Florida's plans to purchase nearly 300 square miles of land for Everglades restoration may face some significant challenges, according to skeptics.
"Even as most environmentalists here continue to cheer about the acquisition, skeptics have identified complications that they fear will keep the Everglades from being saved. The state, say some hydrologists, federal officials and environmentalists, has bet a huge sum on oft-fertilized farmland that could take at least a decade and billions of dollars to rehabilitate."
"In short, a rescue plan with more land faces more of the same limitations that have undermined Everglades restoration efforts since the '80s: too much human impact and too little money."
"The most immediate concerns center on geography, pollution and cost."
"State officials have described the property, now owned by United States Sugar, as a "missing link" between Lake Okeechobee and Everglades National Park, but maps of the area make it look more like the video game Tetris. To create a continuous water flow south, state officials have said they would swap land with Florida Crystals, a major sugar producer in the area."
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