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When high levels of phosphorus and mercury were discovered in the waterways in 1986, water quality became a focus for water management agencies. Costly and lengthy court battles were waged between various government entities to determine who was responsible for monitoring and enforcing water quality standards. Governor... |
A commission appointed by Governor Chiles published a report in 1995 stating that South Florida was unable to sustain its growth, and the deterioration of the environment was negatively affecting daily life for residents in South Florida. The environmental decline was predicted to harm tourism and commercial interests ... |
Background |
Main article: Draining and development of the Everglades |
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. |
The Everglades are part of a very large watershed that begins in the vicinity of Orlando. The Kissimmee River drains into Lake Okeechobee, a 730-square-mile (1,900 km2) lake with an average depth of 9 feet (2.7 m). During the wet season when the lake exceeds its capacity, the water leaves the lake in a very wide and sh... |
Since the early 19th century the Everglades have been a subject of interest for agricultural development. The first attempt to drain the Everglades occurred in 1882 when Pennsylvania land developer Hamilton Disston constructed the first canals. Though these attempts were largely unsuccessful, Disston's purchase of land... |
The 1926 Miami Hurricane and the 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane caused widespread devastation and flooding which prompted the Army Corps of Engineers to construct a dike around Lake Okeechobee. The four-story wall cut off water from the Everglades. Floods from hurricanes in 1947 motivated the US Congress to establish the Ce... |
By the 1960s, urban development and agricultural use had decreased the size of the Everglades considerably. The remaining 25% of the Everglades in its original state is protected in Everglades National Park, but the park was established before the C&SF, and it depended upon the actions of the C&SF to release water. As ... |
Everglades as a priority |
Environmental protection became a national priority in the 1970s. 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".[10] When South Florida experienced a severe drought... |
In 1976, Everglades National Park was declared an International Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO,[16] which also listed the park as a World Heritage Site in 1979. The Ramsar Convention designated the Everglades a Wetland of International Importance in 1987.[17] Only three locations on Earth have appeared on all three lists:... |
Kissimmee River |
In the 1960s, the C&SF came under increased scrutiny from government overseers and conservation groups. 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 re... |
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. |
Arthur R. Marshall led the efforts to undo the damage. According to Douglas, Marshall was successful in portraying the Everglades from the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes to Florida Bay—including the atmosphere, climate, and limestone—as a single organism. Rather than remaining the preserve of conservation organizations, the ... |
Water quality |
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. |
Attention to water quality was focused in South Florida in 1986 when a widespread algal bloom occurred in one-fifth of Lake Okeechobee. The bloom was discovered to be the result of fertilizers from the Everglades Agricultural Area.[31] Although laws stated in 1979 that the chemicals used in the EAA should not be deposi... |
Attempts to correct phosphorus levels in the Everglades met with resistance. The sugarcane industry, dominated by two companies named U.S. Sugar and Flo-Sun, was responsible for more than half of the crop in the EAA. They were well represented in state and federal governments by lobbyists who enthusiastically protected... |
A different concern about water quality arose when mercury was discovered in fish during the 1980s. Because mercury is damaging to humans, warnings were posted for fishermen that cautioned against eating fish caught in South Florida, and scientists became alarmed when a Florida panther was found dead near Shark River S... |
Everglades Forever Act |
Main article: Everglades Forever Act |
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 |
In an attempt to resolve the political quagmire over water quality, Governor Lawton Chiles introduced a bill in 1994 to clean up water within the EAA that was being released to the lower Everglades. The bill stated that the "Everglades ecosystem must be restored both in terms of water quality and water quantity and mus... |
Critics of the bill argued that the deadline for meeting the standards was unnecessarily delayed until 2006—a period of 12 years—to enforce better water quality. They also maintained that it did not force sugarcane farmers, who were the primary polluters, to pay enough of the costs, and increased the threshold of what ... |
Wildlife concerns |
The intrusion of urban areas into wilderness has had a substantial impact on wildlife, and several species of animals are considered endangered in the Everglades region. One animal that has benefited from endangered species protection is the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis), whose holes give refuge to ot... |
The American Crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) is also native to the region and has been designated as endangered since 1975. Unlike their relatives the alligators, crocodiles tend to thrive in brackish or salt-water habitats such as estuarine or marine coasts. Their most significant threat is disturbance by people. Too mu... |
