Lehtinen blasts Tamiami Everglades project

While environmentalists and federal officials gathered to celebrate construction of a long-awaited bridge over the Tamiami Trail on Friday, attorney Dexter Lehtinen proclaimed the Everglades project a “charade.” Dexter Lehtinen Lehtinen, who represents the Miccosukee Tribe, is a long-time critic of this and other plans to restore the Everglades. He said on Friday “the important restoration projects remain stalled.” Most restoration backers call the bridge a crucial step to allow water to flow across the trail and nourish Everglades National Park and Florida Bay. Many gathered for a construction ground-breaking ceremony on Friday. The $81-million project has been 20 years in the making. The Tamiami Trail was built in the 1920s with the intention of linking Tampa and Miami. That never quite happened, but the two cities gave the trail its name. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said on Friday

the trail in effect created a dike that blocks the flow of fresh water. “Today, thanks to the hard work of many stakeholders in South Florida, we are building a bridge that will help to restore those water flows while still allowing the trail to serve its important transportation function for the people of this state,” Salazar said at the ground-breaking. Humbug, said Lehtinen. “Water levels cannot be increased in NE Shark River Slough until the necessary flood-protection barriers are constructed to avoid flooding in urban western Miami-Dade County,” he said in a prepared statement. The Miccosukees had tried to block the project in court, claiming it would flood their land. The one-mile bridge is supposed to be completed in May 2013.

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Lehtinen blasts Tamiami Everglades project

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