Replies

I beg to differ. The sawgrassrebellion.org website, had a tremendous amount of letters, and other written material regarding the 8.5 square mile area and also about alternative D6.

A pile of letters on a website isn't making a clear environmental case. They didn't make the case understandable to the public. They weren't effective at getting that message into the popular media.

There were requests to contact Senator Grahams office and other House and Senate members. regarding Alternative D6.

So what? That isn't going to compel a Sentor when there are multi-billion dollar investors with a stake in the outcome.

Also links to Property Rights Acition Committee website which mirrored the same info on the Sawgrass website.

You need to learn more about how the opposition works.

There were posts almost on a daily basis on freerepublic from Mid August through mid October regarding Everglades restoration , the 8.5 square mile area, and alternative D6. Not to mention the updates on the Sawgrass Rebellion itself.

As if I wasn't reading them; I was way ahead of you. From the beginning, when this first went down, I was on the phone to Henry Lamb telling him to make this case or he would lose. I told that to GB Oliver at Paragon too. They didn't. The entire project was an organizational nightmare.

As I used to end my posts then and again now

Coming soon to a neighborhood near you.

Coming? LOL! You have no clue. It started here over thirty years ago.

Hi all,

This post was sent to me via the PFUSA list that Kathy Van Tuyl maintains. There are a couple of things perhaps that we should consider more carefully.

#1 - The 8.5 mile area has several competing interests. The Cuban population is less than cohesive, with three identifiable groups with three different agendas. Then there is Madeline Fortin and her small group, with an ill-defined agenda that infuriates the other three. As a Norte-Americano, Madeline is unable to communicate with the other groups and has managed to alienate herself from the Miccosukee(sp?) Tribe (yet another interest) as well. Madeline is a hard-core hard-nosed uncompromising property rights activist who is less than accomodating of other people's views. She has the right credentials, the right principles, guts, intelligence, and all the qualities we admire, but she is politically and socially naive. Cuban and tribal interests are equally naive. They rely entirely upon a politically well connected attorney to manage their affairs. The cards in this game are held by a small group of Homestead bankers, outlying property owners/speculators, and of course, gang green. Unless and until the people of the 8.5 square mile area are able to sit down and resolve their differences and get on a single sheet of music, they will lose just as sure as God made little green apples. There's a valuable lesson here for the rest of us.

#2 - On the western side of the Everglades, in Collier County sits another group who, unlike the 8.5 square mile people, have managed to get their act together and are making positive things happen. I'm talking about the Golden Gate Estate people and their PRAC (Property Rights Action Committee). They've managed to hang together without shooting themselves in the foot. They've managed to get involved in their local political arena, have done their homework and are relatively united in terms of picking a course of action and sticking to it. They seem to work together.

Dade County (8.5 mile area) and Collier County (PRAC) do not communicate with each other. They're separated by distance, entirely different culturally, distrustful of each other, and parochial in their views. Further, the recreational groups in both Collier and Dade are unable to support the agendas of either, without cutting their own throats. The various alternatives posed by the restoration plan were, intentionally or unintentionally, devised precluding any meaningful alliance between property owners and access interests.

Agriculture, essentially non-existent in Collier County, is all but dysfunctional. Comprised primarily of small nursery operators, the industry neither has a connection with the land nor any particular interest in their communities. Dade County Farm Bureau for example, is controlled by a nitwit with lots of money, but no discernable brain matter. The typical leadership that we'd expect from Farm Bureau or other ag interests, does not exist. Even the state Farm Bureau Federation disowns them.

A small group of recreational groups meets regularly and has some talented people who look out for their interests, but are unwilling to provide leadership outside of their special interests. There are a few individual exceptions, but generally, the recreational groups have their hands full with their own problems and won't get into the dirty politics of property rights.

It's easy to criticize the Sawgrass Rebellion's effort mounted by Paragon, Lamb and others. It's not so easy however, to make sense out of the realities of south Florida. There are snakes and alligators in that swamp, and until you've experienced it, it's hard to imagine what could be done different.

As outsiders, all we can do is watch and give encouragement. There are no reasonable alternatives on the table. There is no discernable plan to follow. There is no political leadership. There are no solutions. There is only the swamp, with a few hardy souls who chose to call it home and of course, an army of bureaucrats who use it to support their coastal lifestyles and gated communities.

Individual freedoms and liberties, I'm afraid, are going to be severely compromised in this part of Florida. When approachd to have a rally in Dade County for example, the local Cubans were afraid of being arrested. Others, would not participate because a parade permit was not obtained. In Florida, permitting is required for a yard sale. Yet others, were intimidated by the greenies who had labeled us as "militia."

Hopefully, out of this mess, someone will rise to assume leadership and put together a clear and consise message that others will follow. If not, then on your next visit to the People's Republic of South Florida ... stop by and say hi to Madeline, Bill Lohta, and those who will remain to fight ... they're great people.

Larry