Everglades restoration seen as politically unifying issue

Gulfshore Business, October 17, 2025

Everglades restoration is one issue that continues to bring people together, said Eric Eikenberg, CEO of The Everglades Foundation, during the SanCap Chamber of Commerce business luncheon Oct. 15 at Sundial Beach Resort on Sanibel Island.

“It is a unifying issue,” Eikenberg said. “We have to get away from this divisiveness. We’re all Americans. But this topic unites people. This is a beautiful story about water. We’re all connected by water.”

Eikenberg’s presentation, titled Everglades Restoration - It’s Worth It, focused on progress toward improving water quality across South Florida and completing the Everglades Agricultural Area Reservoir south of Lake Okeechobee by 2029.

“They are going to do it,” he said. “They are finding money in this fiscal year. Even with the government shutdown, the Army Corps is working tirelessly to find those dollars.”

He traced the history of Everglades restoration from 2000, when then-President Bill Clinton signed the first legislation to protect and restore the wetlands, through years of water quality challenges, including the blue-green algae and red tide crises of 2016 and 2018.

“Some 25 years later, it’s finally coming to fruition, thanks to grassroots protest,” Eikenberg said, adding that business owners must remain vigilant to help ensure the 2029 completion date is met.

“This chamber has made water quality its top priority,” he said, noting that Florida Bay is showing the best conditions “we’ve seen in a long time.”

John Lai, president and executive director of the SanCap Chamber, credited Eikenberg with helping him recognize the connection between economic and environmental health.

Read the full Gulfshore Business article here: https://www.gulfshorebusiness.com/environment/everglades-restoration-seen-as-a-politically-unifying-issue/article_5947c6f6-4ecc-497f-b60b-93c70a9b80ad.html

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