With environmental spending under fire in Tallahassee and Washington, a survey Monday showed two-thirds of Floridians support Everglades restoration, with a majority also opposed to reducing dollars flowing to the effort.

The Everglades Foundation released the survey, saying it supports the organization’s push for state lawmakers to steer clear of Gov. Rick Scott’s proposal to reduce restoration funding from $50 million to $17 million. Scott also wants water managers, including the South Florida Water Management District, to reduce property taxes by 25 percent, which environmentalists say could further drain dollars needed for Everglades work.

“Our message to the governor is that he can partner with the conservation community to create jobs and protect our water supply at the same time,” said Kirk Fordham, the foundation’s chief executive officer. “If we want to grow that supply of fresh water, the only solution out there is Everglades restoration.”

President Obama’s budget blueprint increases spending on restoration. But the Republican-led U.S. House has proposed sharp cuts in environmental programs and funding for the Army Corps of Engineers, which is responsible for much of the Everglades work.

The Everglades survey was conducted by the Tarrance Group, which does polling for Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, other Republican senators, and GOP members of the Florida congressional delegation.

The survey showed that 84 percent of voters rank maintaining Florida’s fresh water drinking supply as “very important.”  Seventy-nine percent agreed that to attract new business and industries to the state, access to a stable water supply is necessary.

The survey of 607 voters was taken Feb. 13-14. It has a 4.1 percent margin-of-error.

Fresh off vacation, Palm Beach County Commission Chairman Burt Aaronson said a casino might be just the boost the embattled Glades region needs.

“It is something to think about,” he said.

Aaronson, a cruise maven and tourism booster, also said the county should do more to help bring slots to the Palm Beach Kennel Club. The club, he said, has been at a “disadvantage” since state lawmakers allowed Broward’s parimutuel facilities to have slots. (more…)

Florida counties are suggesting something that sounds like a scarlet letter to warn innocents away from households with scary serpents.

It’s the latest twist in the tale of the python-induced paranoia that’s wound up with bounty hunters seeking the critters in throughout Palm Beach County on lands abutting the Everglades.

The July 1 death of a two-year-old girl who was strangled by a pet python in Central Florida set off demands for an open-season on the snakes, which have overrun the national park. Gov. Charlie Crist gladly complied and ordered the bounty hunt for the pests last week. (U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, a Democrat, has had the Burmese python infestation in his sights for some time).

Now, the Florida Association of Counties wants state wildlife officials to give them more control over dangerous animals. The association sent a letter to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission last week asking them to let counties notify neighbors where perilous pythons and other classified creatures reside.

Perhaps the counties have something like the sex offender registry on the Internet where neighbors can see where perpetrators live.

Will the pythons be forced to take up residence under bridges like sex offenders banned from living near schools, parks or other places where children congregate?

A python posse armed with clubs and machetes will start combing the Everglades for the supersized serpents this weekend.

Gov. Charlie Crist ordered the python bounty hunt Wednesday at the urging of two Florida congressmen who were in an uproar after one of the exotic snakes strangled a 2-year-old girl July 1 near Ocala.

That python was a pet and didn’t live in the Everglades. But the case called new attention to the plague of the oversized reptiles that have spread throughout South Florida’s marshes, gobbling wading birds and posing a danger to native wildlife.

Estimates of the python population in the Everglades range between 10,000 and 150,000. They can reach up to 20 feet in length and have long, curved teeth, along with the ability to squeeze their prey to death.

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U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney has filed a bill to blacklist Burmese pythons and other unwelcome animal immigrants from entering the country.

The Tequesta Republican has joined the movement, led by Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, to rid the River of Grass of the perilous pests after a pet python strangled to death a two-year-old Florida girl.

About 150,000 pythons, not native to Florida, have taken up residence in the Everglades, threatening other endangered wildlife there, including Florida panthers and wood storks.

Rooney’s backing two bills to crack down on bringing invasive animals into the country.

One McCarthy-esque proposal would create a black list of nonnative species would create a black list of nonnative species barred from being brought into the United States and a green list of creatures that would be welcome.
The other would add Burmese pythons to the list of dangerous animals, similar to a measure Nelson filed several months ago.

Rooney’s hunting proposal is similar to a Nelson made today asking U.S. Department of the Interior Ken Salazar to approve a python-killing season in the ‘Glades to rid the national treasure of the invaders.

Read Rooney’s press release here.

U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson is asking federal officials for a posse.

A python posse, that is.

Nelson sent a letter to U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar asking him to approve a python-kill because the slithering beasts are taking over the River of Grass.

Nelson earlier this year introduced a bill to ban imports of Burmese pythons and classifying them as “injurious animals.”

