 The C & SF brought the jetport proposal to national attention by mailing letters about it to 100 conservation groups in the U.S. Initial local press reaction condemned conservation groups who immediately opposed the project . Business Week reported real estate prices jumped from $ 200 to $ 800 an acre surrounding the planned location , and Life wrote of the expectations of the commercial interests in the area . The U.S. Geological Survey 's study of the environmental impact of the jetport started , " Development of the proposed jetport and its attendant facilities ... will <unk> destroy the south Florida ecosystem and thus the Everglades National Park " . The jetport was intended to support a community of a million people and employ 60 @,@ 000 . The DCPA director was reported in Time saying , " I 'm more interested in people than alligators . This is the ideal place as far as aviation is concerned . " 
