Take Action on Tamiami Trail Next Steps!

Thank you for your support!

Please submit this letter of support on the Tamiami Trail Next Steps project to the National Park Service at:
http://parkplanning.nps.gov/commentForm.cfm?parkID=374&projectID=26159&documentId=33397

You will need to fill out the comment form on the National Park Service's website AND cut and paste the text of this letter into the "comment" text box available. It is imperative that all comments are submitted through this website to ensure their delivery to the National Park Service.

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June 25, 2010

Mr. Dan Kimball
Superintendent
Everglades National Park
Tamiami Trail Next Steps Project
40001 State Road 9336
Homestead, FL 33034-6733

Subject: I Support Continued Restoration of America's Everglades and Endorse 5.5
Miles of Additional Bridging on Tamiami Trail

Dear Superintendent Kimball:

I am responding to the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Tamiami Trail Modifications: Next Steps project, released in May 2010. I fully support the National Park Service's preferred alternative 6E: an additional 5.5 miles of bridging on the Tamiami Trail.

Preferred alternative 6E will provide the largest measurable environmental benefits to the Everglades ecosystem and a significant boost to South Florida's economy. Specifically, this additional 5.5 miles of bridging will:

1. Seamlessly integrate with the one-mile bridge project currently underway to achieve maximum environmental benefits and to create jobs in South Florida's engineering, science and construction sectors.
2. Increase freshwater flows to Florida Bay, helping to restore abundant sport fisheries and to re-establish seagrass beds.
3. Restore critical water flows through the historic River of Grass, improving ecological conditions and habitat for iconic wading birds and other key species in the state of Florida's Water Conservation Areas and Everglades National Park.
4. Enhance the unique biological resources that attract over one million visitors from all over the world to Everglades National Park each year.
5. Act as an important complement to the U.S. Sugar Corporation land acquisition, enabling water to flow south from planned storage and treatment areas around Lake Okeechobee instead of harmfully discharging it into the delicate St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee estuaries.

Preferred alternative 6E is clearly the best option for the continued restoration of our treasured America's Everglades. Thank you for the opportunity to comment on this important project.

Sincerely,