Miami-Dade County’s longtime land conservation program has survived the chopping block.
Thanks to a last-minute petition drive by environmental groups, county commissioners agreed to restore funding for the Environmentally Endangered Lands (EEL) program to $20 million instead of slashing the program’s budget to just $6.5 million. The dramatic cut would have left only $3 million in its coffers, after covering $3.5 million in costs for land maintenance.
Upping the amount will keep the program running “for now,” Tropical Audubon Society executive director Lauren Jonaitis said in an email.
Because commissioners used money from a water and sewer reserve fund for environmental monitoring and clean-up, the budgeted money can only be used on land that helps protect water.
Tropical and 10 other environmental groups started a petition drive in August and urged commissioners to spare the program. Since voters approved it in 1990, EEL has helped conserve 29,000 acres, including pine rockland, hardwood hammocks and wetlands. Another 34,000 acres for conservation have been identified across the county.
READ MORE: Miami-Dade's land conservation program is facing a crippling budget cut
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