The state of Florida has purchased 20,000 acres of the Everglades, a wetlands conservation area, to save it from oil drilling. The agreement with Kanter Real Estate, which has owned the land for over 50 years, is worth $16.5 million. The deal comes after a court overturned the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s decision to deny the Kanter family a permit to drill for oil on their land.
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Not only will public ownership of the land prevent oil drilling indefinitely, it will also protect more than 60 endangered and threatened species and a source of drinking water for millions of people.
Protecting the water source was a key motivation in the purchase for Florida’s Governor Roy DeSantis: in 2019, he signed an Executive Order for a $2.5 billion investment in the restoration of the Everglades and protection of water resources.