By Melissa L. Meeker, West Palm Beach
Effective strategies used in the early and mid-2000s by the South Florida Water Management District to acquire land for water resource and restoration purposes have come under recent criticism.
For anyone who lived in Florida a decade ago, it's not hard to remember the fast-paced real estate market during that time. As development increased and property values escalated, it made sense for the district to set aside lands ahead of the design and construction of projects associated with long-term restoration programs.
The SFWMD land acquisition program accomplished its goals. From 2000 to 2008, the district put close to 165,000 acres into public ownership for Kissimmee River Restoration, the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan and other water resource purposes.
The $1.6 billion invested in land during those years has brought tangible results. In the restored Kissimmee, for example, we have vastly expanded the river's flood plain, holding more water north of Lake Okeechobee and thereby reducing harmful discharges to coastal estuaries. For the new suite of projects that will send cleaner water to the Everglades, timely implementation would not be possible without needed tracts of land already in public ownership.
With the years of intensive land buying behind us, we are concentrating on strategic acquisitions and putting publicly owned acreage to its best use. Whether constructing on-site projects, exchanging for lands in more critical locations or leveraging our real estate assets, we are focused on targeting resources where they are needed most and implementing restoration work.
The district's policymaking, land acquisitions and surpassing activities have always been carried out under Governing Board direction in accordance with state statutes and as part of an open and public process.
For the past year, we have been reviewing and improving the agency's business, administration and operational practices districtwide. My ongoing goal is to ensure the agency is operating prudently, effectively and efficiently in the best interest of South Florida's water resources and its taxpayers.
Melissa L. Meeker is executive director of the South Florida Water Management District.
