What is being done to protect the Florida Everglades?

What is being done to protect the Florida Everglades?

The key projects – such as reservoirs to store and treat Lake Okeechobee’s overflow and efforts to restore natural flows such as bridging the Tamiami Trail highway – will work together to achieve a lasting, comprehensive restoration for the Everglades.

What is the status of the Everglades restoration project?

The project is expected to be finished by 2024, reviving the area’s wetlands, and restoring estuarine conditions to the Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge.

What have humans done to the Everglades?

Originally the Greater Everglades ecosystem had a large diversity of habitats connected by wetlands and water bodies. Since the 1800s, humans have been altering the Everglades landscape. Water diversions and flood control structures restrict the flow of water across the sensitive landscape.

Are the Florida Everglades protected?

The Everglades Protection Area is a protected area of the Florida Everglades as defined by the Everglades Forever Act, and includes Water Conservation Area 1 (a.k.a. the Arthur R.

What was the purpose of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan?

The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan is a framework for restoring, protecting and preserving the greater Everglades ecosystem. The plan is a 50-50 partnership between the State of Florida and the federal government.

Why is the Everglades being drained?

The Everglades today receives less than one-third of its historic water flow, the water is contaminated by fertilizer and other runoff, and the wildlife-rich wetlands are half the size they were when the federal government started its draining projects in the 1920s.

What’s happening to the Everglades?

Hunting and habitat destruction are humans’ main threats to wildlife in the Everglades. Early explorers reported shooting hundreds of wading birds like herons, flamingos and storks, whose plumes were used in women’s hats and other clothing; local wading bird populations have since dropped 80 percent from 1930s levels.

What was the purpose of the Everglades restoration project?

The goal of CERP is to capture fresh water that now flows unused to the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico and redirect it to areas that need it most. The majority of the water will be devoted to environmental restoration, reviving a dying ecosystem.

How are they going to restore the Everglades?

A critical piece of restoring the Everglades is to construct a reservoir south of Lake Okeechobee. The Everglades Agricultural Area reservoir is a part of CERP that is designed to relieve the pressure on the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee estuaries by taking up water from Lake Okeechobee that is currently damaging the east and west coasts.

What did Congress do to protect the Everglades?

In 2000, Congress authorized over 10.5 billion dollars to CERP – the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan. The purpose of this 35+ year project is to restore, protect, and preserve South Florida’s vital ecosystem. This restoration plan will be the largest hydrologic restoration project the United States has ever undertaken.

Why are the Everglades important to Floridians?

The Everglades are essential for fish and wildlife, but the system also provides enormous benefits to people, as it: Provides drinking water for more than 8 million Floridians. Protects communities from hurricanes and floods.

How is the Everglades helping the St Lucie estuaries?

The Everglades Agricultural Area reservoir is a part of CERP that is designed to relieve the pressure on the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee estuaries by taking up water from Lake Okeechobee that is currently damaging the east and west coasts.