Posted on 06/23/2002 6:08:28 PM PDT by paltz
MIAMI – The Miccosukee Indian tribe bought advertisements in Florida newspapers and the Washington Post this weekend defending the purchase of several hundred acres of environmentally sensitive land.
Environmentalists and water managers say the purchase could interfere with Everglades restoration.
The purchase of 223 acres of land between a Miami-Dade urban area and the Everglades for an estimated $8.4 million has caused South Florida Water Management District officials to wonder if the tribe is for them or against them.
The district wants the land to reduce water loss from Everglades National Park, provide more flood protection to the urban area and help urban water supplies.
The district has been buying other land in the area, and now owns 928 acres at a cost of $11.2 million.
"It's a significant element of the puzzle," said Max Day, a district engineer.
But the Miccosukees say the parcel of land will "serve as a storage dump for waste and pollution." The tribe said they would use it for clean water only.
The advertisements object to the district's questions about its motives and says accusations that the tribe is an obstacle to the $8.4 Everglades restoration project are false. The Miccosukees point out that the Everglades is their home.
The advertisement goes beyond the land purchase accusing the district of being an inept bureaucracy that is using faulty logic for restoring the Everglades.
'You Don't Have the Slightest Idea'
"Tread lightly ... we are watching," said the ad, signed by tribal Chairman Billy Cypress. "We will make sure you do your job, even though it's quite obvious you don't have the slightest idea how to do it. We will not let you continue to pollute our homes or flood our homes or neighbors. We will reach out to our neighbors and friends and tell them the truth."
District Executive Director Henry Dean said he planned to meet with tribal leaders soon.
The district said it was already trying to beat developers to the land and now fears it will have to compete for it against the builders and the tribe. Self-styled environmentalists shared those fears.
Enviros Miffed
"This is one of the projects where people that are traditionally fighting can come together and say this is something that will benefit everybody," said Erin Deady, an attorney for Audubon of Florida.
"There's reason for everybody to be concerned," she said.
"It's just very disturbing to know they bought up a couple hundred acres of land right in the middle of a restoration footprint," said Pamela MacKie, land acquisition director for the district. "They know we're trying to acquire it. I'd like to think they're buying it altruistically, to help the Everglades."
There is a suggestion in the advertisement the tribe might have bought the land as a bargaining chip to get what it wants. The Miccosukees have gone to court several times to challenge restoration efforts they say will have a negative impact.
Media Bias
The advertisement was critical of the Miami Herald and what the tribe views as the newspaper's support for the water management district. Officials said the Herald asked for changes in the advertisement, and the tribe decided not to run it in the newspaper.
Copyright 2002 by United Press International.
All rights reserved.
Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:
A product that might interest you:
Liberals’ blame-America-first stances - in their own words!
That's $12,068.00 per acre my friends...
The purchase of 223 acres of land between a Miami-Dade urban area and the Everglades for an estimated $8.4 million
That's $37,666.00 per acre my friends...
It's late and many beers...but let me know if my math is wrong.
FMCDH
I was down in Panama about three years ago, when a hot issue was the fact that the Indians continued to eat sea turtle and their eggs and dump waste into the Carribean, while other Panamanians were expected to live according to enviro regualtions.
Miccosukees brave men.
Scalp the lot.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.