Florida has reached a deal with a private real estate firm to buy a large swath of environmentally sensitive wetlands in the heart of the Everglades to spare the tract from oil drilling, the governor announced on Wednesday.
Florida's agreement to purchase 20,000 acres (8,094 hectares) of land from Kanter Real Estate LLC, if consummated, would mark the largest wetlands acquisition by the state in a decade, Gov. Ron DeSantis said in a statement.
The deal was reached after a Florida appeals court last year sided against the state Environmental Protection Department's bid to deny the Miami-based real estate company a permit to explore for oil on the land in question.