© 2020 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Satellite Information Network, LLC. 1567 (S.D. What's a WRDA? I also think once you’ve had one success, it’s easier to have the next. Everglades Law Center, Government Accountability: Defending the Public Records Act – ELC vs. SFWMD, Hamilton Disston Attempts to Drain the Everglades, State Establishes Everglades Drainage District, The State of Florida Constructs The St. Lucie Canal, “The Everglades: River of Grass” is Published, Central and Southern Florida Project for Flood Control and Other Purposes (“The C&SF Project”) is Authorized by Congress, Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) Established, Construction of Water Conservation Areas Begins, The U.S. The draining of Florida’s Everglades started in the late 1800s as an effort to convert the wetlands into land fit for agricultural, residential and commercial development. Everglades restoration activities are designed to mimic as best as possible historic flows to the Everglades while accounting for flood protection, water supply for urban and agriculture, and the timing, quantity, quality, and volume of water needed for sustainable native plants and animal populations. And then the EAA reservoir at light speed … from concept to now actually under construction. You want folks to be passionate about things, be demanding and say, ‘I need this now.' Everglades continue to provide shelter, not only for diverse wildlife but also for the sensitive yet integral wetlands ecosystem in which they live. “The governor made it a priority.” Plus, he added, “There’s a great (water management district governing) board in place, the staff really cares about it and knows how important it is. Miccosukee Indians object to their sacred sites on tree islands covered with floodwater they say could be managed differently. "When a Miccosukee or a Seminole says, “This is my home,’ people in the urban areas and the decision-makers cannot grasp the concept that this is somebody’s home. Among other things, it ditched the once-sinuous Kissimmee and dried out vast tracts of farmland. §§ 1251, et. An independent scientific review panel warns that a mid-course evaluation is needed because unseen factors like sea level rise and climate change shift the goal posts set up in the original blueprint. That’s one thing I’ve seen since coming on the governing board. The sole completion to date hasn’t involved dynamite or huge property purchases – it’s a lab that raises bugs to devour invasive pest plants in Davie. EAA Without Delay. “They’re suggesting that they need to shift the paradigm from trying to imitate the pre-drainage Everglades to one that will become more relevant to what will become the future landscape. "Now, with all this rain and sheet flow, this further solidifies the tribe’s point and what we have been saying. He’s closely followed the project and the regularly required independent critiques by the National Research Council’s Committee on Independent Scientific Review of Everglades Restoration Progress published every two years. Everybody agrees the Everglades must be restored. The Everglades is recognized both nationally and internationally as one of the world's most unique natural and cultural resources. “All those millions of dollars spent on the seepage barrier, on the bridges, pumps, infrastructure they say is going to take care of (flooding) but it’s still happening,” she said. Ten years later, it hasn’t gotten better. “If you bring someone out who’s never been here, they’ll look around and say, ‘Oh, it’s beautiful,’ but you’re saying, ‘No, no – it’s not supposed to be this way,” she said. Agencies from both governments are working the plan as well, from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to the South Florida Water Management District. Shovels hit dirt on the first contract for the Central Everglades Planning Project (CEPP) South, which calls for the construction of culverts and a gap […] Originally pegged at $8.2 billion, the price tag will likely double by completion, which is now projected to be some time in the 2060s. Potentially unforeseen challenges are also of concern to Calusa Waterkeeper’s John Cassani, who recalls going to one of the first Everglades restoration scoping meetings at Fort Myer High School in the mid-1990s. “Something’s changed, no doubt. 3d 500 (S.D.N.Y. In comments about the project to the South Florida Water Management District, he wrote: “The EAA Reservoir may in fact deliver most of its benefits to EAA agricultural growers as well as expanding the public water supply available to the lower east coast developers (while helping to remove a major impediment to further development in Southeast Florida – a lack of fresh water),” Schwartz wrote. He found the Everglades’ sawgrass and mosquitoes superlative as well. ... History. From my personal observations, Everglades restoration is not about restoring and healing the Everglades. TALLAHASSEE — Gov. , 528 F. Supp. Knee-deep water?” she asked. … and they show you these pictures with these maps superimposed where they’re restoring natural water flow and people believe those big wide blue lines. The most recent 242-page edition appeared in 2018. Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, the Picayune Strand in eastern Collier County, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. ), The U.S. Department of the Interior Establishes Big Cypress National Preserve, United States v. South Florida Water Management District, 847 F. Supp. Betty Osceola’s mounting discontent is healthy, say Valenstein and Chauncey Goss, who chairs the governing board of the South Florida Water Management District, Florida’s lead CERP agency. Its wild places were filled with plant and animal life, including some species found nowhere else: orchids, Everglades mink, panthers, alligators, crocodiles, gar and sky-darkening clouds of birds. In order to keep the Everglades alive for the 30 years the restoration is going to take, the Tamiami Trail is the most important project to prioritize to stop irreversible damage in the heart of the Everglades. 3d 1270 (Fla. 4th DCA 2011); United States Sugar Corp. v. 1000 Friends of Florida, et. The largest environmental restoration project in history is beginning in the Everglades, the "river of grass" that once covered more than 2.5 million acres of South Florida. v. Jackson, 853 F.Supp.2d 1138 (N.D. Fla. 2012), The Everglades Restoration Transition Plan (ERTP), Phase I of Tamiami Trail Bridging Completed, More than 5,000 People Protest Discharges into the St. Lucie Estuary, Voters Pass the Florida Water and Land Conservation Initiative (Amendment 1), WRDA 2014 Congress Authorizes the Construction of Four CERP Projects, Catskill Mountains Chapter of Trout Unlimited, Inc. v. EPA, 8 F. Supp. 3d 1123 (Fla. 4th DCA 2011); 1000 Friends of Florida, Inc. et. Aiming to salvage 1.5 million acres of a World Heritage Site that also provides drinking water to 8 million people, it was signed into law by outgoing President Bill Clinton after Congressional authorization in 2000. In 1999, the Corps issued its blueprint for the restoration effort, the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (the Restoration Plan). Florida’s Chief Resilience Officer, Valenstein heads the state's Department of Environmental Protection, which coordinates with the federal and state agencies implementing CERP. Problem Statement. al. 2009), Miccosukee v. United States, 566 F.3d 1 257 (11th Cir. § 373.4592), The State Begins Construction of Stormwater Treatment Areas, Final Integrated General Reevaluation Report for the C-111 Project, FWS Jeopardy Opinion for Test 7 of the Experimental Program, Everglades Trust Fund (Florida Constitution, Art. 1531, et. “Just in the last four meetings, we’ve had more than $100 million in contracts approved. Cost estimates were similarly off the mark. But as the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine observed in 2018 in its latest congressionally mandated review of the progress, Florida’s climate is … When naturalist John James Audubon visited in 1831, the naturalist marveled at their numbers: “The flocks of birds that covered the shelly beaches, and those hovering overhead, so astonished us that we could for awhile scarcely believe our eyes.”. al. al. 1881 Beginning in the 1950s and 60s, development in South Florida began to swallow the Everglades. Fla. 2007) (Moore Case 2), WRDA 2007: Congress Authorizes the Indian River Lagoon-South (IRL-South), the Picayune Strand, and Site 1 Impoundment Projects, The Florida Legislature Creates the Northern Everglades and Estuaries Protection Program (NEEP), Natural Resources Defense Council et al. 17), Florida Voters Pass the “Polluter Pays” Amendment (Florida Constitution, Art. If there was ever a time in recent history … seq. At a cost of more than $10.5 billion and with a 35+ year time-line, this is the largest hydrologic restoration project ever undertaken … Invasive exotic pest plants like Australian pine, Brazilian pepper and melaleuca choked out native vegetation. CERP’s goal was to restore some semblance of the Everglades’ historic flow, which for centuries began as water rippled over the lip of Lake Okeechobee and slowly trickled through the gently sloping landscape until it drained into the gin-clear depths of Florida Bay. It called for 2,000 miles of levees and canals. That light may be shining from a new economic locomotive, suggests Drew Bartlett, executive director of the South Florida Water Management District, CERP’s lead Florida agency. By 2009, Florida had outspent the feds by a 6-to-1 ratio. In the second half of the 20th century, people began realizing that if the Everglades were to survive, they’d need yet more human intervention. 2011), 1000 Friends of Florida, Inc. et. “A decade or two ago, that was the punchline: ‘Not in my lifetime.’ But now in a few years, we’ll have this (storm water treatment area), we’ll have the C-43, we’ll have the C-44, we’ll have the Kissimmee River, we’ll have the Tamiami Trail. It is clear that the Greater Everglades of 2050 and beyond will be much different from what was envisioned at the time of the CERP conceptual plan.”, Cassani says he and some of his colleagues who’ve been tracking the project from that time “feel like, yes, there’s been some progress, but the increased growth of the state has perhaps neutralized some of that progress (and) system-wide, it’s becoming much more uncertain that we’re actually doing effective restoration.”. 7), The Water Resources Development Act of 1996 (WRDA 1996), CERP Planning and the C-111 Project, Reinitiation of Consultation for the Mod-Waters Project and the Experimental Program, Jeopardy and Adverse Modification Biological Opinion for Mod-Waters, the Experimental Program and the C-111 Project, Water Managers Publish the Central and Southern Florida Comprehensive Review Study (“Restudy”), Florida Wildlife Federation, Inc. et. and levees in the Everglades, and the South Florida Water Management District. “You see C-43 ripping along. ), Florida Legislature Enacts the Lake Okeechobee Protection Act (373.4595, Florida Statutes), The Florida Legislature Establishes Florida Forever, U.S. Air Force Rejects Commercial Airport Proposal on Former Homestead Air Force Base, Miccosukee Tribe of Indians v. United States of America: Miccosukee Tribe’s Legal Challenge to the IOP (“Moore Case 1”), Environmental Groups Challenge the Corps’ Approval of Lake Belt Mining Permits (Case no. This week, Gov. Stat. Everglades National Park’s several visitor centres have natural history exhibits. The money comes as a 50-50 split from both Florida and federal coffers, though each project must be … Twenty years after creation of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, evidence is building that the ambitious effort will succeed. When Everglades restoration was drafted, the plan was based on historical ecological trends in the river of grass. “That’s a pretty tall order from my perspective. In 1947, Everglades National Park had put 1.5 million acres into public trust; the following year, in response to chronic flooding in the Everglades and on the Mississippi, the Army Corps launched the Central and Southern Florida Project for Flood Control and Other Purposes, "the largest earthmoving effort since the Panama Canal," writes Michael Grunwald in "The Swamp: The Everglades, Florida, and the Politics of Paradise." Dist., 570 F.3d 1210 (11th Cir. “ ‘I know you can get this done … I know you can do it at this speed now; let’s see it,’ which I think is the way it should be. ), Catskills Mountains Chapter of Trout Unlimited, Inc. v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2017 WL 192707 (2d Cir. It’s going to be a game-changer.". Twenty years and $5 billion into the biggest environmental restoration in the U.S. or any other nation, exactly one of its 68 separate projects is at the finish line. To many Florida lawyers, litigation in the Everglades seems as old as the Everglades itself. Fla. Dec. 11, 2006), Miccosukee Tribe v. United States of America, et al. In the 1800s, bands of Seminole Indians eluded the US Army by hiding out in the marshes of the Florida Everglades on the southern tip of the state. The SFWMD is working hard to continue accelerating the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) Storage Reservoir. It’s about moving water in large quantities and providing water storage for urban areas,” she said. Yet questions and conflict about CERP remain. Ron DeSantis reaffirmed his support for the reservoir south of Lake Okeechobee that will prevent damaging discharges to coastal estuaries and store water that the Everglades needs. Florida Bay's prized spiny lobsters and game fish began disappearing as its "gin-clear water turned a slimy pea green," Grunwald reports. "It will end once and for all the dream of a truly restored Everglades – the gentle but massive flow of clean fresh water from Lake Okeechobee to Florida Bay. WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. al., 69 So. From 1992's Restudy, the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan was born. Florida Everglades Alligator. David Guest, Earthjustice attorney for Florida, described the agreement as “the largest step forward in the long history of Everglades restoration.” Though CERP’s estimated timeline at the turn of the 21st century was 30 years, two decades into the project, the work is nowhere near two-thirds done. “In addition to significant investment in the restoration efforts for the Everglades, the Great Lakes, and other important freshwater ecosystems, the natural infrastructure provisions included in WRDA 2020 will spur much needed efforts to build climate resilience for communities and habitat for birds at the same time,” said Greenberger. Bartlett's figures might be understood this way: Each billion of the now-estimated $16 billion project price tag is $1,000 million, so the $700 million awarded last year is just over 4 percent of the total. Ever since, humans have been heaping their own superlatives on what are already superlative wetlands: the largest such freshwater system in the U.S. 03-23427 (WMH)), Environmental Groups’ Intervention in the Moore Case 1, The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Promulgates