all the water that runs on it from somebody else is yours if you want to keep it.

Now, we do not have-I have been elk hunting in Estes Park, and so on, and I know what the water situation is out there and it is rough. Mr. ASPINALL. You did not hunt any elk in Estes Park.

Mr. PACE. Right at the edge. In the city of Estes Park.

Well, anyhow, this is a very important thing and you hit your water in streams and veins, and so forth.

Well, we have the strata in south Florida and especially in the area of the park here it is a layer of limestone that is porous like a honeycomb and it goes down from, oh, from 6 inches below the surface, maybe you might have 4 feet of overburden, but from there down you have got a solid layer of rock that is honeycombed with water for about 60 feet, and all you need to do to get water here, and the cities get their water this way and the people with their wells get their water this way, and the people that are irrigating their crops get their water this way, they drive a pipe down in the ground and put a pump on it and they can pump water there until you know what freezes over.

Now, the farmers out there are different from California, Congressman Johnson. They dig a hole 8 inches in diameter about every 3 to 600 feet. I mean, in this area that I am talking about here. They put a pipe down in there and they pull a truck over it with a 225-horsepower motor and they pump a stream of water that goes like this, and they never lower the water level of that thing because it runs right back and is absorbed in the land. And I have never found yet one of those wells that was contaminated so that you could not go out and drink out of it, and they have been using them for years and years and this is where about 70 percent of your tomato crop, I believe, that comes out of the United States comes from in wintertime.

Now, I want to say a few other things. Before this I want to distribute these papers to you, if you will, please. I have gotten for you here some photographs that were taken from the National Wildlife about the shrimp production in Florida. You have heard some bad information here about the shrimp production.

Those lines with the little dots underneath and the broader lines represent the water flow. The broad lines represents the rainfall in that particular year and the length of the line represents the production in shrimps. The dotted lines represent the shrimp production. Right above it is the rainfall, and that was put out by this publication showing the relationship, if any, if you please, between water flow and shrimp production.

Now, I handed you another thing, this other thing that looks like blank paper with the white lines on it, the best we could do with the reproduction machine. That represents the water fall as represented by the south Florida flood control district and you will find that it hits just about on the nose with the water fall as represented over on the other thing.

I am giving you these because I think you can do your own studying on this thing the way I have.

Now, I got into this thing a long time ago, back in 1959, in connection with-in cooperation with Alan Boyd, whom I am sure a lot of you know, Dr. Lundstrom, and Dr. Jones. A fellow named Groover, who lives in Estes Park, tried to set up a company, a land company

of various parcels of land all over the State of Florida, included in which were 122,000 acres of Collier land which is a part of this area on the east, or was. This was later reduced to 22,000 and the whole thing did not go through, but in doing this I worked with a team of appraisers and we went in through all of the facets of what could be done with this land, what the water flow was, and so on and so forth, because we were dealing with a substantial figure, and we could not afford to be wrong, especially with the SEC.

So, I do-I will tell you that I have more than the ordinary knowledge of this area and we have studied it for all of this period of time and I say to this committee right now that what they are trying to do to preserve this water will not do it.

Now, if you take over this area, the waterflow is going to have to be stopped if you are going to preserve it.

And another thing I want to call to your

Mr. TAYLOR. Can you finish in 1 more minute?

Mr. PACE. Yes, sir; I sure can. The waterflow is going to have to be stopped by a series of dikes and dams in order to feed this water out. As you will see, in dry years it is just as dry as a bone out there and there is no water that goes anywhere. I want you to know that if you had been down here 2 weeks ago, or at most 3 weeks ago, you would have found all that land that you saw water on today, you would have found the biggest part of it dry as a bone. We have had a week of rain in which we had 2 inches one time and an inch and a half another time and we have had heavy rain and you came in right behind it, and a lot of that-and you are not seeing-you are seeing a picture all right because this is what happens to it during the rainy season all the time, you see. But this is not supposed to be the rainy season, not right now. And if there are any questions you gentlemen have that I can answer, I think I may have an answer. I might not be right [laughter] but I do also have a contour map and I did not have enough to go around for you, but if you want to see whether it is 15 feet or 7 feet, here it is.

Mr. TAYLOR. Mr. Pace, the charts that you have given us and that map will be made a part of the files.

Mr. PACE. I thank you, sir.

Mr. TAYLOR. We thank you for your testimony.

(The charts referred to will be found in the committee files.) Mr. JOHNSON. Just one thing. We used to have a lot of water in California, sir, and then we had to go to the Colorado Basin, and now we are looking to the Columbia River Basin, anyplace we can get water, and we had the same situation you people have out here.

As I understand it, in Florida there is a water crisis coming up. Water is going to be the lifeblood of this State the same as it is in California and we are about out of water.

