River of Grass Coalition
Join the effort to secure U.S. Sugar Corp. land today to ensure South Florida’s economic security, continued access to a clean water supply and environmental benefits.
South Florida's ecology is continuously shaped by extremes of drought and flood that have been worsened by ecologically insensitive wetlands drainage.
Affected Industries
Real Estate
Real Estate
Quality of life and access to water are key components in making the Florida lifestyle attractive to residents and would-be residents. Florida’s growth continues to be linked to the number of people moving to the state, buying real estate, consuming goods and services and paying taxes. The Everglades watershed (the 16 counties that comprise the Everglades watershed run from the Orlando area down to the Florida Keys) accommodates about 7 million residents and water supply sources are already pushed to the lim...Read more.
Boating
Boating
Boating ranks among the most popular of recreational activities in the state of Florida. With 10,000 miles of streams and rivers and nearly 8,500 miles of tidal coastline, many residents spend their leisure time on the water. The Everglades watershed (the 16 counties that comprise the Everglades watershed run from the Orlando area down to the Florida Keys) accounts for 45 percent of the state total of registered vessels according to figures compiled from a recent Florida Atlantic University (FAU) study. Boaters benefit ...Read more.
Commercial Fishing
Commercial Fishing
The Everglades watershed (the 16 counties that comprise the Everglades watershed run from the Orlando area down to the Florida Keys) creates habitat for recreational and commercial fishing for many well known species including snook and sea trout to bone fish and tarpon. A healthy Everglades Florida Bay for example is dependent on a healthy Everglades to help this area support a $59 million shrimp fishery and a $22 million stone crab fishery.
The Economics of the Everglades Watershed and Estuaries Report:<...Read more.
Construction
Construction
Without access to adequate municipal water supplies, construction activities in several major metropolitan areas within the Everglades watershed (the 16 counties that comprise the Everglades watershed run from the Orlando area down to the Florida Keys) would grind to a halt. Municipalities need to secure consumptive use permits from the South Florida Water Management District and unless there are alternative municipal water supply options, certain metropolitan areas would face a moratorium on future development and cons...Read more.
Tourism
Tourism
Tourism is a key Everglades watershed industry. Tourists spent in excess of $76 billion in 2007 alone. An FAU study indicates that outdoor recreation in the Florida Bay area -- which includes bird watching, diving, sailing and recreational fishing -- contributed $4.8 billion to Miami-Dade County and $1.1 billion to Monroe County alone....Read more.
Agriculture
Agriculture
Agricultural irrigation accounts for the second largest use of water within the Everglades watershed (the 16 counties that comprise the Everglades watershed run from the Orlando area down to the Florida Keys). Without adequate water storage for supply in times of drought, commercial water use restrictions could be more severe and frequent, crippling the potential of water dependent industries such as plant nurseries and farms to expand and prosper....Read more.
Adequate water storage and supply is the answer to accommodate the demands of man as well as nature.
The River of Grass Coalition believes that acquiring land from a willing land seller like U.S. Sugar Corp. for ecosystem restoration will provide significant benefits including:
- Cost-savings to taxpayers due to lower water storage facility construction, operation and maintenance costs for Everglades restoration
- Delaying higher consumer water utility fees for people who live in cities that are exhausting water-use resources. Cities that have to implement expensive water supply alternatives such as desalinization and reverse osmosis are forced to pass along costs to residents and businesses
- Providing a sustainable future for industries such as tourism, boating, commercial fishing and real estate
- Create job opportunities in engineering and construction management
- Offering a more natural way for the ecosystem to recover from decades of bad flood control policies while at the same time creating habitat for wildlife

