Top White House aides acknowledged Thursday that the federal government had "not done its job" in supporting Everglades restoration over the last decade and pledged to make the effort a priority.
Calling his first glimpse of the Glades ''awesome,'' U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar touted the $279 million-plus in funding for restoration projects this year a sign that the Obama administration was committed to making up a $1 billion-plus spending shortfall.
"I think our best days are just ahead of us," said Salazar, who toured the marshes of western Broward County aboard an airboat flanked by U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson and Florida Gov. Charlie Crist and piloted by Ron Bergeron, a prominent developer and state wildlife commissioner.
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