Environmental extremists have spent decades blocking real conservation progress in favor of their radical agenda.

They thought they had Florida’s natural treasures locked up in federal red tape forever.

But Ron DeSantis just scored one massive victory that sent environmental extremists into a fit of rage.

DeSantis delivers what decades of federal bureaucrats couldn’t

Governor Ron DeSantis announced a landmark agreement that exposes everything wrong with Washington, D.C.’s approach to environmental protection.¹

While federal bureaucrats spent decades shuffling paperwork and cashing paychecks, Florida is about to accomplish what should have been done years ago.

The State of Florida and the U.S. Department of the Army just reached a deal that will accelerate the crown jewel of Everglades restoration by a whopping five years.

Think about that for a second.

Five entire years of federal incompetence – wiped away by Florida leadership that actually knows how to get things done.

“A long-awaited project, first envisioned and authorized decades ago, is finally becoming a reality,” DeSantis announced during a press conference on Marco Island. “The EAA Reservoir is not only fully funded and under construction – it’s moving forward faster than expected, thanks to new state and federal cooperation.”²

https://twitter.com/GovRonDeSantis/status/1946210925222236590

The Everglades Agricultural Area Reservoir will store over 78 billion gallons of water – larger than Manhattan – and deliver up to 470 billion gallons of clean water annually to the Everglades and Florida Bay.³

But here’s what really has the environmental lobby in a panic: this project actually works.

Unlike the typical Washington approach of press conferences and empty promises, this delivers tangible benefits for everyone who depends on Florida’s waters – from commercial fishermen working the coast to families visiting the Everglades.

Federal bureaucrats finally admit Florida knows better

The timing of this announcement reveals everything about the difference between Trump’s approach and the Biden administration’s environmental disaster.

Acting Assistant Secretary of the Army Lee Forsgren couldn’t contain his excitement about working with competent leadership for a change.

“The Army is thrilled to sign this agreement with the state of Florida emphasizing use of leveraging authorities to propel faster project delivery by delegating work to the state of Florida,” Forsgren stated. “By strengthening our partnership with the state of Florida, we’re building on the historic commitment in President Trump’s FY26 budget to expedite work on Everglades Restoration.”⁴

Translation: after four years of Biden administration delays and incompetence, federal agencies are finally working with leaders who actually want to solve problems instead of creating them.

Florida Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Alexis Lambert put it perfectly: “Floridians understand the Everglades better than anyone else. We live, work and recreate here, and we are committed to the land and water that sustains us.”⁵

That’s not just political rhetoric – it’s backed up by an incredible track record that puts federal bureaucrats to shame.

Florida’s track record exposes federal incompetence

The contrast couldn’t be starker. While the Biden administration’s Army Corps tied itself in bureaucratic knots, DeSantis was cutting ribbons on completed projects that are already cleaning Florida’s waters.

Since 2019 alone, Florida’s leadership has produced stunning achievements:

https://twitter.com/GovRonDeSantis/status/1946230560411603297

The C-43 Reservoir was completed and is now operational, delivering 55 billion gallons of water storage with a state-of-the-art pump station.⁶

The C-44 Reservoir, S-333 Expansion, and Old Tamiami Trail Removal were all completed ahead of schedule, dramatically improving freshwater flow to key ecosystems.⁷

Annual nutrient reduction has reached over 1.8 million pounds of nitrogen and 770,000 pounds of phosphorus removed from Florida’s waterways.⁸

But wait – it gets even better.

The new agreement will slash the EAA Reservoir’s construction timeline from 2034 to 2029, authorize Florida to handle critical pump station construction, and enable the state to manage future restoration projects through expedited permitting.⁹

Meanwhile, under the Biden administration, federal projects faced such massive delays that some took three times longer to even begin construction.¹⁰

Florida’s approach, managed by the South Florida Water Management District, has consistently outpaced federal timelines by delivering projects 6 to 7 years faster and under budget.¹¹

Environmental extremists can’t handle actual conservation success

Here’s what really drives the environmental lobby crazy about DeSantis: he’s proving that conservative leadership delivers better environmental results than their decades of lawsuits, regulations, and government dependency.

The environmental lobby has turned Florida’s water challenges into a cottage industry.

Decades of lawsuits and regulatory battles generated plenty of legal fees and activist salaries, but precious little progress on the ground.

They’ve consistently opposed the kind of engineering solutions that actually move water where it needs to go.

They prefer keeping these issues unresolved so they can continue raising money and maintaining their relevance.

But DeSantis is solving the problems they claim to care about.

Here’s the engineering reality that politicians have danced around for years: Florida’s water management system was redesigned in the mid-20th century to protect communities from flooding. Those changes worked for flood control, but they disrupted the natural sheet flow that once carried fresh water south through the Everglades.

The EAA Reservoir fixes this fundamental problem by capturing, cleaning, and redirecting that water back to its historical path.

The result? Cleaner water reaches Florida Bay while reducing the harmful algae-producing discharges that have plagued the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie estuaries.¹²

The formal Memorandum of Agreement between Florida and the Department of the Army, implemented through agreements with the Army Corps of Engineers, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, and South Florida Water Management District, represents exactly the kind of cooperative federalism that gets real results.¹³

Environmental extremists built their entire movement on the lie that only federal bureaucrats and activist lawsuits could protect natural resources.

Ron DeSantis just proved them wrong with a track record of success that no amount of green propaganda can match.

¹ Office of Governor Ron DeSantis, “Governor Ron DeSantis Announces Landmark Agreement with U.S. Department of the Army to Accelerate Everglades Restoration,” July 18, 2025.

² Ibid.

³ Ibid.

⁴ Ibid.

⁵ Ibid.

⁶ Ibid.

⁷ Ibid.

⁸ Ibid.

⁹ Ibid.

¹⁰ Ibid.

¹¹ Ibid.

¹² Ibid.

¹³ Ibid.