West Palm Beach Fishing

Millions for Everglades may help out Caloosahatchee River

WEST PALM BEACH — The federal government will spend $100 million to acquire property to restore wetlands on 24,000 acres of agricultural land in the Everglades that could eventually help the quality of the Caloosahatchee River.

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Thursday announced the plan that would help wetland restoration in Hendry, Glades, Highlands and Okeechobee counties. The Caloosahatchee snakes its way through Glades and Hendry before reaching Lee County and the Gulf of Mexico.

The Department of Agriculture will buy development rights from ranchers. Easements typically allow private landholders to continue owning and using property in exchange for giving up development rights.

The goal is to slow water runoff and concentration of nutrients entering the public water management system and ultimately Lake Okeechobee and the Everglades.

The nutrients from Lake Okeechobee eventually make it to the Caloosahatchee through water releases. The nutrients kill sea grasses and cause algae blooms, which kill fish. The river is key to Lee County's $2.6 billion tourism, industry as well as commercial and recreational fishing.

The $100 million doesn’t include money for the C-43 reservoir planned for Hendry County, said Matt Herrick of the USDA.

That reservoir would store water released from Lake Okeechobee during rainy season and help filter out nutrients before being released downstream.

There are about 4 million acres in the Northern Everglades, where the federal government is providing the restoration.

Including the money announced Thursday, USDA said it will have provided $189 million in Wetlands Reserve Program funding during the past two fiscal years to help acquire easements and restore wetlands.

According to the agency, under the voluntary program, landowners essentially sell their development rights and place their land in a conservation easement that permanently maintains the land as agriculture and open space. To be eligible, owners must have had ownership of the land for the last seven years, be in compliance with wetland conservation provisions and meet income limitations.

The purchases also will form a conservation corridor from the Kissimmee River to Everglades National Park. The corridor could help the Florida panther move farther north.

“We all benefit when we conserve our natural resources,” Vilsack said.

sea fishing beach (Central Sports: West Palm's Story Shaw place ...

Central Sports: West Palm’s Story Shaw place third at South Florida PGA Junior …Palm Beach PostThe outreach program targets children from Palm Beach County who don’t have the opportunity or means to experience offshore fishing aboard a big boat.