Everglades debate unpacked in WLRN radio series

With Florida lawmakers gathering in Tallahassee this week, public radio station WLRN has started airing a five-part series on one of the most contentious issues facing the 2017 legislative session: Everglades restoration.

The series delves into complicated restoration efforts and the current debate over whether to move up construction of a 60,000-acre reserve, a plan backed by Senate President Joe Negron, environmentalists and coastal residents and opposed by the state’s water managers and farming industry. The current schedule calls for planning for the reservoir to begin in 2021, a year after a purchasing option expires on sugar fields worked out by former Gov. Charlie Crist.

The series airs all week and is available at http://wlrn.org/river-grass.

This story was originally published March 7, 2017 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Everglades debate unpacked in WLRN radio series."