Number: 1982-16
WHEREAS, the restoration of a meandering river with seasonally-flooded marshes in the lower Kissimmee River Valley will:
- Conserve both surface and ground fresh water supplies;
- Improve the quality of the water of the Kissimmee River and in Lake Okeechobee;
- Greatly increase highly-valued fish and wildlife populations;
- Convert waste nutrient materials to peat and muck soils and to wetland plants of great value to ranchers for winter forage;
- Conserve fossil fuel supplies by utilizing the natural energies of the river system to accomplish these purposes; and
- Provide a resource having great recreational, cultural and aesthetic values to present and future generations of Floridians and their visitors; and
WHEREAS, Lake Okeechobee has been called the liquid heart of South Florida and is the critical element of the urban and agricultural water supply of the region; and
WHEREAS, the restoration is highly desirable for the maintenance of the water, land and biological resources of South Florida, which are of national significance;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation in annual meeting assembled March 18-21, 1982, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, hereby endorses the methods, purposes and goals of the Kissimmee River Restoration, and supports the prompt dechannelization and restoration of the natural river function to achieve these objectives.