State-Federal Everglades Marriage on the Rocks

The greatest threat to the most challenging environmental restoration in America's history is divorce.

The dream to save the Everglades was first proposed in 1983 but did not become official until 2000 when President Clinton signed the legislation establishing the marriage of the federal government and the state of Florida. Both parties pledged their commitment to provide an equal share of the financing and committed to sharing the decision-making to preserve this international treasure. The newlyweds accepted that it was this marriage which offered the best opportunity for the Everglades to be saved.

Six years later, signs of a cooling romance have become public.

Florida is frustrated by the slowness and unpredictability of federal action. The chapel where the marriage occurred was the 2000 version of the Water Resource Development Act, periodic legislation which authorizes federal water policy and projects. No similar legislation has been passed since then, primarily due to regional and partisan disagreement over a few controversial water projects.

Because of this gridlock, important components of the Everglades restoration have not been completed. The Indian River Lagoon — swamped by discharges of fresh water from the Everglades during rainy and hurricane seasons— sits unattended, despite pleadings of the state to finish the project.

Federal officials are anxious because Florida seems to have lost its ardor for Everglades restoration. This dissatisfaction surfaced earlier this month during a heated meeting of the House committee responsible for Everglades restoration. In dispute was Gov. Bush's alleged efforts to undercut a 1992 federal court order through which the court is overseeing the cleanup of the Everglades. Committee members noted that some of the filter marshes created by the South Florida Water Management District don't meet the state's own pollution standards, and in 2003, the state pushed back the date by which specific pollution limits must be met from 2006 to 2016.

The North Carolina Republican chairman of the committee, Charles Taylor, stated, "Given the state of Florida's track record of noncompliance and unwillingness to respect the concerns of (the Department of Interior) and (the congressional) committee, why would the federal government ever consider joining with the state to urge that the court terminate the consent decree and federal oversight as we now know it?"

There is no undertaking more important to the future of South Florida than the restoration of the Everglades. How can this marriage be saved?  Greater respect by both parties. As in any marriage, open and candid communication is critical. No surprises and shared conversation on problems and possible future steps should be the ground rule.

Understand what your partner is saying, not just what you are hearing, and, where possible, adapt. There is no reason that the Everglades restoration should be held hostage to controversial dam projects in the west or dredging on the Mississippi. Environmental restoration projects like the Everglades — there are now over 25 nationwide following the model — should be legislated on their own merits according to a timetable that allows for change but maintains predictability over a multiyear undertaking.

Don't sweat the small stuff. As Florida political leaders scrutinize policies and projects which will affect the Everglades, they cannot let parochial concerns trump the statewide interest in maintaining good relations with our federal partner. The test for any individual issue should be: will this serve the long term interests of both parties?

Florida has a chance to demonstrate its desire to save the marriage by taking a bold initiative — protecting the over 300,000 acres of the Everglades which is now in agricultural use so that those lands will not be converted to subdivisions, industrial sites, or any other uses incompatible with the restoration of the Everglades. This won't be easy, and the conflict could end up being the grounds for divorce 20 years down the road.

It is true that Florida is committed to a $10 billion effort to restore the 1900 sheet flow of fresh water over the heart of the Everglades. However, soil decline, economic and geopolitical factors — particularly the potential for importation of Cuban sugar should the United States normalize relations in a post-Castro environment—could reduce the agricultural competitiveness of the Everglades. Given that the population of south Florida in 2025 is projected to be 2 million to 3 million more than today, the pressure to replace farms with urban development will be enormous.

What can Florida do? During this year's legislative session, start the process of planning and financing the acquisition of development rights or conservation easements in the Everglades Agriculture Area. These would not restrict current agricultural uses but would prevent projects which would defeat the essential purpose of the Everglades salvation. The federal partner should be fully informed and involved in the details of these acquisitions as it would be expected to be an equal partner in this undertaking.

The federal- state marriage — the fundamental relationship necessary for the restoration of the Everglades — is worth saving, but both parties are experiencing problems typical of any marriage. To make it work, they need to ask serious questions of one another and recommit to the relationship, or before we know it, divorce papers will be filed.

Bob Graham is a former senator and governor of Florida. He and his wife, Adele, have been married for 47 years. He is the author of Intelligence Matters and is a senior fellow at the BelferCenterat Harvard's JohnF.KennedySchoolof Government.