As Everglades dry up, so does cash for repairs

That way, if funding disappears because of some unforeseen event, such as another big hurricane or a new war, the Corps might still have something to show for its efforts.

"What I do not want to have happen is we start building the 68 components, and maybe the money dries up and we've built a reservoir out there but we can't get water to it," he said. "I want to make sure that when we build, say, the first six or seven projects, that they function and they work, and if nothing else, and that's all we do, I want to be proud of that."

Still, no construction can begin on any of the projects until at least 2009, he said.

"There's a lot of unknowns out there," Hardesty said. "The science is unproven. We've got tremendous challenges."

And even with the new, more deliberate plan, funding could be hard to get.

Congress just passed a water projects bill over President Bush's veto that includes about $1.8 billion for Everglades restoration. However, the bill only approves the funds. It doesn't actually allocate them. In fact, there are still items in a 2000 water projects bill that have yet to be funded by Congress.

"We're going to have to fight for those funds," said Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla. "We have been trying for seven years to get these projects authorized."

Land prices exploded
In the meantime, the state has bought about 202,000 acres of land in and around the Everglades. But that represents only about half the land that will have to be acquired.

Because of rising real estate prices, the delays in acquiring the land are certain to prove costly.

In 2000, the cost of the land was estimated at $2,000 an acre. That has now soared to nearly $20,000 because of population growth and the building of homes farther and farther inland, said Carol Wehle, executive director of the South Florida Water Management District, the state agency in charge of restoration.

Eric Buermann, board chairman of the water agency, said he wonders if the project will ever be done.

"There are a lot of other competing interests for the money. We have the Iraq war. We have the rebuilding of New Orleans," Buermann said. "And the Everglades continues to suffer. Who knows how long it can last without some real substantial restoration efforts? We can't stop the clock."

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