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. |
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. The panther is most threatened by urban encroachment, because males require approximately 20... |
Perhaps the most dramatic loss of any group of animals has been to wading birds. Their numbers were estimated by eyewitness accounts to be approximately 2.5 million in the late 19th century. However, snowy egrets (Egretta thula), roseate spoonbills (Platalea ajaja), and reddish egrets (Egretta rufescens) were hunted to... |
Invasive species |
Main article: List of invasive species in the Everglades |
Around 6 million people moved to South Florida between 1940 and 1965. With a thousand people moving to Miami each week, urban development quadrupled.[50] As the human population grew rapidly, the problem of exotic plant and animal species also grew. Many species of plants were brought into South Florida from Asia, Cent... |
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. |
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. It thrives on abandoned agricultural land growing in forests too dense for wading birds to nest in, similar to melaleucas. It ... |
The species that is causing the most impediment to restoration is the Old World climbing fern (Lygodium microphyllum), introduced in 1965. The fern grows rapidly and thickly on the ground, making passage for land animals such as black bears and panthers problematic. The ferns also grow as vines into taller portions of ... |
Several animal species have been introduced to Everglades waterways. Many tropical fish are released, the most detrimental being the blue tilapia (Oreochromis aureus), which builds large nests in shallow waters. Tilapia also consume vegetation which would normally be used by young native fishes for cover and protection... |
Reptiles have a particular affinity for the South Florida ecosystem. Virtually all lizards appearing in the Everglades have been introduced, such as the brown anole (Anolis sagrei) and the tropical house gecko (Hemidactylus mabouia). The herbivorous green iguana (Iguana iguana) can reproduce rapidly in wilderness habit... |
Though exotic birds such as parrots and parakeets are also found in the Everglades, their impact is negligible. Conversely, perhaps the animal that causes the most damage to native wildlife is the domestic or feral cat. Across the U.S., cats are responsible for approximately a billion bird deaths annually. They are est... |
Homestead Air Force Base |
Hurricane Andrew struck Miami in 1992, with catastrophic damage to Homestead Air Force Base in Homestead. A plan to rejuvenate the property in 1993 and convert it into a commercial airport was met with enthusiasm from local municipal and commercial entities hoping to recoup $480 million and 11,000 jobs lost in the loca... |
Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan |
Main article: Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan |
Sustainable South Florida |
Despite the successes of the Everglades Forever Act and the decreases in mercury levels, the focus intensified on the Everglades in the 1990s as quality of life in the South Florida metropolitan areas diminished. It was becoming clear that urban populations were consuming increasingly unsustainable levels of natural re... |
Restoration of the Everglades, however, briefly became a bipartisan cause in national politics. A controversial penny-a-pound (2 cent/kg) tax on sugar was proposed to fund some of the necessary changes to be made to help decrease phosphorus and make other improvements to water. State voters were asked to support the ta... |
Central and South Florida Project Restudy |
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 unde... |
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 intrudin... |
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... |
Planned water recovery and storage implementation using CERP strategies |
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. A report known as the "Restudy", written by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the South Florida Water Management District, was submitted to Congres... |
After evaluating ten plans, the Restudy recommended a comprehensive strategy that would cost $7.8 billion over 20 years. The plan advised taking the following actions: |
Create surface water storage reservoirs to capture 1,500,000 acre-feet (1.9 km3) of water in several locations taking up 181,300 acres (734 km2).[69] |
Create water preserve areas between Miami-Dade and Palm Beach and the eastern Everglades to treat runoff water.[69] |
Manage Lake Okeechobee as an ecological resource to avoid the drastic rise and fall of water levels in the lake that are harmful to aquatic plant and animal life and disturb the lake sediments.[69] |
Improve water deliveries to estuaries to reduce the rapid discharge of excess water to the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie estuaries that upset nutrient balances and cause lesions on fish. Stormwater discharge would be sent instead to reservoirs.[70] |
Increase underground water storage to hold 16 billion US gallons (61 Gl) a day in wells, or reservoirs in the Floridan Aquifer, to be used later in dry periods, in a method called Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR).[70] |
Construct treatment wetlands as Stormwater Treatment Areas throughout 35,600 acres (144 km2), that would decrease the amount of pollutants in the environment.[70] |
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