After the "Big Cypress Watershed" report was received, Mr. Robert F. Gibbs of the U.S. Department of the Interior appeared before the Board of County Commissioners to explain the proposed programs. He did not have any additional facts about the area to support the proposed programs. He did mention new studies that are getting started now. These studies will require three years at a cost of one million dollars each year and are to be of the environment of the South Florida area. These will incude water quality, water quantity, rainfall distribution, hydrologic features, delineation of wetlands, aquifers, delineation of potential water supply, biological studies of certain areas and many other phases of the environment of South Florida. This indicates that even the Department of Interior realizes that there is not adequate information available to make final decisions and plans for the future of the watershed area.

The Collier County Commissioners recognize the benefits of the Everglades National Park and surely have no desire to do anything that may damage it. However, they also recognize the rights of individual property owners and do not wish to be rushed into placing unnecessary restrictions on the use of their property.

The proposed three year study at a cost of three million tax dollars should surely provide more accurate information for making more intelligent decisions on what program should be adopted and developed. The study may even bring forth possible programs that are not mentioned in the "Big Cypress Watershed" report.

At the regular meeting of June 15, 1971, the Board of County Commissioners gave instructions that this letter be written requesting that the final decision on a program for the "Big Cypress Watershed" be made after the completion of the three year study now under way. This would place the decision making after the information is available rather than before.

If the Department of Interior insists that recommendations be made prior to the completion of the three year study, it is requested that more time be granted to review the various programs. The report on the "Big Cypress Watershed" has been available only a very short time. This has been during the County's annual budget planning time leaving very little opportnuity to give much attention to this. It would be desirable to have until November 1, 1971 to make a recommendation on either program that is outlined in the report. We believe this decision is too important to the future of Collier County to be made on such short notice with so little factual information available.

EXHIBIT B

DISCHARGE DATA FOR THE TAMIAMI CANAL FROM 40-MILE BEND TO CARNESTOWN INCLUDING BARRON RIVER

Note.-Water year is from October through September. The number of the water year is the same as the year of September. Water year 1971 runs from ctober 1970 through September 1971.

Above figures were compiled from 1971 Tax Roll, and have been rounded off to the closest $100.

Mr. TAYLOR. Mr. Norman Herren.

Before you start, Mr. Herren, I would like to congratulate the people of Collier County on the very, very attractive feature to the county which we observed both in driving through it this past weekend and flying over it. It seems to me like the town of Naples is one of the best manicured, best kept, cleanest cities I have been through, and as we flew over the beach it gave the same impression.

Mr. TURNER. We think so, too.

STATEMENT OF NORMAN HERREN

Mr. HERREN. Thank you, sir. I will join in with the county manager and join you, too. We appreciate those remarks and we are quite proud of our county and the communities in it.

I think each of you probably now has a copy of my statement.

My name is Norman A. Herren. I am a native Floridian having been born in Miami, Fla. I received all of my formal education in Dade County and graduated from the University of Miami with a degree of bachelor of science in business administration.

Shortly after graduating from the university, I moved to Collier County and became associated with the Barron Collier organization in November 1938. Except for almost 4 years service in the U.S. Navy during World War II, I have continuously resided in Collier County. For the past 18 years I have served as the resident manager for two corporations and three partnerships of the Collier organization which are based in Naples, Fla. Our holdings presently comprise approximately 400,000 acres of land, practically all of which are located in Collier County.

In addition to my duties and responsibilities in the management of these lands, I have also served in public office as chairman of the Collier County School Board, member of the Florida Board of Forestry for 8 years, including 2 years as president, and am presently chairman of the Collier County Coastal Area Planning Commission.

The above statements are entered into the record merely to show my qualifications as being thoroughly familiar with the overall general conditions as they have existed in our county for the past 30-odd years.

I wish to make it very clear that I am not appearing in behalf of the Collier County Planning Commission. I have not been requested nor authorized by the county to do so. Instead, I am here today as a resident citizen of Collier County and as representative of a landowner within the affected area.

Although Collier County is a rather young county (having been founded in 1923), and has a population of less than 40,000, it is considered to be more progressive than a great number of counties throughout the United States and which are much older and far more populous than Collier County. For example, Collier County has established a water management board, which has created water management districts within the county. These water management districts, through the board, have in turn conducted studies, adopted certain rules and regulations, and implemented plans for the proper use and protection of our fresh water supply. The county has also created an environmental council to study the effect of continued development within our county and to make recommendations for solutions to air and water pollution problems, proper disposal of waste matter, and related problems resulting from an increasing population. Also, the county has established planning and zoning boards, which, in turn have adopted a comprehensive plan for the development of the county. This comprehensive plan has been implemented by the adoption of subdivision regulations, zoning regulations, and building codes-all of which must be adhered to by any developer in our county. To properly administer all of the various programs, to insure that required regulations are complied with, and to see that the elected officials are kept fully informed, the county commission has employed a county

manager.

I have enumerated the above to show that our country has taken the positive approach in an attempt to solve problems resulting from growth. I am a firm believer that man can and will solve any problems which man himself has created, if man devotes sufficient thought and

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energy to finding such solutions. This policy, however, calls for positive thinking with an approach of confidence-an attitude that says: "We can find the right way:" not negative thinking with an approach of defeat-an attitude that says: "Stop everything, there is no solution."

