cyndi lenz

psych nurse, documentary filmmaker, photographer, crazed river warrior of the Indian River Lagoon. Currently adventuring in the Piedmont of North Carolina.

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Representative Steve Crisafulli We need to buy the land.

The death mermaid

To: Representative Steve Crisafulli and all the people who voted for him and  the entire area he represents:

This is my backyard in Jensen Beach, Florida

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This could be your backyard!

We need to buy the land so Everglades Restoration can be complete.  Clean water needs to go south.

We got the money in amendment one. There is a way to make this happen. Please contact him and ask him to please discuss with the scientists who understand this issue so we can fix this.

http://postonpolitics.blog.palmbeachpost.com/2015/02/18/speaker-crisafulli-dont-buy-land-south-of-lake-o/

“House Speaker Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island, says he opposes the controversial land deal that would enable the South Florida Water Management District to purchase 46,800 acres of land south of the lake at fair market value.”

That’s because when the option runs out the land can be sold for 5 times the amount. Big Sugar is reneging on the deal they made. And that’s ok with with the Speaker of the House Crisafulli.

“Crisafulli wrote in an email response. “At this time, I do not support spending limited state resources to purchase more land south of Lake. My priority is to utilize and care for the land we own now.

This shows his lack of knowledge on the subject. The money is there through amendment 1.

If this doesn’t happen we are going to get discharges forever. Our water will always look like this and YOU the people of Florida would have destroyed not only our portion of what was once the fabulous Indian River Lagoon and the most diverse estuary in North America but our economy, our lives. If this happens this is Florida’s legacy. The people of Florida have let this happen.

By not doing this you are destroying us, the drinking water of South Forida by allowing salt water intrusion, and the Florida Bay.

There are plenty of scientists at the Everglades Coalition I’m sure they would be happy to talk to you!

“Environmental groups, spearheaded by the Everglades Foundation, want the district to purchase the land. They believe that the district could use the land to build a reservoir to store water, which they say would reduce harmful discharges of water from the lake into the St. Lucie Estuary and Caloosahatchee River. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers releases water from the lake into the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee when water levels rise and threaten the aging earthen dike that protects farmland and communities around the lake.”

Land Buy Critical for Everglades Restoration. Time is running out.

http://floridawaterdaily.com/2015/03/05/opinion-land-buy-critical-for-everglades-restoration

 

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Ignore the Death Mermaid at your peril

OCCUPIED TALLAHASSEE–When the Death Mermaid shows up, pay attention.

Back in 1881, she appeared to Hamilton Disston, warning him against trying to drain the Everglades. Old Ham, never the most emotionally stable of multimillionaires, shut his eyes tight and swore on his mother’s grave he’d stop drinking cologne.

Death Mermaid

In 1969, she scared the feds into killing the Everglades Jetport, a project beloved of South Florida Democrats. It would have been the largest airport in the world and bang in the middle of the Big Cypress Swamp.

Then she materialized at the South Florida Water Management District meeting, urging the water czars to stop screwing around with the Everglades.

You’d think they would listen to a skeletal apparition with long green hair (probably from all that toxic algae gagging Florida waters) and a tail. But these are Rick Scott appointees: they don’t believe in mermaids – or measurable water standards. They shrugged her off: just another crazy eco-chick.”

 Sept 8, 2026 Here’s a little update:

The “Death Mermaid” Legend and Political Satire

  • The Folklore: A satirical local legend traces back to an 1881 tale where a mythical “Death Mermaid” supposedly warned developer Hamilton Disston against draining the Florida Everglades. [1]
  • Political Protests: Environmental activists and political commentators in Florida have revived the “Death Mermaid” persona as a theatrical prop or costumed character during state policy and water-management debates to criticize decisions affecting the Everglades and local water resources. [1]

The Legend of Hamilton Disston and the Death Mermaid

In 1881, real estate tycoon Hamilton Disston purchased four million acres of Florida wetlands with the goal of draining the Everglades for agriculture and development. According to Florida lore and satirical eco-political stories, a skeletal apparition known as the “Death Mermaid”—described as having a skeletal upper body, long green hair choked by toxic algae, and a fish tail—materialized to Disston. [1]

She reportedly warned “Old Ham” against trying to drain the Everglades. The legend jokingly claims that Disston, who was not known for being emotionally stable, shut his eyes tight and swore on his mother’s grave that he would stop drinking cologne. [1]

Recurring Environmental Symbol

The Death Mermaid has reappeared in Florida political commentary as a phantom sentinel fighting to protect the state’s ecosystems: [1]

  • 1969: She is credited in local lore with scaring federal officials into canceling the construction of the massive Everglades Jetport, which would have built the world’s largest airport right in the middle of the Big Cypress Swamp. [1]
  • (same spot where Aligator Alcatraz is)
  • 2015: An environmental activist famously dressed up as the Death Mermaid and showed up at a South Florida Water Management District meeting. She urged board members to stop destroying the Everglades and to restore the natural southward flow of the River of Grass. [1]

Who was Hamilton Disston you ask?

 Hamilton Disston’s 1881 land purchase essentially saved the state of Florida from bankruptcy, but his ambitious attempt to drain the Everglades ultimately ended in a high-profile failure. [1, 2]

The Deal: A Pennsylvanian Saves Florida

Following the Civil War and the Reconstruction era, the State of Florida was completely broke. The state’s Internal Improvement Fund (IIF), which managed public lands, was drowned in over $4 million of debt and facing lawsuits from creditors. [1, 2, 3]

Enter Hamilton Disston, a wealthy Philadelphia saw manufacturer. In 1881, Disston signed a historic deal to buy 4 million acres of Florida wetlands for 25 cents an acre ($1 million total). The massive acquisition made him the largest individual landowner in the world at the time. In exchange for bailouts and a promise to drain an additional 12 million acres, the state agreed to give him half of any newly reclaimed land. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]

The Strategy: “Taming” the Water

Disston’s grand vision was to transform what the public viewed as a worthless, disease-ridden “wasteland” into a massive, profitable agricultural empire and a continuous water highway for commerce. [1]

His engineering strategy focused on the Kissimmee River Valley and Lake Okeechobee: [1]

When the natural Florida wet seasons returned, nature quickly reclaimed the land. Disston’s network of canals was simply too shallow and narrow to contend with the immense, flat sheets of water flowing through the Everglades watershed. [1, 2, 3]

  • The Verdict: In 1887, a state commission officially declared the drainage project a failure.
  • The Reality: While Disston claimed he had reclaimed millions of acres, modern researchers estimate he permanently drained only about 50,000 to 80,000 acres. [1, 2, 3]

A national economic panic in 1893 heavily depleted the Disston family fortune, and Hamilton Disston died in 1896 at the age of 51. His heavily mortgaged Florida properties were ultimately sold off. [1]

 


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