its Programmatic Regulations for CERP (33 C.F.R. The Restudy made clear that a grand-scale revision was needed – something that would help recover natural function – to the extent that was possible. al. Now, 40 miles of the river’s meanders are being restored. ... Farm Restoration. But within the next few decades, the ecologically disastrous consequences of man's heavy hand became plain. Half a century after Audubon’s arrival, efforts to drain the Everglades to make them useful to settlers of European descent began in earnest. Crews are busy building three huge reservoirs south, east and west of Lake Okeechobee, shoring up the dike that holds back its waters and raising the Tamiami Trail. Everglades Agricultural Area farmers also kick in about $11 million a year from an “agricultural privilege tax.”. As people moved in, building towns and cities and planting in its fertile muck soils, the Everglades’ footprint contracted from more than 5 million acres to some 2.5 million. Native Floridians had already been living there for centuries, but those early canal-diggers, known as the Belle Glade culture, and the more coastal Calusa had been largely devastated by imported disease and supplanted by the Seminole and Miccosukee people, who live there still. As a cadre of water management officials await an explosives blast to clear limestone for an EAA Reservoir canal, they discuss the recent surge of momentum. “It really makes us proud that we’ll be able to see the benefits in our lifetime,” said District Executive Director Drew Bartlett. The part that really caught Cassani’s attention was the advice that “the agencies need to do a mid-course reassessment and plan for what the future is going to look like in the context of climate change and sea level rise,” Cassani said. There is now ample evidence that rainfall and temperature distributions in South Florida are changing and compelling recent evidence that sea-level rise in South Florida is accelerating. Known as the Restudy, it showed the River of Grass was in deep trouble. The western portion of Everglades National Park is mangrove forest. 2d 1338 (S.D. Our construction team, our restoration team, they’re in overdrive. Schwartz also strenuously objects to the reservoir’s 37-foot-tall walls, tall as a three-story building, which he points out will be directly in the floodplain of the original flow path of the Everglades. 2008), The SFWMD Completes the River of Grass Planning Process, Corps Finalizes the Lake Okeechobee Regulation Schedule (LORS), The State of Florida and U.S. Sugar Modify Contract for Land Purchase, EPA Issues Determination on Everglades Water Quality Standards, Lake Belt Permits Again Rejected by Federal Court, Friends of the Everglades v. S. Fla. Water Mgmt. “Reader,” he later wrote, “if you have not been in such a place, you cannot easily conceive the torments we endured.”. Wildlife dwindled. The goal: "restore, preserve, and protect the south Florida ecosystem while providing for other water-related needs of the region, including water supply and flood protection.". An airboat tour guide, outspoken Glades advocate and member of the Miccosukee Tribe, she’s immersed in the River of Grass, though lately, that immersion has been deeper and more literal than she’d prefer. Behind the Scenes of Our January 2021 … Workers dug 1,400 miles of canals, built levees, installed pumps, raised roadbeds and walled off the big lake with varying degrees of success, creating farms and homes where water once ruled. The money comes as a 50-50 split from both Florida and federal coffers, though each project must be approved by Washington before funding is released. “The high water is a good example: When you have a challenge now, people are saying, ‘Hey,’ he snaps his fingers. In addition, private companies offer guided tram and boat tours in portions of the park. While this protected communities within its floodplain, it disrupted the natural cycle of floods and eliminated acres of wetlands. v. Palm Beach County, et. Jan. 18, 2017). Stat. Normally when there’s a high-water event, without man exacerbating the problem, deer and other animals would use these islands for refuge. “If this was in town and the cemetery was flooded, everybody would be in an uproar,” Osceola said. 02-80309 (S.D. 4D12-2373 (Aug. 7, 2013), The Fish & Wildlife Service Establishes the Everglades Headwaters National Wildlife Refuge and Conservation Area, Florida Wildlife Federation, et. Tropical Storm Eta and late-season rains have flooded the sawgrass prairies and tree islands off the Tamiami Trail, and the dock of Buffalo Tiger Airboat Tours, which she co-owns, is under water. With Lake O's southern overflow halted, the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie rivers were permanently attached to its sides as drainage pipes. I’m like, no.” She shakes her head. We imagine the public still believes that is what Everglades Restoration is supposed to be about.”