The U.S. Army Corps on engineers just announced it was approving the destruction of more than 2000 acres of wetlands for a new Florida airport, the St. Petersburg Times reports. (The article ran Aug. 17--I find the web site hard to navigate so I can't give a more precise link.) There is some worry from government officials about hurricanes, but according to this story, realtors and developers are highly in favor (surprise!) and one loval developer stands to greatly benefit. The airport would be abotu 20 miles from Panama City in a very remote area of the state next to a state forest.

Our friends in Louisiana have learned the hard way that destroying wetlands, especially such a large amount, can lead to disastrous consequences. And our friends (at least mine) in the restoration business have said it costs far more to restore a wetland that it ever would to maintain a natural one. At any rate, the environmental groups have plans to block the airport, while the developers seemed poised to keep pushing for it. In Florida, a state with some of the most committed conservationists as well as the most experienced (wealthy) developers, it could lead to an ugly showdown.