The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1954-02-23
Smathers Explains Everglades
Park Development Proposal

An eXpIdndtlOn OF ule proposed
Everglades National Park develop.
ment was received by The Citizen
today from Sen. George Smathers.
The senator's explanation is con-
tanned in a letter which he wrote
to Edwin L. Mason, of Miami.
The text of the letter follows:
Hon. Edwin L. Mason
''5050 N. w. 7th Avenue
Miami, Florida
Dear Ed:
'Thank you very much for your
recent letter regarding the Ever
gladeS National Park. l appreciate
the friendly attitude In which il
was written and this answer is
written in the same friendly spirit
"You have had much more ex.
Iperience in the trial Of law suits
than l, and | am sure that your
perlence In the trial of law suits
than l, and l am sure that your
have learned much better than |
the necessity of getting the facts
straight before attempting to ar
rive at a correct conclusion.
That same need is evident in
this controversy over the Ever
gladeS National Park. The first
point which needs to be clearly UNI
derStood Is the location of the pre-
sent authorized boundaries of the
Park. Once that is clearly under
stood, then it is easy to see that
any claim that l am sponsoring
a bill expanding the Park boun-
DIARIES" is obviously Incorrect.
THE bill which | contemplate in
Producing, along with other men,
bers of the Delegation. actually re-
IduceS the size of the Park by close
to 5000 acres - and il may be
that before finally being adopted
we will reduce the size of the
Park even more.
What we seek TO do by this
proposed legislation is 10 general
lY shift from East to West TO
provide the park with an eastern
exit and entrance similar 70 the
one which we now have at Home.
stead.
"ln this Legislation we propose
to drop from the present authorized
boundary line many thousands of
acres in Dade and Monroe Corn-
ties located within the extreme
Southeast edge of the Park; elm
mate from within the Park that
large tract of land lying North of
the Tamiami Trail; and add instead
about $1,000 acres of water and
land on the extreme Northwest
corner of the Park, all of which is
located IN Collier County.
This land which We seek to
corporate would include land i'm
medIately South and somewhat
West of Everglades City. which
has been known in the past as the
Ten Thousand Islands.
So far as I can ascertain. II has
never been considered either good
farming land or good hunting land
but it would be an attraction to
Park visitors because IN no other
part Of the world do We have any.
thing to approximate these Ten
Thousand Islands.
ANY fair-minded person would
recognize the necessity of having
the Park boundaries on the East
side made into a straight North
South line so that the boundaries
can be policed in practical
manner against p0aching. despoll-
ing. ard for conservation purposes.
This line can be strsiahtened
merely by an Executive Order
OF the Secretary Of +he Interior
because the little parcels Of land
which have not yet been made
part Of the park are, nsverths.
less. already within me suthori.
led boundaries Of me Park, and
the Government can either pvr.
chase or condemn in accordance
with present law for me purpose