Acquiring Water Services From Northern Everglades Ranchlands

Abstract

In January of 2011, South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) issued a solicitation under the Northern Everglades Payment for Environmental Ser- 1 vices (NE-PES) Program. The solicitation asked cattle ranchers to propose on-ranch water management practices to retain water and slow runoff toward Lake Okeechobee—a water retention service—or propose how they might remove nutrients from off-ranch water before that water reached the lake—a nutrient removal service. In responding to the solici- tation, the ranchers requested the payment that would make them willing to provide these services during a 10-year contract period. The SFWMD reviewed the responses to the solicita- tion and, after negotiating with the ranchers, chose to enter into contracts with eight ranchers. A second solicitation was issued in winter 2013. Twenty proposals were submitted and a nal selection of contracts is expected in late summer 2013.

DOI: 10.2458/azu_rangelands_v35i5_shabman