JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The Miccosukee Tribe of Florida hosted the Chief of Engineers, Lt. Gen. Robert L. "Van" Van Antwerp, and U.S Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District Commander, Col. Alfred Pantano, Jr., on an airboat tour through a water conservation area that abuts tribal lands.
Van Antwerp spent four days touring Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) sites in south Florida and meeting with a variety of local, state and federal supporters. The Corps of Engineers reached a historic milestone in Everglades restoration with the award of the first federally-funded CERP construction project in November. Since then, restoration momentum has taken off.
From U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rangers and invasive pythons at Everglades National Park, to restoring habitat for the endangered Florida panther in Picayune Strand, to bug releases to reduce invasive vegetation on Lake Okeechobee and rehabilitating the 143-mile Herbert Hoover Dike that surrounds the lake, the Chief visited an assortment of projects that are in the works to benefit America's Everglades and protect south Florida residents.
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