50 years after Nixon halted project cutting canal across Florida, controversy continues
Idea for ‘Ditch of Dreams’ began with Spanish in 1500
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The U.S. Commerce Department image documented construction of the Cross Florida Barge Canal in the 1960s. (Photo from Florida Memory)
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – If you were asked to describe the legacy of President Richard Nixon, “environmentalist” is probably not one of the first things that would come to mind.
Before a political burglary blew up into a political scandal that toppled the president, Nixon made several progressive decisions, including expanding the Endangered Species Conservation Act, establishing the Environmental Protection Agency and 50 years ago this week ordering an end to a project to dig a canal across the Florida peninsula.