"LOXAHATCHEE NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, Fla. — Florida water managers are preparing to evict the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service this summer from a swath of Everglades that it's managed for 66 years.

At issue is the agency's failure to halt an infestation of exotic vines and trees that have smothered sections of this 141,000-acre wildlife refuge in violation of a 2002 agreement that had been expected to keep the Palm Beach County tract in federal hands until 2053.

If the state follows through, FWS will be left with just 2,600 acres that it owns on the refuge's edge — not enough to continue federal programs at Loxahatchee."

Corbin Hiar reports for Greenwire February 20, 2017. [2]