National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
Protecting Our Natural Treasures
The National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, continues to protect the nation’s natural resources and has been tested numerous times over the years. The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) has been the tool that astute public land managers and defenders use to prevent degradation to such wonders as Yosemite National Park and the Grand Canyon. Recently, Everglades National Park and Biscayne National Park benefited from NEPA’s rigor also.
Everglades Betrayal - The Issue that Defeated Al Gore details the struggle to protect Biscayne National Park and Everglades National Park from harm caused by a reckless re-development proposal of the former Homestead Air Force Base. That proposal, to turn the area into an international airport, was well on its way to being realized when conservationists noticed irregularities in the Environmental Impact Statement and used the National Environmental Policy Act’s well-crafted provisions to compel a more thorough and accurate analysis.
Everglades Betrayal discusses the process, people, and events that made this story a victory for conservationists and the greater Everglades ecosystem. The people understood NEPA’s nuances and employed NEPA’s prescribed processes to turn events around. Everglades Betrayal covers the long and complex saga that involved local, state, and national politics, including the 2000 presidential election.
All public land managers, land use planners, and conservationists need to know how to use the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and Everglades Betrayal provides a wonderful case study of effectively applying its provisions. Conservationists scored a big win in this instance, and boosted, once again, the wisdom behind the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
The Everglades Betrayal – The Issue that Defeated Al Gore is now available to you online.
