Environmentalists are attacking Florida sugar growers after failing to persuade state leaders to buy US Sugar land south of Lake Okeechobee for Everglades restoration.
They gathered over the weekend in West Palm Beach for a "Big Sugar Summit." The day-long summit drew a couple hundred environmentalists and elected leaders.Mary Barley is chairwoman of the Everglades Trust. She says environmentalists want to make sugar growers' political contributions toxic.
"They need to be toxic, that no elected official ever wants to take money from them", said Barley. "So the bottom line is without that we cannot win."
Environmentalists wanted the US Sugar land for a reservoir, but the purchase failed to gain much support among state leaders.
Discussions were on sugar growers' political influence, history in the state and impact on the Everglades.
US Sugar is the nation's largest producer of sugar cane. It says the land is not necessary for Everglades restoration.