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Florida and the Federal Government Support Huge Projects to Clean Up the Everglades

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some experts say damage to the Everglades ecosystem began when a highway connecting the cities of Tampa and Miami in Florida was built in 1928.

 

The Everglades are a huge wetland at the southern end of the state of Florida.

 

The highway cut through an area made up of grasses, marshes, freshwater ponds and forested lands. But now, efforts to return Everglades National Park to a wilder state have taken shape after years of work and billions of dollars.

 

A huge state-federal project aims to undo damage to the wetlands.

 

Eve Samples is ｅxecutive director of Friends of the Everglades, a nonprofit group based in Florida. She said, "This is the biggest, most complicated and most expensive ecosystem restoration project in the world. It’s really important that we get it right."

 

The project has continued for over 20 years. Observers say wildlife is returning to some areas, there are fewer invasive trees, and people have good feelings about the changes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Everglades supports threatened species, protects against storm damage, and provides drinking water for millions of people in South Florida.

 

Development and agriculture have drained water that once flowed freely through the Everglades. Invasive plants and animals have changed the land. Too much phosphorus, mainly from agriculture, has harmed water quality.

 

The cost of efforts to repair the Everglades is more than $23 billion. Those efforts could take 50 years to complete. Today, water quality has improved, but there are still problems.

 

Since 2019, the South Florida Water Management District has worked on about 70 projects. In 2024, lawmakers approved $1.3 billion in spending over the next 12 months for restoration efforts. That is the largest amount approved so far.

 

Cleaning the water

 

One project is to the northwest of Miami. Workers are replacing sugarcane fields. The goal is to supply clean freshwater to the Everglades.

 

 

 

 

 

 

When the $3.9 billion Everglades Agricultural Area Reservoir Project is complete, a reservoir and wetland will store and clean polluted water from Lake Okeechobee in central Florida before it goes into the southern Everglades.

 

Jennifer Reynolds is the director of ecosystem restoration and capital projects for the water district. "It's about getting the water right for the natural habitats and also to sustain the population of people who live and recreate here."

 

Climate and development threats

 

Data show the water quality of the area around Lake Okeechobee is very good although phosphorous levels are rising a little with increased water flow. In the recent past, phosphorous pollution threatened water quality in the Everglades.

 

But measurements downstream tell a different story. Salinity levels, or how much salt is in the water, have gone up. This suggests to some people that a rise in sea level and saltwater intrusion are increasing.

 

South Florida is in danger from storms and sea level rise. Some people estimate that the sea level in the area will rise as much as 1.2 meters by 2100.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some signs of progress

 

In western Florida, the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians says they see a change. Betty Osceola is an environmental activist and tribe member. The tribe says its ancestral tree islands have been flooded by water mismanagement. That hurts the plants and animals they use. Other areas are drier and face polluted water and wildfires.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Restoration efforts are mainly to benefit Everglades National Park," said Osceola. "So maybe the national park sees benefits, but at the sacrifice to the tribe."

 

The tribe supports the Western Everglades Restoration Project. The tribe recently signed an agreement with the National Park Service that gives it more control over the area. Work started last summer on the project's first major feature.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Everglades' future

 

Michael Kennedy-Yoon is from New York state. Recently, he was in the Everglades looking for wildlife. He saw a soft shell turtle, two alligators, a bird, called the anhinga, a night heron and a swallow-tailed kite.

 

"I think that preserving and conserving wildlife and wildlife areas is some of the best and most useful uses of our taxpayer money," Kennedy-Yoon said.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Restoring and protecting the Everglades for recreation and its wildlife is a very important issue to many people. Samples from Friends of the Everglades said there is a need to build climate resiliency in Florida.

 

She noted the words of writer and conservationist Marjory Stoneman Douglas: "The Everglades is a test. If we pass it, we may get to keep the planet."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Words in This Story

ecosystem – n. everything that exists in a particular environment

reservoir – n. usually artificial lake that is used to store a large supply of water for use in people's homes, in businesses, etc.

complicated – adj. hard to understand, explain, or deal with

intrude – v. to come or go into a place where you are not wanted or welcome

benefit –n. a good result from an action, plan or policy

conserve – v. to keep (something) safe or from being damaged or destroyed

resilience – n. the ability to become strong, healthy, or successful again after something bad happens

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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