Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava proposed Thursday to transfer roughly 17,000 acres of county-owned Everglades wetland to the National Park Service without specifying any compensation. Her memo to the Board of County Commissioners did not disclose that she served on the NPS Advisory Board from May 2023 until its termination in May 2025, a relationship that ended 13 months before the proposal but raises questions about her familiarity with the receiving agency.

The land includes the site of the now-closed "Alligator Alcatraz" immigration detention facility, a nickname given to the South Florida Detention Facility built on the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport and surrounding wetlands.

Appraisal Gap Between State's Offer and Independent Valuation

The Miami Independent reported that an independent May 2025 appraisal valued the property at approximately $190 million to $195 million. In July 2025, Florida's Division of Emergency Management offered $20 million to buy the same parcel, according to the same outlet. Levine Cava rejected that offer, telling reporters the figure was "significantly lower than the most recent appraisal," the Miami Independent reported.

Levine Cava's June 25 memo proposes transferring the same land to a federal agency without specifying compensation, despite having rejected the state's $20 million offer as too low. The memo leaves the transfer mechanism undecided among several options, including conservation easements, land exchanges and fee-simple conveyance.

Mayor's Undisclosed Tenure on the Receiving Agency's Board

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland appointed Levine Cava to the National Park System Advisory Board on May 24, 2023, according to a Department of the Interior press release. The county's own announcement quoted Levine Cava saying she was "honored to have been named to the National Park System Advisory Board" and would serve "with pride and a profound commitment to protecting and promoting parks."

Federal records complicate the picture. The FACA database, accessed July 4, shows the advisory board's charter expired May 24, 2025, and the board was formally terminated the following day. Levine Cava's term ended May 25, 2025. The NPS website still lists her under a "2023-2027" term, but that page was last updated Nov. 29, 2024, before the board's dissolution.

She was a former board member, not a sitting one, when she proposed the transfer. Her June 25 memo made no reference to the prior relationship.

County Doesn't Actually Control the Land It's Offering to Give Away

Miami-Dade does not yet have the land back. Florida seized it under emergency powers in summer 2025, and the state has given no timeline for returning it. On June 29, Levine Cava sent Gov. Ron DeSantis a letter requesting an "orderly transition" back to county control.

DeSantis announced the facility's closure June 25, saying it "fulfilled the role it was designed to serve." All detainees had been transferred to other facilities by June 18, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed, citing hurricane season concerns.

No County Commission vote on the transfer has been scheduled. The proposal remains aspirational until the state returns the property.

Potential Cost to Taxpayers in Miami Beach and Nearby Municipalities

Miami Beach, Surfside, Bal Harbour and Bay Harbor Islands residents are Miami-Dade County taxpayers. If the county ultimately conveys land the Miami Independent reported was appraised near $195 million without compensation, that affects the county's balance sheet, though the proposal also includes options that could involve some form of exchange.

Florida's Code of Ethics for Public Officers, Chapter 112 of the Florida Statutes, prohibits officials from using their position for the gain of an organization they are affiliated with. The Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust has not publicly weighed in on the proposal. Residents can contact the ethics commission at 305-579-2594 or their county commissioner's office to weigh in before any vote is set.