Two weeks ago, a pet python strangled to death a two-year-old Florida girl, creating an uproar about the invasive predators.

Officials “need to get a grip on pythons invading America’s Everglades,” Nelson wrote.

“They are threatening endangered wildlife there – and, Lord forbid, a visitor in the Everglades ever encounters one,” he wrote.

Nelson’s proposing an organized hunt to diminish the ever-growing python population in the ‘Glades. The posse could consist of park rangers or deputies and volunteers, Nelson suggested.

Read Nelson’s letter after the jump.

Fatal python attack

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A pet Burmese python broke out of a glass cage last week and strangled to death a 2-year-old girl in her Florida bedroom.

The tragedy was the latest and most graphic example of a problem that has plagued the state for more than a decade: a nonnative species that is wreaking havoc in the Everglades, threatening the environment, native wildlife and people.

“It’s just a matter of time before one of these snakes gets to a visitor in the Florida Everglades,” said Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla.

Nelson has introduced a bill to ban imports of the snakes, after years of trying to persuade federal wildlife officials to restrict their entry into the country. (more…)

Environmentalists say Gov. Charlie Crist’s latest deal to buy U.S. Sugar land is better than nothing, but Post staff writer Paul Quinlan reports that some South Florida Water District leaders think the latest proposal is still too costly.

So sweeping were today’s criticisms that they provoked a sharp ultimatum from U.S. Sugar Corp.

“This latest rendition is the last and only chance to complete this transaction,” U.S. Sugar senior vice president Robert Coker said in a news release immediately afterward.

Read the rest of the story here.

Listen to the press conference here
(Questions for Crist start at the 16:40 mark.)

New deal with U.S. Sugar:
• The price: $533 million, down from $1.34 billion
• The land: 72,500 acres south and west of Lake Okeechobee, down from 180,000 acres
• Other terms: The state has 10 years to decide whether to buy the remaining 107,500 acres. Through 2012, the state can match anyone else’s offer to purchase U.S. Sugar land between the Miami Canal and U.S. 27.
• Closing Date: Sept. 25

Reactions:
State Rep. Denise Grimsley, R-Lake Placid: “It’s a much better deal. It gives the company time to decide what their direction is and residents time to plan. It was the not knowing that was the scariest thing for the residents.”

Florida Crystals Vice President Gaston Cantens: “The issue is whether or not the governor is going to be able to get the flow-way. How will he acquire it? We own the land he needs for the flow-way. … It doesn’t appear they will have the money to buy more.”

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Gov. Charlie Crist this morning confirmed details we reported last week (here and here) that he’s hoping to buy 75,000 acres from U.S. Sugar for Everglades restoration instead of 180,000. He said he could announce details as soon as tomorrow or Thursday.

“My goal is to be able to hit the sweet spot, no pun intended, and really target in on the acreage that’s important to be able to be successful in reconnecting the lake to Florida Bay, to the Everglades and then maintain an opportunity to expand on it when the economy turns around,” Crist said today.

“I think we’re on the path to that. But we should be able to let you know tomorrow or Thursday for sure.”

With property values dropping and taking property tax collections along for the ride, there has been a lot of speculation on what that would mean for Gov. Charlie Crist’s plan to buy U.S. Sugar.

Crist acknowledged this afternoon that the deal is in fact being modified.

“The facts have changed, the economy is what it is,” Crist said.

“And I think we all need to be cognizant of those factors, whether it relates to the Everglades preservation deal or any other fact. And we may have news for you on that front in a few days.”

Read the story here.

A meeting of the Joint Legislative Committee on Everglades Oversight was canceled this afternoon when several members were late arriving. The panel was supposed to hear an update on Gov. Charlie Crist’s plan to buyout U.S. Sugar, but sounds like there was going to be little news committed.

Ernie Barnett, the director of policy for the SoFla Water Management District, said after the meeting was canceled that discussions are ongoing to modify the deal, but there was little he could say about it publicly.

Florida Environmental Protection Department Secretary Mike Sole said in an interview that “not a day goes by” without him hearing from or speaking to folks at Florida Crystals, which may be looking to become a partner in the deal.

“We’re continuously looking for ways to make sure this deal works,” Sole said. “The governor’s vision has been very clear in trying to acquire as much Sugar land, as much of this property as we can to get that connection. We’ve always said – always said – that we don’t need all the acres.

“We’re working everyday to make sure this thing works.”

Former Miami Herald reporter Gary Fineout launched a new blog today, The Fine Print, which he says will offer “plain-spoken analysis” of state politics and policy.
In his first post, he dissects Gov. Charlie Crist’s budget proposal, pointing out this “sweetener for U.S. Sugar deal.”

