There once was proposed a Big Cypress Swamp Jetport./USGS

Once upon a time, in the last century, there were big ideas for a huge jetport in the swamps of Florida. The project was known as the Big Cypress Swamp Jetport. Those who produced an environmental impact statement on the project said it would, in short, kill Everglades National Park.

The idea, you see, was based on this vision down the road there would be jets that not only could hold 1,000 passengers, but could zoom across the continent at supersonic speeds. 

The downside, well, there were many.

“Development of the proposed jetport and its attendant facilities will lead to land drainage and development for agriculture, transportation, and services in the Big Cypress Swamp which will inexorably destroy the south Florida ecosystem and thus the Everglades National Park.” — Big Cypress Swamp Jetport Environmental Impact Statement.

And there was this statement: "With large scale human occupation of the area, heavy use of pesticides and fertilizers, both within and without the jetport, will occur. Further increase in pesticides in the aquatic system would add to the biological magnification problems, and possibly lead to the destruction of several birds which are at the higher levels of the food chain.”

Well, as you likely can conclude, the jetport never was built. At least not the entire jetport. They did lay down one runway. But that was it. Out of nearly 25,000 acres carved out for the jetport, only about 900 were developed around that one runway. Which is used for training landings and takeoffs.

And, by the way, the runway today is located inside Big Cypress National Preserve, which was created roughly five years after the jetport's impact statement was written.