The South FL (SF) Ecosystem Restoration Initiative is a long-term effort to restore the SF ecosystem, which includes the Everglades, that involves Fed., state, local, and tribal entities, as well as public and private interests. In response to the ecosystem's deterioration, Fed. agencies established the SF Ecosystem Restoration Task Force (SFERTF) in 1993 to coordinate ongoing Fed. restoration activities. This report determines (1) what the SFERTF did to identify and acquire lands needed to accomplish the goals of the initiative from 1996-1999 and (2) what the Dept. of the Interior did to help ensure that it maximized the acreage purchased-- with $200 million in grants.