Restoration of the Everglades

An ongoing effort to remedy damage inflicted during the 20th century on the Everglades, a region of tropical wetlands in southern Florida, is the most expensive and comprehensive environmental repair attempt in history.

[3] After decades of destructive practices, both state and federal agencies are looking for ways to balance the needs of the natural environment in South Florida with urban and agricultural centers that have recently and rapidly grown in and near the Everglades.

Their last venture was the C-38 canal, which straightened the Kissimmee River and caused catastrophic damage to animal habitats, adversely affecting water quality in the region.

Since then, the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have surpassed expectations for achieving lower phosphorus levels.

Time magazine declared it the Issue of the Year in January 1971, reporting that it was rated as Americans' "most serious problem confronting their community—well ahead of crime, drugs and poor schools".

Critics maintained its size was comparable to the Tennessee Valley Authority's dam-building projects during the Great Depression, and that the construction had run into the billions of dollars without any apparent resolution or plan.

[32] Most of the phosphorus compounds also rid peat of dissolved oxygen and promote algae growth, causing native invertebrates to die, and sawgrass to be replaced with invasive cattails that grow too tall and thick to allow nesting for birds and alligators.

The source of the mercury was found to be waste incinerators and fossil fuel power plants that expelled the element in the atmosphere, which precipitated with rain, or in the dry season, dust.

The SFWMD stated that its actions have exceeded expectations earlier than anticipated,[41] by creating Stormwater Treatment Areas (STA) within the EAA that contain a calcium-based substance such as lime rock layered between peat, and filled with calcareous periphyton.

Too much contact with humans causes females to abandon their nests, and males in particular are often victims of vehicle collisions while roaming over large territories and attempting to cross U.S. 1 and Card Sound Road in the Florida Keys.

[45] The most critically endangered of any animal in the Everglades region is the Florida panther (Puma concolor coryi), a species that once lived throughout the southeastern United States: there were only 25–30 in the wild in 1995.

[46] In the 1990s urban expansion crowded panthers from southwestern Florida as Naples and Ft. Myers began to expand into the western Everglades and Big Cypress Swamp.

[52] Brazilian pepper (Schinus terebinthifolius) was brought to Southern Florida as an ornamental shrub and was dispersed by the droppings of birds and other animals that ate its bright red berries.

Following Hurricane Andrew, scientists and volunteers cleared damaged pinelands of Brazilian pepper so the native trees would be able to return to their natural state.

Virtually all lizards appearing in the Everglades have been introduced, such as the brown anole (Anolis sagrei) and the tropical house gecko (Hemidactylus mabouia).

They are estimated to number 640 per square mile; cats living in suburban areas have devastating effects on migratory birds and marsh rabbits.

[59] A cursory environmental study performed by the Air Force was deemed insufficient by local conservation groups, who threatened to sue in order to halt the acquisition when estimates of 650 flights a day were projected.

A report entitled "The Governor's Commission for a Sustainable South Florida", submitted to Lawton Chiles in 1995, identified the problems the state and municipal governments were facing.

[63] The report noted that past abuses and neglect of the environment had brought the region to "a precipitous juncture" where the inhabitants of South Florida faced health hazards in polluted air and water; furthermore, crowded and unsafe urban conditions hurt the reputation of the state.

However, in the 1996 election year, Republican senator Bob Dole proposed that Congress give the State of Florida $200 million to acquire land for the Everglades.

[65] As part of the Water Resources Development Act of 1992, Congress authorized an evaluation of the effectiveness of the Central and Southern Florida Flood Control Project.

However, the Miccosukee Indians have a reservation in between the park and water control devices, and they threatened to sue to ensure their tribal lands and a $50 million casino would not be flooded.

The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) was authorized by the Water Resources Development Act of 2000 and signed into law by President Bill Clinton on December 11, 2000.

[81] In 2007, the release of $2 billion for Everglades restoration was approved by Congress, overriding President George W. Bush's veto of the entire Water Development Project the money was a part of.

A lack of subsequent action by the Congress prompted Governor Charlie Crist to travel to Washington D.C. in February 2008 and inquire about the promised funds.

[84] Florida still receives a thousand new residents daily and lands slated for restoration and wetland recovery are often bought and sold before the state has a chance to bid on them.

"[64] The largest producer of cane sugar in the U.S. will continue operations for six years, and when ownership transfers to Florida, 187,000 acres (760 km2) of the Everglades will remain undeveloped to allow it to be restored to its pre-drainage state.

[88] In September 2008 the National Research Council (NRC), a nonprofit agency providing science and policy advice to the federal government,[89] submitted a report on the progress of CERP.

It cited the shrinking tree islands, and the negative population growth of the endangered Rostrhamus sociabilis or Everglades snail kite, and Ammodramus maritimus mirabilis, the Cape Sable seaside sparrow.

Everglades restoration was earmarked $96 million in federal funds as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 with the intention of providing civil service and construction jobs while simultaneously implementing the legislated repair projects.

A color photograph taken from the air of a portion of the Kissimmee River; visible is the outline of the C-38 canal, filled with water and grass as the natural bends of the river grow through the canal
A portion of the C-38 canal, finished in 1971, now backfilled to restore the Kissimmee River floodplain to a more natural state
A color map of the lower third of the Florida peninsula showing Lake Okeechobee, compartments established by the Central & Southern Florida Flood Control Project, and Everglades National Park
Compartments established by C&SF projects that separated the historic Everglades into Water Conservation Areas and the Everglades Agricultural Area. One-fourth of the original Everglades is preserved in Everglades National Park .
A color photograph of a large cement structure on the C-38 Canal being destroyed with explosives
Structure 65B on the Kissimmee River is destroyed by the Corps of Engineers in 2000 to restore the natural flow of the river.
A color photograph of cattails growing in the Everglades
Cattails indicate the presence of phosphorus in the water. Cattails are an invasive species; they crowd out sawgrass and grow too thick to allow nesting for birds and alligators.
A color photograph taken from the air showing orderly sugarcane fields bordered by canals; to the south are the Everglades in a more natural state; in the center are a series of manmade cement ponds that act as stormwater treatment areas
Aerial view of stormwater treatment areas in the northern Everglades bordered by sugarcane fields on the right
A color photograph of three roseate spoonbills wading in shallow water with trees in the background
Roseate spoonbills , along with other wading birds, have decreased by 90% since the 1930s and 1940s.
A color photograph of several large trees overtaken by old world climbing ferns all the way to the top
Climbing ferns overtake cypress trees in the Everglades. The ferns act as "fire ladders" that can destroy trees that would otherwise survive fires.
Color digital illustration of the historic water drainage in South Florida, showing underground layers: a full Biscayne aquifer on top, a middle confining layer of rock, and the Floridan aquifer at the bottom; arrows indicate the Biscayne aquifer is recharged by the Everglades and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean underground. Text indicates the Everglades are fed by rainwater that falls to the west of the Atlantic Coastal Ridge
Natural water drainage patterns prior to development in South Florida, circa 1900
Color digital illustration of recent water drainage in South Florida, showing a significantly diminished Everglades replaced by homes and agriculture; some wells are dug into the Biscayne aquifer and a deeper one into the Floridan aquifer. Under the most developed portion of the coastline the Atlantic Ocean is intruding on the Biscayne aquifer
Current water drainage patterns in South Florida in 2005
Color digital illustration of future water supply and management proposed by the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan: some agricultural areas have been restored to their natural state, more wells are dug into the Floridan aquifer, and levee borders are present between the Everglades and South Florida Metropolitan Area
Planned water recovery and storage implementation using CERP strategies