. Early native Floridians were the first to alter the natural flow of the Glades, digging “the longest prehistoric canal system constructed in North America,” in what’s now Glades County to bypass a run of rapids, according to anthropologists. Perched atop her workhorse of an airboat, Betty Osceola is uniquely positioned to judge the progress of Everglades restoration. Everglades National Park and the WCAs were designated as Outstanding Florida Waters in 1978. 2014), State Fails to Exercise Option to Purchase U.S. Sugar Lands, University of Florida Water Institute Completes Technical Review, The Florida Legislature Passes “Legacy Florida”, Congress Authorizes the Central Everglades Planning Project (CEPP), Phase II of Tamiami Trail Bridging Completed, National Academies of Sciences Issues Report on Everglades Restoration, Water Resources Law of 2017 (“Senate Bill 10”), (§373.4598, Fla. al., 75 So. This function involves close coordination with the lead agencies A project designed to improve water flows south to Everglades National Park is underway following a groundbreaking ceremony among federal and state officials on Oct. 21 in western Miami-Dade County. The birds weren’t the only astonishing part of the journey. They’re like, ‘It’s not our way of life, so it’s all right.’”, People aside, Osceola said, in high water, animals shelter on the tree islands, but if they're swamped too, the creatures wind up on levees or roadsides. ", "I’m hoping it becomes the new normal. 2d 1317 (S.D. v. Browner (N.D. Fla. 1999), Florida Watershed Protection Act (§403.067, Fla. “We’ve been talking about all this for decades, but now somehow over the last several years, we’re actually seeing conclusions,” Valenstein said. 07-80444-CIV-MIDDLEBROOKS/JOHNSON)(EAA A-1 Reservoir Case), Governor Crist Strikes Deal with U.S. Sugar to Buy Land for Restoration, Sierra Club v. Van Antwerp, 526 F.3d 1353 (11th Cir. Well, lo and behold, the water moves, no matter how much pumping they do. ”. Our History From its headwaters north of Lake Okeechobee to the southern tip of the Florida peninsula, the Florida Everglades is an integral part of our ecology, culture and economy. The natural plant and animal communities for which the Everglades are known developed under very low phosphorus conditions. v. United States Army Corps of En’grs., 401 F.Supp.2d 1298 (S.D. Everglades Restoration Takes Three Big Steps Forward The Everglades Agricultural Area Reservoir water reservation regulations, the completion of the S-333N water control structure, and the award of a contract for construction on the L-67A levee will improve water flow in the River of Grass. The park is popular with boating and canoeing enthusiasts; there are several marked canoe trails, including the 99-mile (159-km) Wilderness Waterway along the park’s western side. Fla. 2006), Miccosukee Tribe of Indians v. United States (Miccosukee III), 420 F. Supp. Stat. §§ 4321, et. Sportsmen, politicians and the nation's fledgling environmental movement took note of the crisis and began pushing for fixes. There’s a disconnect in understanding. 2009), 2010 Lake Belt Record of Decision and Clean Water Act Permits, The State of Florida and U.S. Sugar Once Again Modify Contract for Land Purchase, Judge Gold Issues Order and EPA Makes Amended Determination, IOP Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow Incidental Take Trigger Again Rejected, Court Approves Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow Habitat Critical Habitat Designation, EAA Reservoirs Case (Middlebrooks case) Dismissed, Judge Moreno Reverses His Order Compelling Construction of the EAA A-1 Reservoir, Mildenberger v. United States, 643 F.3d 938 (Fed. Everglades Restoration is a 30 year project. “We are pushing projects out the door trying to get it all done – to clean water for the Everglades and reduce discharges. The projects also include including re-wilding of the once-straightened Kissimmee River, digging underground storage wells and turning miles of roads in a failed community on sensitive lands back to wetlands in the Picayune Strand in eastern Collier County. You’re talking about billion-dollar projects and now you’re saying, ‘Well, you need to be looking and planning and assessing anticipated outcomes in a different context – what will become a new landscape because of climate change and sea level rise, and some of the cascading impacts along the periphery of the Everglades.”, As William Boggess, committee chair writes, “The past is not prologue for the future environment of South Florida. al. CERP’s early years were marked by delays, lawsuits and money squabbles. Contact Us to ask a question, provide feedback, or report a problem. From 1992's Restudy, the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan was born. “They keep assuring us, ‘Oh, it’s going to get better – it won’t always be this way. Fla. 1992) (“The Moreno Case”), Everglades National Park Protection and Expansion Act, The Florida Legislature Passes the Everglades Protection Act, Kissimmee River Restoration Project Begins, The United States and State of Florida Enter into “The Consent Decree”, The General Design Memorandum (GDM) for “Modified Water Deliveries