EVERGLADES RESTORATION
A HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT AND HEALTHY ECONOMY
CREATE JOBS BY FIXING FLORIDA’S WATER
Tourism, the largest industry in Florida, is negatively impacted by environmental degradation.
The Everglades provides the drinking water supply for over 8 million Floridians and millions of tourists each year.
Restoration of America’s Everglades has a lasting impact on the viability and sustainability of the Sunshine State’s $1 trillion economy. Florida’s economy runs on clean water, and the health of our water infrastructure directly benefits the billions of dollars and thousands of jobs tied to outdoor recreation, tourism, real estate, and other sectors that define the state’s economic competitiveness and quality of life. Consider:
TOURISM CONTRIBUTES $85.9 BILLION AND SUPPORTS 1.5 MILLION JOBS
REAL ESTATE ACCOUNTS FOR $227.3 BILLION – NEARLY 22% OF FLORIDA’S GDP
RECREATIONAL BOATING AND FISHING CONTRIBUTE MORE THAN $23 BILLION AND SUPPORTS 130,000 JOBS
EVERGLADES RESTORATION YIELDS A 4:1 RETURN ON INVESTMENT AND CREATES MORE THAN 440,000 JOBS
THAT RANGE FROM THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY TO THE HARD-HIT TOURISM INDUSTRY
FLORIDA’S ECONOMY RUNS ON CLEAN WATER
"Here are no lofty peaks seeking the sky, no mighty glaciers or rushing streams wearing away the uplifted land. Here is land, tranquil in its quiet beauty, serving not as the source of water, but as the last receiver of it. To its natural abundance we owe the spectacular plant and animal life that distinguishes this place from all others in our country."
President Harry S. Truman, address at the Dedication of Everglades National Park, December 6, 1947