000 Friends of Florida

John Adornato III

Sun Coast Regional Director

National Parks Conservation Association

Debbie Matthews

Sierra Club Florida

Elinor Williams

President

Friends of Arthur R. Marshall

Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge 

Steve Brodkin

President

Concerned Citizens of

Bayshore Community, Inc.

Charles Sobczak

Lee Reefs