Mr. PACE. Well, let me tell you a little bit about that. That might be a matter of opinion there. I was over about 2 months ago at a State chamber of commerce meeting. They had one of the head hydrologists in the country, so he claimed, from Jacksonville, and he says that if there weren't any evaporation, if there weren't a surface evaporation, there is enough water stored in this underground layer of land in south Florida to last without recharge, without recycling, for 25 years by just the basis right there. So this is a matter

Mr. JOHNSON. We thought that to be true in our great valleys in California but as we have drawn on the underground aquifers, we have found out that, believe me, they are shrinking, and where we were pumping from 30-foot, 40-, 50-, 60-, 100-foot lift, now we are going 400 feet. It costs you $50,000 to put a well in now.

Mr. PACE. Yes, sir. This is why I say you are wasting your money buying this 540,000 acres when you can take $18 million and build yourself a water storage area on land that you already own and you do not take all of this stuff out of circulation for taxes, and so on, that will amount to a billion dollars over a period of 10 years. And I will have the figures in this paper for you to read.

Mr. TAYLOR. Thank you, Mr. Pace.

We have a statement from Mr. Jim Butler, Fort Myers, that we will include in the record.

(Mr. Butler's statement follows:)

STATEMENT OF JIM BUTLER, FORT MYERS

The preservation of the Big Cypress Swamp as a Biological Community and a Fresh Water Reserve has proven to be beyond the capability of local county governments. Federal acquisition should be considered a necessity for the survival of this unique and important region.

Factors to be considered that favor the preservation of the area could be listed as follows:

The Big Cypress Swamp is the only sizable area of South Florida that still has a natural drainage.

The region provides 56% of the water for the Everglades National Park. The region is one of the few areas in South Florida not yet seriously altered or greatly contaminated by pesticides.

The plant and animal life of the area are in delicate balance with natural fluctuations of water levels and can therefore be easily effected by manmade water control.

The Big Cypress plant associations are unique and found nowhere else in the world.

Seventeen species of Wildlife which live within the Big Cypress Swamp are listed by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Department as Rare or Endangered. The region contains many endemic plant species. (38 orchids grow there7 of which grow there and nowhere else.)

The water flow of the Big Cypress Swamp is a major source for South Florida's rich estuarine habitat. The estuary is the nursery for young sport fishes, commercial fishes, crabs and shrimp, upon which a multi-million dollar industry depends.

The Big Cypress Swamp is a major fresh water reserve and recharge area for a water troubled South Florida.

Immediate Federal acquisition would be timely to avoid increased land costs from proposed I-75 construction across the Big Cypress.

Mr. TAYLOR. Now, this completes our list of witnesses. We came here seeking information. We feel the hearing was helpful. Listening to the witnesses today was helpful. We have tried to be fair in that we gave equal consideration to those who were both for and those who were against because we are anxious to get an adequate and a complete presentation on both sides.

No action will be taken by our committee without further hearings, probably in Washington. In any event, there will be additional hearings before action is taken.

I commend the witnesses on their fine statements and on their polite, courteous manner, and their interest which prompted many to come here and testify and prompted others to come and listen.

The record will be kept open for 10 days, so you or anyone else that wishes to submit a statement for the record will have an opportunity to do so.

Any other committee members have anything to say? If not, the subcommittee stands adjourned.

[Applause.]

(Whereupon, at 2:25 p.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.) (Additional material for the record follows:)

STATEMENT OF WALTER TYMINSKI, JR., MIAMI, FLA.

As of June, 1968 (World Almanac Figures) the Federal Government owned 755.344,860.3 Acres of land within the United States. This bill would add another 547,000 Acres.

In researching the Big Cypress-I found sparse and contradictory information. Much I have read was based on hearsay. I have relied upon the following for information for this letter:

1. "Hydrolic and Biologic Aspects of the Big Cypress Swamp, dated 1970– open file report 70003, U.S. Dept. of Interior Geologic Survey, Water Resources Division-herein referred as #1.

2. Environmental Problems of South Florida--PB-199-159, National Academy of Sciences-herein referred as #2.

3. Is Man Destroying South Florida-Article by Craighead, Chapter I herein referred to as #3.

4. Letter to President from Secretary of Interior with President's bill dated February, 1972.

5. National Geographic-January 1972 issue.

I offer, a total compilation of Water to the park in Chart attached as Exhibit #1. As you can see their is a variation between all sources.

Publication #1 further states that the 16% from Big Cypress feeds on areas encompassing 350 square miles, water quality good unhindered by Bridges, Canals and Levees. Maintains much of the water received by the Park is received from Collier, Hendry and Brownard Counties. According to this study 90% of the rainfall received by the Big Cypress recedes or Evaporates, 10% remains standing.

Publication #2-Recommends takeover of the Land or in the alternative establishment by the state of Florida of Water Control District-under strict Control. Part of the land recommended to be taken over is in Hendry County.

