Everglades National Park

Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt approved a plan to protect the Florida panther, the blue tail mole skink and other endangered animals and plants in the Everglades, calling it the most comprehensive effort of its kind in U.S. history. Such plans usually focus on one threatened plant or animal at a time, or a few species in one ecosystem. The new plan is unprecedented because it covers 68 species living in 23 diverse habitats.

A federal judge who presided over the Everglades' restoration for more than a decade was removed from the case Tuesday following sugar growers' complaints that he favored environmental groups. U.S. District Judge William M. Hoeveler's removal by his superior was a victory for U.S. Sugar Corp., which led the fight against Hoeveler. The company contended Hoeveler had become too politically involved, criticizing state lawmakers and Gov.

The federal government Wednesday proposed a massive replumbing of much of South Florida to save the Everglades. In a 1,945-page report, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers laid out options for restoring the hydrologic conditions that existed before urban and agricultural development decimated one of the world's largest marshes. The Corps did not endorse any of the six complex options for re-engineering water flow.

A cleanup settlement with one of the state's biggest sugar producers will help end a lengthy standoff between growers and environmentalists over the fragile condition of the Florida Everglades, Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt said. "At last the gridlock is beginning to break," Babbitt told environmentalists at an annual conference in Miami sponsored by Friends of the Everglades.

The state Supreme Court ruled that sugar growers are not solely responsible for cleaning up the Everglades, ordering that all polluters share the cost of restoring the fragile wetland. The court ruled that a constitutional amendment passed by Florida voters in November 1996 does not lay financial liability solely on sugar farmers, whom environmentalists blame for polluting the Everglades.

Talks aimed at ending years of legal battles over cleaning up the Florida Everglades collapsed Thursday amid sharp disagreement between U.S officials and the sugar industry. The failure to reach agreement dashed hopes that had been raised last July when Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt announced an accord with sugar growers that was designed to be a framework for ending the dispute.

A new genetic study shows most of the 30 to 50 endangered panthers in the Everglades are not purebred Florida panthers at all, but hybrids that may not be entitled to protection under the Endangered Species Act. Scientists compared the panthers' cells and found two distinct families. One was apparently descended from South American pumas set free in the 1950s.

Gov. Jeb Bush signed a bill Tuesday that could extend the deadline for cleaning up the Everglades by 10 years, despite objections from environmentalists and a judge's warning that the law may violate a federal agreement. Bush said the cleanup will be more than 95% complete by the original deadline of 2006. A related bill that Bush says will address environmentalists' concerns was passed by a Senate committee later Tuesday.

An Australian weevil may be the answer to a pest tree infesting the Florida Everglades, the U.S. Agriculture Department said. The melaleuca tree--classified as a weed--competes with the park's native vegetation for growing room and absorbs water four times faster than native saw grass. Scientist Joe Balciunas, who is in Townsville, Australia, said the weevil-- Oxyopos vitiosa-- feeds on the growing tips of the tree's branches.