FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
October 11, 2002
Task Force
Seeks Balanced Solution for “River and the Road”
ORLANDO
- Efforts to provide for the growing transportation needs
of Central Florida while protecting a precious regional
waterway took important steps forward today. Florida
Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Secretary
David B. Struhs toured parts of the Wekiva River and
nearby Rock Springs Preserve to assess options for an
environmentally sensitive Orlando expressway.
In September, Governor Bush
appointed Secretary Struhs to the newly created Wekiva
Basin Area Task Force along with other state, local,
business and environmental representatives. Recognizing
the need to protect resources while alleviating roadway
woes, Governor Bush charged the task force with
recommending a viable “link” from Interstate 4 to
Highway 429 with the greatest protection and least
disruption of the Wekiva River Basin ecosystem.
“The Wekiva Basin is a
wonderful slice of wilderness within the growing metro
Orlando area,” said Secretary Struhs. “Balancing
wildlife and water quality protection with the
transportation needs of the community presents us with a
tremendous challenge -- one we must, and will, accept.”
The Wekiva
Basin is part of a vast wildlife corridor connecting
northwest Orange County with the Ocala National Forest.
The state has acquired over 60,000 acres of public
conservation lands in the Wekiva area vital to the range
of Florida’s endangered black bear and other wildlife.
At the same time, however, the corridor is under
increasing development pressure as Orlando, Sanford, and
Lake County expand.
“Transportation
and environmental needs are rarely perfectly aligned,”
said Struhs. “The partnering of road planners with
environmental planners to seek effective solutions shows
Florida’s leadership in conservation and should serve as
a national model.”
The task force will present
findings to the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority
and Florida Department of Transportation in January, 2003
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Press Office
