I’m glad to see that Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke was in South Florida to share his vision for Everglades restoration.

Although the proposed Lake Okeechobee reservoir project would be built miles from us in the Florida Keys, its positive impact to our water resources would be enormous. The intricate springs, aquifers, lakes, rivers and canals are all interconnected. But I take umbrage at the fact that Zinke is simultaneously pushing oil and gas drilling in Florida when it clearly goes against the spirit of protecting our water.

Zinke is promoting the lease of tens of millions of acres in the Gulf of Mexico and even off the Atlantic coast. He’s also failed to stop a potential plan for fracking in the same Florida Everglades he wants to restore.

Mind you, Zinke is not the only official who has made it a habit to take contradictory positions on protecting the Everglades. Our own state representative and chair of the Natural Resources and Public Lands subcommittee, Holly Raschein, has been praised for bringing millions of dollars to fix our water systems in the Keys, but has failed in the past to speak out against fracking that could endanger the drinking water of millions of South Florida residents. However, after speaking with her on this issue very recently, she assured me that in the upcoming legislative session, she will not only will support a ban on fracking, she will be seeking co-sponsorship of the fracking ban bill.

This is a huge step forward for anti-fracking advocates. Let’s hope for the sake of drinking water in the Keys and the health of the Everglades and Florida Bay that Holly follows through with this and doesn’t let the game of politics stand in the way of this very important fracking ban.

Laura Bauman, Key Largo