NRDC Helps Environment By Fighting Florida Everglades Mining Project

ONE of the reasons i LOVE the NRDC sooooo much! www.NRDC.org

Subject: NRDC blocks disastrous Everglades mining scheme!

I am thrilled to report a major victory in our long courtroom battle to block one of the Bush administration’s most dangerous attacks on the environment: a proposed massive rock mining project in Florida’s fragileEverglades.

Four years ago, the administration issued permits for the first phase of this gargantuan scheme that would have bulldozed and dynamited 30 square miles of the world’s most famous wetland ecosystem in order to produce a billion tons of limestone rock for use in roads and parking lots.

The resulting 80-foot deep pits — so big they’d be visible from outer space — would have destroyed vital Everglades habitat for a variety of rare plants and animals, including the endangered wood stork. The pits also threatened to poison the drinking water of millions of Miami-Dade County residents by allowing dangerous micro-organisms to infiltrate local wells.

Thanks to your financial support, NRDC went to federal court and charged the Bush administration with violating the Endangered Species Act and other environmental laws. Last week, that court ruled in our favor and delivered a stunning setback to the administration and its mining allies.

In his ruling, the judge chastised the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for rushing to issue the permits at the mining industry’s behest, ignoring clear evidence of environmental dangers, while misrepresenting the facts and disregarding the law.

This is a tremendous victory for our natural heritage and it belongs in large part to NRDC Members like you. Not only did you fund this case, but you sent thousands of messages to Bush administration officials protesting their harmful mining scheme. That powerful outcry helped raise awareness in Florida of the serious environmental risks of this project.

I want to thank you for all of your donations and efforts in this important campaign to save one of America’s greatest natural treasures. Together, we have sent this White House a message loud and clear that we will not stand for the corporate-sponsored destruction of our last wild places. And, with your help, we are going to prevail in more battles to come.

Sincerely yours,
Frances Beinecke
President
Natural Resources Defense Council