One of the big development projects that we wrote about in "Paving Paradise" was Mirasol, a controversial golf course subdivision that would wipe out 650 acres of wetlands in the western Everglades. It was one of a series of developments destroying wetlands in an area near Bonita Springs where the loss of wetlands had already led to rampant flooding in 1995.

Developer J. D. Nicewonder, a West Virginia coal mining magnate, had proposed building two 18-hole golf courses and nearly 800 homes on 1,766 acres, more than half of it swamp. When a pair of Environmental Protection Agency wetland experts visited the site, "we were in the water all day,” one of them told us. “We found no high ground."

To make up for the loss of 650 acres of swamp, Nicewonder promised to preserve another 830 acres of wetlands in the same area, removing exotic melaleuca trees from it to improve its functioning -- although of course basic math shows that that's still a loss of 650 acres of wetlands in an area prone to flooding.

The EPA sent the Corps of Engineers a series of letters objecting to issuing a permit for Mirasol.

"They foresaw increased pollution flowing into the area’s already-impaired waterways and the loss of habitat for the Florida panther and other endangered species," we wrote. Also, "they pointed out that the Corps should not allow something that is not water dependent to be built in wetlands unless there is no practical alternative—and the Corps’ alternatives analysis fell woefully short of being
adequate, the EPA staff said."

But instead of using its veto power to stop the project, the EPA waved the white flag. So in 2007, the Corps approved Mirasol's wetlands destruction permit.

So the National Wildlife Federation, the Florida Wildlife Federation, the Conservancy of Southwest Florida, the Collier County Audubon Society and the National Audubon Society went to court. Yesterday, U.S. District Judge Jose Martinez ruled against the Corps and the Fish and Wildlife Service, overturning Mirasol's permit.

In his 56-page opinion, Judge Martinez found "that the Corps failed to take a 'hard look' at the cumulative impacts of Mirasol and nearby developments in its environmental assessment." All the Corps' permit did is mention the other nearby developments in passing. As usual, it never did really consider what the consequences would be of wiping out so many wetlands all in one place.