Florida Defenders of the Environment

The Florida Defenders of the Environment (FDE) was established in 1969 in Gainesville by Marjorie Harris Carr, Bill Partington, John Couse, and other scientists, economists, and lawyers who were concerned about the Florida ecosystem. It was the successor to an earlier group known as the Alachua Audubon Society. The organization's primary focus was to stop the construction of the Cross Florida Barge Canal, which was designed to cut across the middle of the state in order to improve transportation of goods across Florida. The canal had been planned since the early 1930s and under construction since 1964. In creating the canal, the state of Florida planned to flood parts of the Ocklawaha River basin and parts of the surrounding region. The FDE and several other environmental groups argued that the environmental effects of such a canal would have been disastrous. Through exhaustive campaigns, scientific and economic studies, and volunteer work from many individuals, the organizations successfully stopped the construction of the canal in 1971. The canal was officially de-authorized by the federal government in 1990 and by Florida in 1991.

Following the de-authorization of the canal, the organization has continued to be a leading environmental advocacy group. They are largely credited with creating the Cross Florida Greenway, a recreation and conservation area made up of much of the land originally designated for the Cross Florida Barge Canal. The Greenway was renamed the Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway in 1998. The group still closely monitors the condition of the Ocklawaha River, and also works to repair the damage done by earlier canal construction. The organization also actively works on other environmental issues in Florida, including the Everglades, wildlife protection, and sustainable growth and development.

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