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Landmark Florida Everglades deal Landmark Florida Everglades deal
(about 3 hours later)
US conservationists are hailing a landmark agreement under which the state of Florida will buy a huge tract of land from a major sugar company. One of America's key ecosystems, the Everglades in Florida, is to be greatly expanded after a landmark deal between the state and a major sugar company.
The US Sugar Corp has tentatively agreed to close down and sell the 800sq km of land it owns in the Everglades to Florida for $1.75bn (£890m).The US Sugar Corp has tentatively agreed to close down and sell the 800sq km of land it owns in the Everglades to Florida for $1.75bn (£890m).
Florida's governor said the agreement was as important as the creation of America's first national park. The land, currently used for growing sugar cane, will be turned back into its natural state of swampy marshland.
The swampy Everglades is one of America's most unusual ecosystems. However, sugar producers are concerned the move will cost up to 2,000 jobs.
'Missing link''Missing link'
A river of grass running from Lake Okeechobee in central Florida to the southern tip of the state, conservationists have struggled for years to preserve its waters. The deal proposes that after six more years of production, US Sugar will close down and its plantations will be turned over to the state in Florida's biggest ever land acquisition.
Sugar cane production has been one of the industries blamed for its pollution. Environmentalists have welcomed the news, calling it the largest ecological restoration project in the history of the United States.
The US Sugar Corporation is America's largest producer of sugar cane. Announcing the plan, Florida's governor, Charlie Crist, said it was an important step towards protecting the environment for future generations.
The deal with Florida would result in the company's closure but return a huge portion of the Everglades to the state. "I can envision no better gift to the Everglades, the people of Florida, and the people of America - as well as our planet - than to place in public ownership this missing link that represents the key to true restoration," he said.
If the deal goes through, it will enable officials to build a network of reservoirs and marshes, a move one conservationist has called the "missing link" in the preservation of the Everglades. The Everglades runs from Lake Okeechobee in central Florida down through the southern tip of the state.
Florida's Governor Charlie Crist called the deal "monumental" and likened it to the creation of America's first national park, Yellowstone. Conservationists have struggled for years to preserve its waters, blaming sugar cane production as one of the industries responsible for its pollution.
But for the sugar cane industry it is a blow. Cheap imports have led to the closure of dozens of mills and if the deal goes through, almost 2,000 workers will lose their jobs. However, people in the sugar cane industry has expressed grave concerns over what the deal will mean to them: US Sugar Corp is America's largest producer of sugar cane, and cheap imports have already led to the closure of dozens of mills.
"This is our life, our livelihood," Ardis Hammock, one of the owners of the sugar cane-growing Frierson Farm, told the BBC.
"My husband has worked here 35 years, our 25-year-old son Robert just started working here, and our daughter Sarah was supposed to be opening a branch bank next week... our whole economy is tied to the sugar industry.
"It's just kind of puzzling to work out what's going to happen."
For the last eight years the state of Florida has poured billions of dollars into cleaning up the Everglades, but the progress has been slow.For the last eight years the state of Florida has poured billions of dollars into cleaning up the Everglades, but the progress has been slow.
It is hoped officials will sign an agreement by September, a move that conservationists say spells a new chapter in the history of the Everglades. It is hoped the agreement will officially be signed by September.