The Governor’s Commission for a Sustainable South Florida – Florida State Archives

During my internship at the Florida State Archives, I got to work at the Record Center for a few weeks (and I am actually still working there, still struggling with my internship). One of my tasks there was to study a new series that had been accessioned by the Archives in February 2007, re-box and re-folder all the documents, as well as write the description of the series, and enter the data in re:discovery.

Here is some of the information that I have gathered:

Record Group Number: 000550
Series/Collection Number: .S 2092
Creator: Florida. Dept. of Environmental Protection.
Title, Dates: Everglades study and restoration commission records, 1994-2001.
Amount: 8.3 cubic ft.

Description of the Series:
The Governor's Commission for a Sustainable South Florida was created by Governor Lawton Chiles in 1994 (Executive Order 94-54) to assure a healthy Everglades ecosystem, which could coexist with and be mutually supportive of the South Florida economy. The Commission was formed partly in response to numerous lawsuits, which arose over the ecosystem restoration and was intended to improve consensus and coordination of activities impacting the ecosystem between the private and public sectors. The Commission was headquartered in Coral Gables and was funded by grants administered by the Department of Environmental Protection.
The Commission issued a variety of reports and studies, including a restudy of the 1948 "Central and South Florida Project" which had resulted in a program of drainage and building of canals, levees, and water control structures in the Everglades. The Commission's "Restudy" proposed recommendations to alleviate the damage caused by these activities and to restore the Everglades ecosystem.
The Commission was continued by Executive Orders 95-464 and 97-201. As the Commission was set to expire on June 30, 1999, Governor Jeb Bush signed Executive Order 99-144, establishing the Governor's Commission for the Everglades as the successor agency to the Commission for a Sustainable South Florida and comprised of a similar membership. The Commission was funded from the budgets of the Florida Departments of Environmental Protection, Transportation, Community Affairs, and Agriculture and Consumer Services. The Commission served as an advisory body to the South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Task Force; served as a forum for improving decision-making and public participation in Everglades’s restoration; and evaluated and made recommendations regarding funding and implementation of the Restudy.
In March 2000, the Commission adopted Resolutions 2000-1 and 2000-2 calling for the State of Florida to fully fund the non-federal share of the restoration plan (the "Restudy") and recommending full partnership between the State of Florida and the federal government in implementing the plan. The Governor's Commission for the Everglades continued operating until expiration of EO 99-144 on June 30, 2001.

Summary of the Series’ content:
This series documents the efforts of the Governor's Commission for a Sustainable South Florida, and its successor agency the Governor's Commission for the Everglades, to develop a consensus-based plan for restoration of the Everglades ecosystem. The series includes correspondence with the Governor, legislators, members of Congress, President Bill Clinton, lobbying organizations, and citizens, as well as correspondence between Commission members, discussing issues studied by the Commission and issues raised at Commission meetings. Also included in the series are Commission reports, studies, and amendments, as well as drafts showing development of the reports and studies; Executive Orders establishing or extending the Commission; Commission resolutions; member appointment records; meeting files, including minutes, agendas, and background materials; study and meeting files of the Commission's issue teams and committees; public relations materials such as videos and brochures; and newspaper articles and press releases.