everglades envy no more
When the effort to seek significant federal funding for restoration of the Great Lakes began, many politicians pointed to the billions authorized by Congress in 2000 for the Florida Everglades. The Great Lakes are even more nationally significant, they argued, so let's get our share.
Now the NY Times reports:
Seven years into what was supposed to be a four-decade, $8 billion effort to reverse generations of destruction, federal financing has slowed to a trickle. Projects are already years behind schedule. Thousands of acres of wetlands and wildlife habitat continue to disappear, paved by developers or blasted by rock miners to feed the hungry construction industry.
The idea that the federal government could summon the will and money to restore the subtle, sodden grandeur of the so-called River of Grass is disappearing, too.
It's discouraging, but no reason to abandon the Great Lakes effort. Instead, we should learn from it. Federal funding and federal agency participation is needed to make Great Lakes restoration work, but the eight states are going to have to step up and play a much bigger role in championing and funding restoration of the Lakes themselves if the effort is to succeed.
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