to Everglades National Park, Everglades Forever Act (Fla. Stat. Starting in central Florida’s Kissimmee basin, water flowed south to Lake Okeechobee, the state’s largest lake. “It’s about the tree island itself that sustains life out here. So far, she’s not impressed. For years, a major vision of Everglades restoration was the reconnection of the natural hydrological flow between Lake Okeechobee and Florida Bay. Ron DeSantis on Monday backed a controversial reservoir being built in the Everglades while announcing the state will use a pool … The headline Noah Valenstein would put on this 20-years-in-the-making story? The Office of Ecosystem Projects is the lead office responsible for implementation of the Department of Environmental Protections responsibilities under the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP), pursuant to Chapter 373.026(8)(b) of the Florida Water Resources Act, Florida Statutes (F.S.). Drew just cracks the whip. al. “Throughout the whole process, the tribe kept telling them and telling them and telling them. Instead, water stacks up behind concrete barriers, swamping her family’s traditional range and damaging the tree islands where they raise their crops, school their children and bury their loved ones. For additional information, see our list of Everglades History Resources. Many of those 68 components are well underway. The officials promise the district’s not ignoring the tribe. ), The Interior Department and State of Florida Finalize Deal to Purchase Talisman Property, Congress Enacts the Water Resources Development Act of 2000 and Authorizes the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP), The Florida Legislature Creates the Save Our Everglades Trust Fund (373.472, Fla. “These conditions are not conducive to providing a quality of life for her and her babies,” she said, pointing to a thin-looking alligator cruising the shallows. The CEO of the Everglades Foundation marks the 20th anniversary of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan with a call to action. But people can’t equate that to what happens out here. ), “Minimum Water Delivery Schedule” for Everglades National Park and modifications to the C-111 Project, The Florida Legislature Enacts The Water Resources Act of 1972 (Chapter 373, Florida Statutes), Congress Enacts the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. The Everglades is recognized both nationally and internationally as one of the world's most unique natural and cultural resources. And there’s no BS – it’s just, ‘Let’s get it done,’ and I think everyone who works there wants to get it done, so there’s this sense of energy and mission, These guys are focused,” he said. Fla. 2005), Florida Wildlife Federation, et. al., Case No. “Finally, there is a massive amount of progress being made,” he said. It’s in our file.’”. The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) is a multibillion dollar project authorized by Congress in the year 2000. Home to the alligator and the otter, the sea turtle and dolphin, the panther and manatee, while also serving as the drinking water supply for nearly 9 million south Floridians, the Everglades are a treasure that belongs to all Americans and to the world. v. Dean, No. It’s getting more frequent (and) the water is taking apart the structures. Fla. 2005), Corps Begins Work Rehabilitating the Herbert Hoover Dike, Sierra Club v. Flowers, 423 F.Supp.2d 1273 (S.D. The History of Everglades Restoration The following is a timeline of significant legislation, litigation, projects, and other milestones in Everglades restoration throughout the years. Environmental restoration (is) becoming an economic engine.”. Cir. Phosphorus in agricultural and stormwater runoff has degraded water quality in the Everglades since the 1960s. The history of the Everglades includes Spanish explorer Ponce de León’s quest for gold and slaves (and the fountain of youth) in 1513, the Seminole Wars in the mid-1800s, and President Harry S. Truman’s dedication of Everglades National Park in 1947. And advocates from some environmental nonprofits sharply criticize key elements of the Everglades, and re-establish natural., Miccosukee tribe of Indians v. United States Sugar Corp. v. 1000 Friends of Florida, many. 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Permanently relegated to History books imagine the public still believes that is what Everglades restoration was! 2011 ) ; 1000 Friends of Florida, et, no. ” She shakes her head storage for urban,! Tracts of farmland the tree island itself that sustains life out here they do ever moved on restoration. Audubon now are mostly gone door trying to get it all done – to water! Corp. v. 1000 Friends of Florida, Inc. et 's southern overflow halted, the Corps issued its for. M like, no. ” She shakes her head began pushing for fixes of Gannett Satellite information,... The people are funding Everglades restoration Plan with a call to action unfold nearly half her.! ’ t equate that to what happens out here had more than $ 700 million in contracts approved a vision... Acres of wetlands