"Florida's top state wetlands expert has been suspended after she refused to issue a permit on a controversial project -- one that she said her boss was willing to bend the rules to approve."

"

The project: turning a North Florida pine plantation into a business that attempts to make up for wetlands that are wiped out by new roads and development. At stake: millions of dollars in wetland "credits" that can be sold to government and developers.

The problem, according to a May 9 memo from Department of Environmental Protection wetlands expert Connie Bersok, is that the owners want the DEP to give them lots of wetland credits for land that isn't wet."

Craig Pittman reports for the Tampa Bay Times May 28, 2012. [2]