The Everglades are subtropical wetlands featuring long stretches of saw grass embedded in, and dependent upon, a shallow river of water that once flowed naturally from Lake Okeechobee to the southern tip of Florida. This "River of Grass" also known as "Grassy Water, "River Glades", and "Subtropical Wonderland" is in need of restoration.
Before urban development and farming of sugar cane, the Everglades received water that began at the Kissimeee River near Orlando and flowed down to the Florida Bay, Gulf of Mexico, and Atlantic Ocean. The sheetflow of water was slow, shallow, and broad unlike many meandering deeply channelled rivers. Wildlife and marine life have been dependent on the unique relationship among the water flow, underlying rock, natural fires, moderate temperatures, and wet and dry seasons of the Everglades. Increases and decreases in wildlife and marine life in South Florida can be traced back to changes in the Greater Everglades Ecosystem.
Dredging, draining, and flood controls, intended to protect humans as urban and agricultural development increased in Florida, blocked the natural flow of water to the Everglades. Detrimental changes began occurring to the ecosystems within the Everglades and the threat of its loss required immediate action. National and state legal, financial, and political efforts have been made to restore what has been lost over the years.
Below is an illustration of the original flow of water throughout the Everglades. The illustration is by Betty Fraser in the government publication Everglades Wildguide by Jean Craighead George.
The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) is a 30-year plan for large-scale restoration. It is guiding a number of government agency projects intended to regain some of the unique and diverse environment. While in the past agencies acted alone, today there are coalitions of interested organizations as well as conferences such as GEER 2008 -- Greater Everglades Restoration -- 2050 for scientists and interagency restoration practitioners to share results of studies and ideas for the recovery of the Everglades.
Because this plan allows for adaptive management in meeting the original goals of restoration, the Everglades Foundation's Environmental Advisory Council and the Everglades Coalition have identified nine restoration essentials. The benchmarks for achievement are:
- Protect Water Quality
- Restore the Kissimee River
- Provide Drought Storage
- Provide Additional Wet-Year Storage
- Reconnect Lake Okeechobee to the Everglades
- Restore Sheetflow in the Everglades
- Restore Florida Bay
- Impose Sustainable Development
- Improve the State and Federal Partnership
For further details click here.
Everglades Restoration
A proposal has been submitted to the South Florida Water Management District to open a commercial rocket manufacturing plant at the old Aerojet Site. Click here to read the Sun Sentinel article on this thorn in the Everglades Restoration efforts.
An ecosystem is a natural unit of plants, animals, and micro-organisms in a space together. They share the same environment and are interdependent for survival. Ecosystems found within the Everglades include:
- Sawgrass marshes
- Wet prairies
- Sloughs
- Cypress swamps
- Pine rocklands
- Tropical hardwood hammocks
- Mangrove and coastal prairies
- Marine of Florida Bay
The Greater Everglades Ecosystem includes the counties of Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Martin, Monroe, and Indian River. They are part of the same watershed, which means that environmental actions taken in one area can affect the other geographical areas.
Within the Everglades is the Everglades National Park that was established in 1947. It consists of 1.5 million-acres in the southwestern tip of Florida. In the 1970's it received the International Biosphere Reserve Designation and in the 1980's the World Heritage Site Designation.
Everglades National Park is managed by the National Park Service of the U.S. Department of the Interior. Its South Florida Natural Resources Center provides scientific information and conducts environmental assessments. The Superintendent of this park provides annual reports on progress in addressing issues related to invasive plants, water quality, recreational uses and abuses, and restoration projects.
Nearby are the Big Cypress National Preserve, Biscayne National Park, and Dry Tortugas National Park.
Everglades Resources
Many groups, organizations, governments, and tribal councils are interested in the well being of the Everglades. Visit these for in depth information about the Everglades and issues surrounding restoration of it.
Everglades Coalition (www.evergladescoalition.org)
Everglades Foundation
(www.evergladesfoundation.org)
South Florida Natural Resources Center
Everglades National Park
(www.nps.gov/ever/naturescience/
sfnrc.htm)
Everglades Association
(www.evergladesassociation.org)
Everglades Law
(www.evergladeslaw.org)
Friends of the Everglades (www.everglades.org)
Young Friends of the Everglades (www.everglades.org/yf-history.html)
South Florida Water Management District (www.sfwmd.gov)
Arthur R. Marshall Foundation (www.artmarshall.org)
Seminole Tribe
(www.seminoletribe.com/culture/
seminole_land.shtml)
Everglades Restoration Updates
A Road Map to Success for Everglades Restoration 2009 - 2012 was recently forwarded to the Chair of the Whitehouse Council on Environmental Quality. Click here to see the forwarding letter and signatures as well as the road map submitted September 29, 2009.