For nearly a decade, South Florida anglers, hunters and airboaters have been urging officials in charge of the multibillion-dollar Everglades restoration project to not harm a lucrative bass fishery in an effort to restore natural water flow into Everglades National Park and Florida Bay.

South Florida Anglers for Everglades Restoration (SAFER) was formed to fight proposals by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to backfill the L-67A and C canals that separate Everglades Water Conservation Areas 3A and 3B north of Tamiami Trail.

The parallel canals are among the top public water bodies in the state for catch rates of largemouth bass and other freshwater gamefish. Numerous tournaments are held there, generating millions for the local economy, according to studies by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

But scientists and engineers said these man-made waterways are barriers to the natural sheet flow of water across the South Florida peninsula, and their removal would help restore the hydrological connection among the two water conservation areas, Shark River Slough and Big Cypress National Preserve.

All along, SAFER members have been urging them to prove it. Now the Corps is prepared to do just that.

Lt. Col. Michael Kinard, the Corps' deputy district engineer for restoration, and his colleagues held a public meeting Thursday night in Homestead to get feedback on a two-year, $10.3 million field test scheduled to begin late next year.

The Corps proposes to construct eight gated culverts allowing water to flow from the L-67A into a deeper area known as the ``pocket'' between the L-67A and C. The culverts would discharge directly into sloughs in a 1.8-mile area oriented along the water's historic flow path. To establish sheet flow and evaluate water speed and quality, a 3,000-foot gap would be opened in the L-67C levee downstream of the culverts. To test backfilling options, levee material would be piled up to create a 1,000-foot-long segment that's completely backfilled. Another 1,000-foot-long segment would be partially backfilled, and a third would be left alone.

Engineers say that after the field test is over, the area would be reconstructed to pretest conditions.

Rick Persson, one of the founders of SAFER, was generally in favor of the experiment but concerned that Corps officials plan to time their field test early in South Florida's dry season.

``My worry is, this should be a nature-driven test, not a man-driven test,'' Persson told the gathering Thursday. ``We are subject to drought and flood. I would prefer to see a natural test over five years. Study natural sheet flow, natural rainfall, hurricanes, whatever. If you fill in the canals in the Everglades, you've lost control of that water. You still need to have these canals to some degree.''

Several anglers were concerned that fishing will be interrupted during the test. A representative of the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians said the experiment should wait until after other phases of the restoration are complete.

Byron Maharrey, president of the Everglades Coordinating Council, said engineers should look at other ways to restore sheet flow, such as degrading levees and using the fill to create tree islands for game animals, which have been stressed by prolonged high-water levels in the area.

``You fill in these canals, the economy is going to hurt in that area,'' he said.

Megan Tinsley of Audubon of Florida supported the project.

``Audubon sees this as a step toward the more important project, which is the decompartmentalization of water,'' she said. ``This is a field test. It's reversible.''

The Corps will accept public comment on the project through Feb. 11. Comments can be e-mailed to Adam.C.Stuart@usace.army.mil.