Long awaited work on Glades getting underway

April 28, 2009

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Federal engineers are releasing a list of spending priorities today and will name several projects in the Everglades that have been starved of restoration funds for much of the decade.

More specifically, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has decided to spend $103 million of federal stimulus money on seven restoration projects.  Among the work the Corps will fund is restoring 43 miles of the Kissimmee River to its original course and rebuilding a huge tract of wetlands in Collier County, where Florida panthers are known to dwell.

“This is a clear signal the Obama administration is solidly behind our efforts to revitalize and restore the River of Grass,” said U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, who spearheaded the effort to get the Corps to allocate a portion of the $2 billion in stimulus money it received to fund Everglades restoration construction projects.

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