One Florida Foundation: Farmers are the ‘boogeyman’ in Everglades flooding blame game

TAMPA, Fla. – One Florida Foundation Executive Director Nyla Pipes defended Florida farmers from being the “boogeyman” as groups like Captains for Clean Water blamed farmers for flooding the Everglades Agricultural Area.

“For many years now, decades, in fact, the farmers have really been the boogeyman in the conversation and it’s because of fundraising,” Pipes said in an interview on Florida’s Voice with Brendon Leslie.

Pipes refuted claims made by Captains, and other environmental groups, that local ranchers were the root cause of flooding to the Everglades basin.

“You know, the Everglades Foundation, Everglades Trust and a lot of these other Everglades Foundation-related organizations have absolutely bought the narrative over time with the environmental groups,” Pipes said.

Established in 2016, Captains for Clean Water recently accused local farmers in social media posts for flooding the Everglades Agricultural Area.

However, data from the South Florida Water Management District indicates 71% of water in the Everglades has come from rainfall. The report also indicates only 14% of water from the Everglades Agricultural Area is flowing into water conservation areas, which are the state-owned Everglades.

“For one thing, it’s really easy to lie when you’re not in the room, you’re not looking at the data yourself, and you haven’t been studying this for years,” Pipes said. “These guys really kind of came out of nowhere in what 2016, 2018. They really ramped things up, and they don’t have the breadth of knowledge that many people [have] in the conversation.”

Described on their website, Captains for Clean Water fights to “restore and protect aquatic ecosystems for the use and enjoyment of all.” The organization also declares it’s “had enough” of Florida’s poor water management hurting its estuaries.

“You know, they are self proclaimed experts, and there’s a lot of those in Everglades restoration. It’s one of the reasons that I tell people look, don’t ever refer to me as an expert. I’m an advocate, and I sit strongly in that role,” Pipes said. “There’s a difference between being an advocate and telling people that you are the science, that you’re the political science, that you know, everything.”

A grassroots organization, One Florida Foundation is “dedicated to developing sustainable statewide policy that works to preserve and protect Florida’s water resources.” The nonprofit also “dares to approach problems from a perspective of problem solving and solution seeking.”

Leslie also echoed Pipes’ sentiment regarding Captains for Clean Water in a recent interview with radio host Drew Steele.

“They’re not an environmental group, they’re a political shill group looking to demonize our farmers,” Leslie said. “They always say big sugar, big sugar, big sugar south of the lake. A majority of the vegetables, probably three fourths of the vegetables and produce during the winter months for the Eastern seaboard comes from those farms down there.”

According to the Florida Farm Bureau, the Everglades Agricultural Area supplies food for millions of Americans during the winter months. Food production of lettuce, cabbage, rice, sweet corn, green bean, and celery benefit over 179 million people east of the Mississippi River benefit from the region each year.

“The same rains that flooded the Everglades delayed planting and harvesting of winter vegetables in South Florida, and growers are working overtime to prepare the fresh sweet corn, green beans and other fresh vegetables Americans need to serve on their dinner tables this Thanksgiving,” said Jim Spratt, chair of the Florida Agricultural Coalition.