[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 14 (Tuesday, February 15, 2000)]
[House]
[Page H379]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      EVERGLADES RESTORATION PLAN

  (Mrs. MEEK of Florida asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I am from Florida, and I rise in 
support of the Everglades Restoration Plan and funding to make it a 
reality.
  The State of Florida has lost 46 percent of its wetlands and 50 
percent of its historic Everglades ecosystem. Fifty years ago, the 
Federal Government established the Everglades National Park, but 
simultaneously a series of canals, levees and other flood-control 
structures constructed by the Southern and Central Florida Project 
disrupted the life blood flow of water to the Everglades. Clean fresh 
water was cut off from the Everglades. In addition, 68 plant and animal 
species have become threatened or endangered with extinction.
  The Everglades Restudy we are looking at now, Mr. Speaker, presents 
us with a very bold road map to undo the damage that has occurred 
during the last 50 years. It sets forth an extremely challenging agenda 
to restore the hydrology of the Everglades. It is a beautiful river of 
grass, and I am sure everyone in this country wants to see it restored.
  We want to meet the needs of both urban and the farming industry, as 
well as the needs of the natural ecosystem. Restoration of the 
Everglades ecosystem will yield long-lasting human and environmental 
benefits to us all. By funding this plan, Mr. Speaker, we can restore 
this Everglades ecosystem.

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