US Army Corps of Engineers

As Caloosahatchee begs for water, Big Sugar says: We got dibs

February 19, 2026

Most of Florida is in the grip of a worsening drought, and the consequences are mounting. In the greater Everglades region, nowhere is this more apparent than along the Caloosahatchee River, where low flows from Lake Okeechobee — an average…

Alligator Alcatraz: Setting a dangerous precedent?

February 12, 2026

The Everglades immigrant detention center known as “Alligator Alcatraz” is damaging enough in its own right, inflicting untold harms on the site and the greater Everglades ecosystem. But more damaging over the long haul may be the legal precedent being…

DEEP DIVE: 25 years on, CERP is restoring the Everglades. But will it be enough?

February 5, 2026

The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan is often described as a massive effort to “get the water right.” Unfortunately, CERP isn’t going to “get the water right” right away. On Dec. 11, 2000, President Bill Clinton signed the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration…

Palm Beach Commissioners took sugar money. Then they voted to approve Big Sugar’s rock mine

May 27, 2025

Last week Palm Beach County Commissioners voted to approve the rezoning request for the Southland rock mine on 8,600 acres in the Everglades Agricultural Area owned by U.S. Sugar and Florida Crystals. VoteWater’s Gil Smart (above) was one of more…

VoteWater’s testimony against Southland rock mine

May 27, 2025

Below is the text of VoteWater Executive Director Gil Smart’s comments during the May 22 Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners meeting, where commissioners approved the Southland rock mine rezoning request. Smart will also speak against the rock mine…

Can we finish Everglades projects faster – without cutting corners?

January 15, 2025

Fast is good. But too fast can be reckless. So it was with mixed emotions that we watched Gov. Ron DeSantis’s press conference in Juno Beach last week, where he announced Florida will ask the federal government to let the…

In Florida, it’s government against the people

December 19, 2024

Today is Day 13 of damaging discharges from Lake Okeechobee to the northern estuaries. On Instagram, our friends at Friends of the Everglades posted video of water rushing through the St. Lucie Lock and Dam with the caption “This is…

Day 5: Why are we getting these discharges, anyway?

December 11, 2024

The rationale behind the damaging discharges to the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie rivers and Lake Worth Lagoon goes like this: Army Corps officials say the goal of “Recovery Operations” is to give Lake O a break. For six years in…

Discharges to help Lake O by hurting Caloosahatchee, St. Lucie

November 21, 2024

Lake Okeechobee is in rough shape. The lake as of this writing remains over 16 feet, and it’s been high for a long time. Submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) has died off; South Florida Water Management District officials say they like…

We did it: LOSOM is now the law of the land

August 14, 2024

Five years ago we had an opportunity for change. We seized it. And now, at long last, that change has come. On Monday the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers South Atlantic Division Commander signed a Record of Decision for the…

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