With the 2000 presidential election as its backdrop, Everglades Betrayal describes incredible events surrounding the proposal to redevelop the Homestead Air Force Base into an airport located between Everglades National Park and Biscayne National Park in south Florida. An airport in that location would have profoundly impacted the area's national treasures, and environmentalists fought hard against it. Presidential candidates, however, were trying to win voters in the undecided state and desperately sought the support of one of the airport's biggest supporters, the Cuban American mayor of Miami-Dade County. ''There were surprising twists and turns at every juncture including the final decision,'' author Monika Mayr explains. She was the Assistant Superintendent at Biscayne National Park during much of the saga.
Mrs. April H.G. Smith, Audubon's Director of Ecosystem Restoration, characterizes Everglades Betrayal as ''a provocative and insightful account of the passionate dedication of south Florida environmental activists, political miscalculation, and unintended consequences.''
Readers of Everglades Betrayal will witness the strength and strategies of this country's greatest environmental protectors, explore the infamous political scene in south Florida, understand the intricacies involved in redeveloping the former Homestead Air Force Base, and journey through the sub-tropical paradise of the greater Everglades ecosystem, including Biscayne National Park and Everglades National Park.