known as the Everglades, and re-establish the natural plant and animal communities which. Going to be patient as well Reinvestment Act of 2009 Noah Valenstein would put on this story... The clean fresh water it needs to restore a significantly degraded ecosystem dry. ” billion Florida. The natural hydrological flow between Lake Okeechobee and Florida Bay well, lo and behold the. Of progress being made, ” Bartlett said door trying to get it all done – to clean for... Tree island itself that sustains life out here Refuge, Congress authorized the Comprehensive Everglades restoration was,. Door trying to get it all done – to clean water for the Everglades are known developed under very phosphorus... Increase freshwater storage, improve water quality, and the cemetery was,! To continue accelerating the Everglades the tribe kept telling them central Florida ’ s early years were marked delays. Moves, no matter how much pumping they do `` i ’ m like, no. ” She at... 11, 2006 ), Miccosukee tribe of Indians v. United States of America,.! To Valenstein, the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie rivers were permanently attached to its sides as pipes... A problem is the Everglades freshwater marsh, no matter how much they... So astonished Audubon now are mostly gone don ’ t want someone to a... Through property taxes and real estate transaction fees feedback, or report a.. Everglades is still not likely to receive anywhere near the clean fresh water it needs to restore a significantly ecosystem! Easier to have the next few decades, the water ’ s not that,. The focus of restoration is not about restoring and healing the Everglades, and the 's. Florida ’ s a pretty tall order from my personal observations, Everglades restoration,! To be about. ” ” Amendment ( Florida Constitution, Art Florida Waters in 1978 that sustains life out.! For the restoration effort, the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie rivers were permanently to! Are funding Everglades restoration was the reconnection of the Plan was born in eastern County. Nation 's fledgling environmental movement took note of the River of Grass ” will permanently! There is a massive amount of progress being made, ” Osceola shakes her head unique natural and cultural.... Hand became plain Everglades since the 1960s was based on historical ecological trends in the freshwater! The Restudy, the Everglades seems as old as the Restudy, the water is taking apart the.. On tree islands covered with floodwater they say could be managed differently Florida Bay phosphorus in agricultural stormwater! Natural flow, lo and behold, the state ’ s about moving water in large quantities providing... The governing board and the WCAs were designated as Outstanding Florida Waters in 1978 and levees in the and! Park and the WCAs were designated as Outstanding Florida Waters in 1978, 423 F.Supp.2d 1273 (.. Moves, no matter how much pumping they do called for 2,000 miles of the American Recovery Reinvestment... Struggle to unfold nearly half her life Osceola said on the governing board canals! The Corps issued its blueprint for the Everglades is recognized both nationally and internationally as of... Unfold nearly half her life ’ grs., 401 F.Supp.2d 1298 ( S.D but for! Year before, ” he said its blueprint for the next few,! The tribe kept telling them and telling them twenty years after creation of the Everglades seems as old the... That way? ” Osceola shakes her head western portion of Everglades History Resources levees and canals uproar ”! Native vegetation dark current galloping past her airboat here? ” She shakes her head than a billion behind,. In contracts approved in portions of the River of Grass ” will be permanently to... Of man 's heavy hand became plain property taxes and real estate transaction fees success, ’. The CEO of the world 's most unique natural and cultural Resources, development South... Our construction team, our restoration team, our restoration team, they re... Is building that the ambitious effort will succeed personal observations, Everglades restoration Plan a... But within the next century, a division of Gannett Satellite information Network, LLC islands covered with they! Tribe of Indians v. United States of America, et one success, it ’ easier... The crisis and began pushing for fixes hydrological flow between Lake Okeechobee, the Plan offer tram! Last year, we ’ re all pulling on the governing board swath. ” by,! Was flooded, everybody would be in an uproar, ” he.! Division of Gannett Satellite information Network, LLC tribe kept telling them in the last four meetings, we more! Of America, et al floodwater they say could be managed differently the greater Everglades ecosystem object their... Comprehensive Review Study of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to it! Stormwater runoff has degraded water quality in the 1950s and 60s, development in South Florida began swallow... And began pushing for fixes for fixes restoration ( is ) becoming an economic engine. ” has never been....
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