Crist has included $5 million in his economic development funding recommendations to be used for “areas impacted by the South Florida Water Management District’s acquisition of land from the U.S. Sugar Corporation. Impacted areas include Hendry and Glades County and the communities of Belle Glade, South Bay and Pahokee.

Despite his opposition to Gov. Charlie Crist’s deal to buy U.S. Sugar, Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, could benefit if the deal goes through and causes the estimated 10,000 job losses.
“I own the unemployment office so I’m probably going to be in good shape,” Bennett joked during the Senate Community Affairs Committee meeting today.
Bennett said after the meeting that he has owned the building that houses the unemployment office for 15 years.

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The Post’s Paul Quinlan tees up the Tuesday deadline for the South Florida Water Management District to decide whether to pay $1.34 billion for 180,000 acres in the Everglades.

But critics, including (former Gov. Bob) Graham, question whether the state is paying too much – potentially burying itself in debt and rendering the billion-dollar deal yet another in a long line of stalled restoration efforts.

Among the problems Graham cites: No federal help, despite an 8-year-old agreement to split Everglades restoration costs evenly between the state and the feds. Appraisals that suggest the state is overpaying by as much as $400 million. Terms that allow U.S. Sugar to lease back the land at a quarter of the going rate.

Also today, the Post’s editorial board gives a run down of all the players in the deal and concludes that water district managers should call U.S. Sugar’s bluff and walk away from the offer.

Tuesday’s arbitrary deadline is itself a deal-breaker. Is U.S. Sugar really prepared to shun the water district, with its billion-dollar financing capability, if the board defers? Or is the company afraid that more time means more scrutiny of U.S. Sugar’s finances, which could drive down the price?

Also, be sure to click on the picture above and check out staff artist Brendan King’s map that overlays the proposed ‘flow way’ on the land parcels owned by U.S. Sugar and Florida Crystals.

The Post’s Paul Quinlan writes today that anxiety is increasing in the Everglades over what will happen to 1,700 local jobs if the state buys up the U.S. Sugar cane fields.

“Charlie Crist’s determination to get this deal done no matter what the cost includes the cost of losing jobs in the Glades community,” said Clewiston Mayor Mali Chamness. “Even though he says he’s committed to job preservation, I have not seen any evidence of that.”

State Sen. J.D. Alexander tells Quinlan, “Quite frankly, until the governor tells the people of Florida what he’s thinking about, it doesn’t mean near as much.”

“I’d walk on glass not to lose jobs,” said Alexander, R-Lake Wales.

Story today from the Post’s Susan Salibury:

A Tennessee-based farming company today announced a hostile bid to buy out U.S. Sugar Corp., potentially throwing an enormous wrench into the state’s plans to purchase the sugar giant’s farming empire to save the Everglades.

The private buyout offer comes just weeks before Gov. Charlie Crist’s water managers may be about to vote on a contract with U.S. Sugar. But it also arrives at a moment when the state’s deal is facing considerable flux: For example, water managers aren’t sure how much of the land they would actually need to restore the Everglades.

Meanwhile, a recently released analysis by a New York-based financial expert suggests that the state’s suggested price may be $400 million too high. And U.S. Sugar executives have announced a venture to build one of the world’s largest ethanol plants in Clewiston, even after selling all its farmland to the state.

Sen. J.D. Alexander, a Lake Wales Republican and chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, sent this letter to Gov. Charlie Crist today noting his concern over the governor’s plan to spend $1.7 billion to buy 187,000 acres of U.S. Sugar land south of Lake Okeechobee.

For all of the potential positive impacts this deal may have on Florida’s environment, it will have drastic consequences both to Florida’s agricultural economy and communities throughout South Central Florida. We must keep as much surplus lands agriculturally active in order to preserve our farmland and farming jobs.

Therefore, I cannot support this acquisition without a commitment from you to the people of Florida, and especially to the communities in rural Florida, that every effort will be made to protect their jobs.

Howard Melamed, CEO of Coral Springs-based CellAntenna, said today that he wants in on Gov. Charlie Crist’s Everglades deal.

The newly published author issued a press release this afternoon saying he wants to lease some of the 187,000 acres of U.S. Sugar land from the state for between $120 million and $150 million over 30 years and use the land to produce ethanol.

(more…)

SFWMD managers this morning approved as much as $7 million in spending for appraisals, environmental studies and other steps needed to make Gov. Charlie Crist’s $1.7 billion buyout of U.S. Sugar Corp happen.

Including the costs of borrowing the money, the final payments for the purchase are expected to exceed $3.5 billion in the next 30 years.

That doesn’t include the costs of the expected next step – working out land swaps or other transactions to acquire property from the state’s other major sugar grower, West Palm Beach-based Florida Crystals Corp.

Read more from Jennifer Sorentrue here.