House Passes Clawson Bill To Redirect 17,044 Acres in SWFL To The Coastal Barrier Resources System
Statement
The U.S. House of Representatives today passed a bill by Congressman Curt Clawson (FL-19) to place 17,044 acres of land in Collier County - in perpetuity - to the Coastal Barrier Resources System (CBRS). Congress created the CBRS in 1982 with the Coastal Barrier Resources Act. This law preserves the ecological integrity of coastal areas that serve as important barriers against winds and tidal forces caused by coastal storms and reduces further development in these critical areas.
Clawson's bill includes portions of Marco Island, Keewaydin Island, and Cape Romano -- part of a pristine, picturesque Ten Thousand Islands chain that begins 20 miles south of Naples. These newly preserved areas cover five geographic units, part of over 40,000 contiguous acres that will now be permanently protected. These new maps have passed public review, OMB review, and have been released by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to Congress.
Clawson's bill will create the largest grouping of CBRS units nationwide -- protecting the Florida Everglades and ecosystem, aquatic plants and animals, other wildlife, and private properties from flood and storm damage. The new maps also correct errors in outdated 40-year-old maps that erroneously placed 99 acres of privately owned development in the area into the CBRS, affecting over 1,600 Southwest Floridians.
Following Clawson's speech on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives he stated:
"It was my life-long concern for the environment, and involvement in water quality issues in Southwest Florida, that led me into Congress. So the passage of H.R. 890 is especially rewarding to me. This bill will have a profound, permanent, and positive impact on the ecology, property values, and quality of life in Southwest Florida for all generations to come. The 15 miles of coastal barrier protected by this bill is sound economics, as it will grow Southwest Florida's real estate values and tourism industries, which attract over five million visitors each year, generating $4.6 billion in annual revenues."
Source