of all the major trust lands in the american kingdom , it is closer to a key urban area or more bedeviled with troubles than the everglades , a shallow , 50 - meter - high river of grass that flows south from port lake to jacksonville bay . for more than a generation , this fragile natural beauty has been held hostage by a net of special interests - - hunters , bodybuilders and about 6 million south florida residents in need of drinking water and erosion control - - that is as difficult as the world itself .
The Everglades is 50-mile wide.