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Crist's Sugar Deal Is Amazing, But Some Will Suffer

Highlands Today staff

Published: June 25, 2008

By any measure, Florida Gov. Charlie Christ's announcement to buy out U.S. Sugar to protect the Everglades is incredible. When has a governor anywhere offered a billion-dollar buyout for environmental purposes? While we praise his courage, and admire any Florida politician who sees and remedies faulty policy that's gone on for decades, we worry about the human toll this will take.

Crist announced Tuesday that the state will pay $1.7 billion to close down U.S. Sugar within six years. That means the water used for sugar cane will revert to the "River of Grass" that fed fresh water into the Everglades.

About 300 square miles of land will be returned to its natural state to allow clean water to recharge the Everglades. About 250,000 acres will remain in sugar production in the region and won't be affected by the sale.

Over the years, the Everglades have shrunk by half and countless species of animals have suffered as a result. The state's costly attempts to remedy this issue have failed.

While most of us salute Crist's gutsy move, we also pause to consider what happens to U.S. Sugar's 1,700 employees. That means Clewiston, and other communities, will take a severe hit after the plant closes.

Big Sugar built Clewiston, and it's been a relatively thriving place because of U.S. Sugar's presence. With the sugar industry removed, what will be Clewiston's fate? It's difficult to imagine the town prospering, considering its location and lack of an economic engine. However, we hope the best for the small town.

Other lands planted in sugar will remain, so it's not like sugar is leaving that part of Florida entirely, but there's little doubt this will have a major impact.

Crist made the correct decision to return to Florida one of the things that makes our state great, but we cannot forget that real people will be affected as a result. They have six more years of sugar crops and refining, but after that, a big piece of economic history will be gone from the region.

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