But it did have patches of quicksand. About 400 of the 760 campus acres are officially designated wetlands. 765,000 tons of landfill must be trucked in to provide foundation for the first group of buildings. Deer were drowning in the Everglades. Local residents were evacuated.
People are afraid that the west coast of Florida is going to look like the east coast.
The Corps of Engineers is one of a half dozen state and federal agencies that have been involved in a series of environmental disputes that have delayed campus construction by at least seven months. Although the campus wetlands harbor several endangered species of animals, birds and reptiles, much of the skirmishing has been over the Florida Panther, a creature about the size of a California mountain lion, that ranges widely in search of prey. Only 30 to 50 panthers remain in all of South Florida, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which is trying to increase these numbers. University officials in Tallahassee insisted there are no panthers on or near the campus. Flood control, water quality and the preservation of wetlands areas are other major environmental concerns.