LOXAHATCHEE NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE — A $1.75 billion proposal intended to better protect Lee County’s beaches and help restore Everglades National Park should be finalized in the next few months between U.S. Sugar Corp. and the state of Florida.
State leaders and sugar executives will have appraisals of 187,000 acres of farmland the state would acquire. It would mean the country’s biggest sugar company would close in six years, a blow to the economy of inland Florida.
A final decision on what would be the biggest land preservation purchase in state history could come in September, state leaders announced at a Tuesday news conference here, midway between Fort Myers and West Palm Beach.
The land would give the state more area to cleanse southbound water from Lake Okeechobee instead of sending it east down the St. Lucie Canal and west down the Caloosahatchee River. That water can cause algal blooms at east coast and Lee County beaches. In Lee, beaches are an attraction for a tourism industry that generates $2 billion annually.
And with additional land in state ownership south of the lake, water managers can cleanse more water headed to Everglades National Park, another South Florida tourism magnet that gets about 1 million visitors a year. During the state population boom, fertilizers, car oil and other pollutants have damaged the park and its ecosystem.
“This is as monumental as the creation of our nation’s first national park — Yellowstone,” Gov. Charlie Crist said. “Sixty years ago Harry Truman came to Florida to dedicate Everglades National Park. We’re here today to continue moving meaningful restoration forward.”
Environmentalists, sugar officials, media, local government officials and state leaders braved the heat and humidity, including Senate President Ken Pruitt, the Port St. Lucie Republican; and Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp of North Fort Myers.
The land for sale stretches from eastern Hendry County to western Palm Beach County, all of it south of Lake Okeechobee, parts of it not connected and scattered. And all of it is big enough to cover 12 cities the size of Manhattan.
Crist, still on crutches after knee surgery, signed the agreement shortly after his speech, along with U.S. Sugar president and chief executive officer Robert Buker and South Florida Water Management District governing board member Shannon Estenoz.
The governing board, which controls water management projects in 16 counties from Orlando to the Florida Keys, will use tax dollars and borrowed money, and avoid raising taxes, to buy the sugar giant’s land.
The purchase would dwarf the state’s acquisition three years ago of 74,000 acres at Babcock Ranch for $351 million to preserve most of the ranch in northeast Lee and southeast Charlotte counties. So far, that has been the biggest single environmental preservation grab in state history.
“Florida is on the leading edge of preservation and it’s committed to restoring the Everglades,” Crist said shortly before leaving.
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Hendry hurting
Hendry County, whose largest city is Clewiston, could suffer the most from this deal.
Commissioner Kevin McCarthy said his county faces a loss of half its jobs and a quarter of its tax base.
“It puts our hospital out of business, and we have the highest uninsured population per capita in the state,” McCarthy said. “This is devastating for Hendry County.”
He is not sure what the county will do to overcome the impact, but expects discussion among Hendry officials to follow as they search for a solution.
Domestic sugar companies have taken a hit lately because provisions in the North American Free Trade Agreement, which Congress passed in 1993, are allowing Mexico to export up to 250,000 tons of sugar to the United States. That’s up from 25,000 tons in 1994, according to University of Florida research.
At least 33 mills have closed nationwide in the past decade as producers try to remain competitive.
The deal would not end sugar production in the Everglades. Some 300,000 acres of land, or close to 500 square miles, used by other companies would remain in production.
The closing of U.S. Sugar will have a huge impact in Hendry County. That’s the reason for the six-year transition period, Buker said.
“You wouldn’t sell out if you couldn’t do something fair for the employees and stockholders,” he said. “Gov. Crist is very persuasive and this agreement is done in a way that we can take care of the employees.”
His company has 1,900 employees, including citrus interests. They will continue working until the six-year period is up, and then hourly employees will get a year’s severance package and salaried employees will get two years.
Workers at U.S. Sugar apparently believe they might not get a fair deal. They have filed a lawsuit accusing the sugar company of bilking them of millions of dollars in retirement money. Sugar officials said it’s an ongoing legal matter they cannot comment on, other than insisting the lawsuit has nothing to do with the potential sale to the state.
State officials say they doubt the lawsuit will affect negotiations and possible purchase.
“We assume it’s strictly a corporate issue and a separate legal issue and a matter for U.S. Sugar,” said Thomas Oliff, assistant executive director with the water management district.
Coming full circle
U.S. Sugar was founded in 1931 by Charles Stewart Mott, a millionaire philanthropist who acquired bankrupt Southern Sugar Company and transformed it into what would become U.S. Sugar Corp.
The business exploded in the early 1960s, when Fidel Castro came into power and President Dwight Eisenhower broke ties with the Cuban leader.
After growing into the largest sugar operation in the country, executives are ready to shut down the operation.
“We’ve come full circle,” said Buker, who became the company’s chief executive in 2005.
That’s about the time Lee Commissioner Ray Judah stepped up his fight to send more water south from Lake Okeechobee instead of down the Caloosahatchee. He said Tuesday’s announcement will allow for the true solution for Everglades restoration, to restore the natural flow of water to the south.
He was not able to attend the Tuesday conference — he had a commission meeting — but he heard about it Monday afternoon.
“I was absolutely stunned,” Judah said. “I was hopeful at best we would be able to acquire another 60,000 acres. It turned out to be an incredible revelation.”
Frank Jackalone, a regional representative from the Sierra Club, applauded the initiative.
“This is the greatest development in Everglades restoration history since the creation of the Big Cypress Preserve,” Jackalone said. “And it could be the biggest ever. If they can restore the flows (south), it can help correct what’s happened in the last 60 years.”
