Port Everglades Expansion

A great big "Thank You" to all who voiced their opinions to the Broward County Commission about the Port Everglades expansion. The Commission voted to sever the proposed turning notch from the Master Plan, so it looks as if the mangrove swamp and the ecosystem that it supports are safe for a while.

It wasn't easy, but thanks to a prior court order that granted an easement to the State of Florida trading the last expansion for the sanctity of the remaining mangroves, the mangroves are supposedly protected in perpetuity. The Commission and the Port management team, however, were trying to negotiate with the state to have the order rescinded based on the premise that the Port would mitigate the damages by developing West Lake Park as a wildlife area. It is already a wildlife area in that it is undeveloped property, and a little bit of landscaping won't make that much difference.

The bulk of the property in question is privately held, and to date, the County Commission has only purchased 11/16 acres. I suppose that if they invoke emminent domain, they will have to offer fair market value, but as it now stands, they are practically stealing what they can.

There was also an attempt to satisfy mitigation through the acquisition of Deerfield Island, but it too, is already a wildlife park, and is some thirty miles from the construction area.

The project now is to save the 15 or more acres of our coral reef that will be destroyed through the widening and deepening of the Port entry channel. Deepening an existing channel is bad enough, in that the existing sea life will be moderated, but the only reason to widen the channel is to have room to allow 2 of the new larger class ships to pass within the channel. Proper scheduling of arrivals and departures will preclude this possibility, and the destruction of the reef is totally unnecessary.

So again, my thanks to each and every one of you for your efforts, but our work is not over until we can put a stop to wanton destruction of the environment. Lets not give up.