Everglades Restoration: Greatest Restoration Yet, or Just More of the Same?

Back to Map Page April, 1999 Miami, Florida After decades of damming, channelizing, and draining the Everglades of south Florida, the US Army Corps of Engineers is proposing a plan to undo its work and restore the unique wetland region to its natural hydrologic patterns. The $8 billion, 20-year plan was announced in early April 1999 and will be presented to Congress for consideration in early July. Supporters of the plan hail it as the greatest ecosystem restoration project ever attempted in the United States. Skeptics fear that the costly program will accomplish more engineering and complex, unsustainable water management systems and too little actual restoration of this delicate, and disappearing, ecosystem. Meanwhile, the region's population of 6 million people is expected to double in the next 50 years. Restoration now is important because it may be even more difficult later.   Everglades restoration advocates hope to re-establish habitat for wading birds whose numbers have plummeted because of disruption of the water regime. Historically the Florida Everglades was a great, slow-flowing river of grass that started where Lake Okechobe overflowed into a broad, flat, marsh full of birds and alligators and ended where the waters flowed into Florida Bay. Winter rains flooded the region, and summer heat dried out shallow grass flats. Seasonal drought cornered fish into small ponds, where the fishing was easy for the millions of egrets, herons, ibises, storks, and other birds that made the Everglades famous. A growing human population in south Florida couldn't tolerate this seasonal fluctuation of water levels. Flooding threatened cities and farms, so extensive drainage canals were dug to direct more than 1.7 billion gallons of fresh water a day straight to the ocean. Levees and dams were built to protect roads, and irrigation canals carried water away to expanding fruit and vegetable farms. As a consequence the natural Everglades have shrunk to half their original size and dried out, leaving the area susceptible to wildfires in the summer. Ninety percent of historic populations of wading birds have disappeared. The restoration of the Everglades has been a principal environmental effort of the Clinton administration. The proposed plan, while still under development, will mean rebuilding a great deal of water management infrastructure. Some levees and canals will be removed, and better connections will be made between different regions of the Everglades. New pumps, canals, and reservoirs will capture 80% of the water currently sent out to sea, returning it to the Everglades. Additional urban wastewater treatment plants will clean water coming from Miami and nearby cities, thus further enhancing flow in the marshes while still allowing increased urban water use. A group of well known ecologists and biologists, including Stuart Pimm, Paul Ehrlich, Gary Meffe, Gordan Orians, Peter Raven, and Edward O. Wilson have called for caution and a thorough scientific review of the plan. They worry that natural flows cannot be restored using the same old management and manipulation methods. However, supporters of the plan argue that the plan is a step in the right direction. Since it has political momentum now, now is the time to get it through Congress. Continuing scientific review and adjustment of strategies may continue once the project gets set in motion. Although it is true that this work will never restore the Everglades to its real natural state, it may be a useful step in restoring habitat for the birds, alligators, and other species that depend on the area for survival. For further information, see these related sites: Everglades restoration information from a variety of sources: South Florida Water Management District page for the Everglades: Everglades Digital Library To read more, see Environmental Science, a Global Concern, Cunningham and Saigo, 5th ed. Restoration ecology: p. 107-111 Ecosystem management and adaptive management: p. 111-115 Chaos and stability in ecosystems: p. 53 Environmental Science, Enger and Smith, 6th ed. Is it too late for the Everglades? p. 314-315 Back to Map Page feedback form | permissions | international | locate your campus rep | request a review copy digital solutions | publish with us | customer service | mhhe home Copyright ©2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies. Any use is subject to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. McGraw-Hill Higher Education is one of the many fine businesses of the The McGraw-Hill Companies.