J.D. Alexander's Blue Head Ranch in Thick of Everglades Land Purchase

While legal and political wrangling continues over the U.S. Sugar land deal, the U.S. government is moving forward with an $89 million purchase of development rights to restore the Everglades.

The acquisition of conservation easements on a portion of state Sen. J.D. Alexander's Blue Head Ranch in Highlands County is part of an overall 26,000-acre purchase by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The agency said the deal, which allows participating landowners to continue working their land, will help restore the upper reaches of the Everglades ecosystem.

Alexander,a Lake Wales Republican who chairs the Senate Ways & Means Committee, said he was not directly involved in the sale involving the family-owned property.

The easement purchase allows landowners to continue their agricultural and ranching activities while the federal government strips the development rights.