I wish to take this opportunity to emphasize most strongly that the area enclosed within the line presently used to describe the Big Cypress swamp is a misnomer and is indeed a very loose application of an ill-defined term to a hugh area of southwest Florida.

I do not believe we have a map that shows on it the total outline of the Big Cypress area, but I am sure you gentlemen are familiar with it.

When I first came to Collier County in 1938, there were six sawmills operating within the area designated as the Big Cypress swamp. Every one of these sawmills was engaged in the logging and milling of pine timber. Some years later, during World War II, the Lee Tidewater Cypress Co. began logging the Fakahatchee Strand. It is estimated that that company logged approximately 330 million board feet of cypress mainly from the Fakahatchee Strand and from an area immediately adjoining it to the west. All of this cypress timber was logged from the western half of Collier County-none of it came from the area east of State Road 29. In addition, approximately 50 million board feet of cypress timber was logged by others from widely separated Cypress Strands in Collier County-making a total of approximately 380 million board feet of cypress timeber cut and removed from Collier County, practically all of it coming from the western half of the county.

As stated above, when I came to Collier County in 1938, six sawmills were engaged in logging pine timber within the so-called Big Cypress area. The logging of pine timber continued through 1956. during which time more than 400 million board feet of pine timber was logged and removed from the so-called Big Cypress Swamp. It is indeed an unusual circumstance that a cypress swamp would produce more pine than cypress timber.

This same Big Cypress Swamp area provides excellent pasture for approximately 65,000 head of cattle. These cattle are located on ranches which utilize a total of some 440,000 acres for grazing. Again, this is considered to be very good utilization of a cypress swamp.

Although this area under discussion today has only recently gone into the development of citrus groves, nevertheless, there are presently some 2,000 acres of citrus located within the boundary of the Big Cypress Swamp and an additional 7,500 acres of citrus groves immediately adjoining this line and lying fully within Collier County. These citrus plantings have occurred within the last few years and additional grove land is being considered for this area.

Finally, this area produces an average annual acreage for all winter vegetable crops of some 40,000 acres. This means that the actual land prepared and farmed is about 20,000 acres as two crops are generally grown from the same land each year. It is interesting to note that within the Big Cypress Swamp area more than 150,000 acres have been farmed for winter vegetables in past years. Our company agricultural leases require that the county engineer approve the location, number, size, and rate of flow of all farm irrigation wells located on our lands prior to the execution of such leases by us. The normal practice for

farmers in this area is to farm the same land for a period of 2 years, then move to a new location. The old farmland is then converted into improved pastures for the grazing of cattle, and may even be refarmed after 4 or 5 years. All of the above production casts considerable doubt as to the label being applied to this area, namely, the Big Cypress Swamp.

Much has been said about the building of roads in this area and the damaging effect such roads may have on the general ecology of south Florida.

I should like to point out that for the past 40-odd years south Florida has been crossed from coast to coast by two highways, namely, State Road 80 from Fort Myers to West Palm Beach, following a route south of Lake Okeechobee: and U.S. 41---better known as the Tamiami. Trail-from Naples easterly to Miami. More recently a third highway (popularly known as Alligator Alley) has been constructed from Naples to Fort Lauderdale. In addition, hundreds of miles of State, county, and private roads have been constructed within this area over the past 30 years. Private roads include logging roads as well as roads constructed by farmers and ranchers. To our knowledge, no adverse effects have resulted from the construction or use of any of these roads.

So much for the past and present uses of much of the so-called Big Cypress Swamp. Let us now examine the role being considered for a major portion of this area.

At this point, I think it may be fitting for me to point out to the Committee that the Collier organization has long been aware of the growing need for good conservation practices and the setting aside of areas in the best interest of the public good. For example, the Collier families have made outright gifts-among others--of land as follows: Fifty square miles, or 32,640 acres, of coastal lands and many of the Ten Thousand Islands, to the United States for inclusion in the Everglades National Park;

Nine square miles, or 5,760 acres, in southern Collier County to the State of Florida for the Collier-Seminole State Park;

Five square miles, or 3.200 acres, in northwestern Collier County to the National Audubon Society, for a portion of the Corkscrew Sanctuary.

(Incidentally, the formal dedication of the Everglades National Park by President Harry Truman took place in the town of Everglades in Collier County in December 1947.) Obviously, with this background, the Collier interests do not wish to see the Everglades National Park damaged or destroyed. In other words, it is our firm conviction that, if it is shown that additional lands are in fact required for and are essential to the future well-being of the park, then certainly, those lands should be acquired by the Federal Government. By the same token, lands not so required should not be acquired by the Government but left in private ownership.

However, there is some question in my mind as to what lands, if any, may be required. Unfortunately, misinformation has even found its way into some of the proposed legislation wherein it is erroneously stated that "... Everglades National Park . . . is dependent for more than half its surface water supply on water flowing from the Big Cypress Swamp. . ." According to the U.S.G.S. report entitled "Some