Gov. Ron DeSantis has announced Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has reached an agreement with Kanter Real Estate LLC, that will allow the state to purchase of 20,000 acres of wetlands in Water Conservation Area 3 (WCA 3) within the Everglades Protection Area located in Broward County. According to the Miami Herald, the Kanter family made its fortune in real estate and won the right to drill for oil on the land last year, despite opposition from the state. This acquisition would permanently prevent that. WCA 3 is one of the most important wetland systems in the Everglades ecosystem; with this 20,000-acre acquisition, there would be nearly 600,000 acres of wetlands in the area that would be permanently protected in public ownership for restoration and recreation. 

The Everglades, a World Heritage Site, is the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States and is made up of coastal mangroves, sawgrass marshes and pine flatwoods. It's home to numerous rare and endangered species like the West Indian manatee, American crocodile, and the Florida panther.