February 19, 1996
Web posted at: 9:30 pm. EST
EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK, Florida (CNN) -- Vice President Al Gore stood alongside a lagoon in the Everglades Monday to announce a $1.5 billion plan to restore the fragile system to its former state.
"We bear responsibility to protect the world we live in," Gore said. (128K AIFF sound or 128K WAV sound)
Farming, draining, pollution and development in the past 100 years have left the southern Florida wetlands at one fifth of their former size -- and threaten the area, known as the River of Grass, with destruction.
The Clinton administration plan would double current funding in the Everglades, and calls for the acquisition of 126,000 acres of land now used primarily for sugar farming.
"What we are announcing is more than a restoration plan," Gore said. "It is in its purest sense an investment in Florida's future and an investment in America's future." (400K AIFF sound or 400K WAV sound)
But one aspect of the plan -- a recommended one-cent per pound tax on sugar produced on farms in the Everglades -- drew the ire of sugar industry workers. Several hundred farmers, sugar mill workers and sugar company officials staged a protest Sunday, condemning the administration's plan.
The tax is estimated to generate about $35 million per year, and the money will be used for land acquisition. Florida's two senators -- Democrat Bob Graham and Republican Connie Mack -- countered the administration plan by proposing a tax on sugar produced everywhere in the nation.
But Gore said that he believes the administration's plan, which must be approved by Congress, has bipartisan support.
"It is in the balanced budget plan and other things are not because saving the Everglades is a priority of the United States of America."
-- Al Gore
Environmentalists, who have long battled to restore the Everglades, said that the plan reflects the concerns of most citizens.
"Any survey that you want to refer to will tell you that a majority of Americans have serious environmental concerns and serious environmental values," said Ed Davidson, chairman of the Florida Audobon Society, after Gore's address.
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