President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ decision to open Alligator Alcatraz is government gone rogue, and the Everglades are paying the price.
‘Alligator Alcatraz’ opening draws protests
The opening of ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ drew protests, including from environmentalists and Indigenous groups.
A watery wilderness lies between Naples and Miami, a serene Florida landscape of ancient cypress trees, rare orchids and elusive species like the Florida panther.
To set foot in Big Cypress National Preserve is to be enchanted by it, to see firsthand its irreplaceable value in a state where the coasts are crowded by strip malls, highways and housing developments. It’s not only a beautiful place − its survival is essential to the water supply and the economy for millions of Floridians.
The Tallahassee and Washington politicians ramrodding a mass detention center into this part of the Everglades are ignoring these realities. They have lost touch with the citizens who cherish this place, who recognize its connection to Florida’s public health and economy.
The backlash has been swift. A diverse coalition of tens of thousands of Floridians are calling on Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier to stop construction of the damaging detention center they’ve dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.”
The coalition includes conservative hunters, tribal members, “Gladesmen” who have lived in Big Cypress for generations, environmentalists and countless other Floridians from all walks of life.
Miccosukee tribal elder Betty Osceola has been at the forefront. “It shows regardless of who we are, we all have something in common,” she said. “We love the Everglades, and we’re willing to stand together to fight for her.”
DeSantis has dismissed any concerns about environmental impacts on the site, revealing how out of touch he is with his constituents. The governor took office in 2019 pledging to be a “Teddy Roosevelt conservationist,” but his aggressive pursuit of this detention center in the Everglades is the latest in a series of about-faces.
In the summer of 2024, it was an attack on state parks from his administration. Followed by an attempt to give up the treasured Withlacoochee State Forest and the Guana River Wildlife Management Area. Then a proposed rock mine on 8,600 acres in the Everglades. Now this.
DeSantis launches yet another assault on the Everglades
We’ve been here before: In 1969, Marjory Stoneman Douglas founded Friends of the Everglades specifically to save this site from development of a massive airport.
She locked arms with the Miccosukee Tribe and many other allies to defeat that terrible proposal. They won, and in 1974 the Big Cypress National Preserve was established to protect the area in perpetuity for all Americans.
Although one runway was built, it has been lightly used for training flights − until two weeks ago, when Florida and the federal government advanced a scheme to build this detention center, with no public input and within a protected national preserve.
When Uthmeier appeared on cable news June 17 to announce what he dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” in the heart of the Everglades, it looked like a stunt to distract from other environmental threats. As it turns out, it was a stunt and he was serious.
Less than a week later, a convoy of equipment trucks and construction vehicles began moving onto the site. On Tuesday, July 1, the detention center opened to the first detainees. It’s a low-water mark for DeSantis’ environmental record, but it’s not a done deal.
We’re committed to the long fight. This treasured place just 6 miles from Everglades National Park is irreplaceable. That’s why Big Cypress was designated the country’s first national preserve in 1974.
History is repeating itself as it comes under threat. Now, as then, the people of Florida are rising up in opposition.
Florida deserves to know environmental impacts of Alligator Alcatraz
On June 27, Friends of the Everglades and the Center for Biological Diversity filed a federal lawsuit, with legal support from Earthjustice and attorneys Paul Schwiep and Scott Hiaasen, to halt activity at the site so a thorough environmental impact study can be done, as required by federal law.
The detention center site is more than 96% wetlands − a serious concern as dump trucks and paving equipment enter the site day after day. We’re also concerned about the impact on endangered species as well as light pollution, sound pollution and other threats.
The law is clear: The federal government is required to make sure environmental impacts are assessed before damage occurs.
If you’re not an environmentalist, the fiscally conservative argument should sway you: Taxpayers have invested more than $10 billion in Everglades restoration, the most complicated and expensive ecosystem restoration project on the planet. The law requires consideration of alternative sites, which has not been done.
Alligator Alcatraz threatens to undermine that investment.
And for what? Fame for Florida’s politically ambitious attorney general? Political points for Florida’s governor?
This is government gone rogue, and the Everglades are paying the price. The state seized the site from Miami-Dade County on June 23, invoking dubious emergency powers without following federal law, then erecting a mass detention center in one of the most sacred, environmentally sensitive areas of the state.
It’s been said that national parks were America’s “best idea.” This looks like one of America’s worst.
Eve Samples is executive director of Friends of the Everglades. Jessica Namath is founder of the grassroots advocacy group Floridians for Public Lands.
