Florida possesses more wetlands than any other state except Alaska, yet since 1990 more than 84,000 acres have been lost to development - despite presidential pledges to protect them. In this hard-hitting book, ""St. Petersburg Times"" investigative journalists Craig Pittman and Matthew Waite explain how taxpayers who think they're paying for wetland protection have been stuck with a program that creates the illusion of environmental protection while doing little to stem the tide of destruction. A potent combination of groundbreaking historical research and no-holds-barred reporting, this book portrays a landscape that has been compromised by greed, fear, and incompetence.