Publication #3-Gives a history of Canals, in particular the one built across Shark River Slough (62-65), partially in the Park. He maintains the Park and Big Cypress rely heavily on rainfall and the excess remains in pools or runs off seaward. Recommendation-No More Canals South of Lake Okeechobee and strict land management.

The only correct map of waterflow (according to locals) is the one provided to the National Geographic by The South and Central Flood Control and not the charts in federal reports. If this is so-than the water flow amounts may be in

error.

Canals built by the Army Corps of Engineers and the State of Florida have tended to manipulate fresh water into the sea and also produced stagnant Health Menaces.

I would respectfully suggest that the sparse amount of information, lack of maps, and scientific data on South Florida do not provide you with enough information to make a judgment by. The Governments of the United States and the State of Florida should make a minimum of a 3 year exhaustive study on the area and source of water. Environmentalists would now have us buy this land today and possibly more in the future-We need a total picture now not later. The State of Florida should in the meanwhile place heavy restrictions on the area and accept the responsibilities for the land within its own territory. The state cannot expect the Federal Government to bail them out-Florida needs a land use Plan, possibly stronger than the one presently being considered by the State legislature.

The United States Government should not buy back land it once gave to the States and through the Homestead Act. Each citizen has the right to own a piece of property without the sword of Eminent Domain over him. The families who

reside in the Big Cypress live there to get away from Miami and Naples, Hunters have lodges there. This should not be denied them.

Finally-if you do decide to take this land I would hope it is done per Title 40 sect 258-paid for promptly (unlike the Park land) and just compensation per fair market value paid.

STATEMENT OF E. O. HAWKINS, JR., PINECREST, FLA.

My name is Edward O. Hawkins, a small business owner for the past 25 years. Presently I am located in Pinecrest, Florida on the Old Loop Road (State Road 94), and have operated a business here for the past 14 years. For 11 years previous to these 14 years I operated a business in the Everglades (River of Grass) (Water Conservation Area 3, Highway 41 (Tamiami Trail)). The following remarks are the consolidation of 25 years living or adjacent to the area called the "Big Cypress Watershed". I would like to give you a little of the history of this area.

The 560,000 Acres called the "Big Cypress Watershed" was deeded from the United States Government to the State of Florida on April 29, 1903 under the act approved Sept. 28, 1850, entitled "An Act to enable the State of Arkansas and other states to reclaim the "swamp lands within their limits". Patent number 137, Recorded in the General Land Office, Recorded V. 3 pp. 333-336, Washington, D.C. Thence deeded by the State of Florida to Charles H. Scott on April 15, 1902 to drain land under an act approved January 6, 1885 of the State of Florida, entitled "An Act to provide for and encourage a liberal system of Internal Improvements in this state.

On September 26, 1917 it was deeded to Chevelier Corp. to develop. The Cheyelier Corp. built that portion of the Tamiami Trail (Hwy. 41) now called Loop Road (Hwy. 94) in Monroe County. Two towns started on Hwy. 94 (Loop Road), known as Pinecrest and Trial City which reached a population of 11,000. In 1930 or 31 the road was changed to run from Dade County to Collier County bypassing Monroe County. By the depression the population had decreased to 1 man.

In 1947 the Interior Department attempted to include this land into the "Everglades National Park". When the Boundaries of the "Everglades National Park" were established by Congress and the Dept. of the Interior in 1955, we were promised by the Federal Government that they would NOT acquire any more land in this area. The land was not needed to sustain the Park.

In 1957, the Governor of the state of Florida attempted to convey this land to the Miccosukee Indians. The Miccosukee settled for 204,000 Acres North of Tamiami Trail and West of 40 Mile Bend (200 Acres per Indian). Florida agreed not to take any more land in this area.

The people, believing and trusting The Federal Government and the State of Florida, began to buy land for future use and retirement. The town of Pinecrest now has approximately 200 inhabitants and growing every day. There are 70 registered voters, two Monroe County deputies and one Registrar. We are attempting to get a Voting Machine here as we now have to drive 90 miles for that privilege. The Town has one Gas Station, a Grocery Store, 2 Restaurants. There is also 1 Trailer park, 3 Vegetable Farms, 3 Rabbit Farms and 1 Egg producing Chicken Farm. There is approximately 6000 Acres of land in this Area that was farmed in the last 20 years with plans for future farming. Except for 1-160 acre piece and 1-160 acre piece (subdivided in 1925) no one owns less than 1/4 Acres and very few over 15 Acres. The town has Electricity and Telephones. We have approximately 500 weekend residents.

From Information taken from the U.S. Geological Survey, 1970, I understand that only 6% of the water from this Area reaches 16% of the Park. The other 94% is lost in Evaporation and Transpiration. The water supplied to the Park and the