And that system will, once again, be short-changed in a public process which favors agricultural and development interests over wildlife and the natural environment.". We imagine the public still believes that is what Everglades Restoration is supposed to be about.”. Its history can be traced back to the 1800s when Hamilton Disston and Henry Flagler were draining, dredging, and filling Florida’s land while fighting in the courts with shareholders, speculators, and state land administrators. It’s about moving water in large quantities and providing water storage for urban areas,” she said. 2d 1338 (S.D. “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. So far, she’s not impressed. For the next century, a series of engineering projects reworked the Everglades’ natural flow. Stat. WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. EAA Without Delay. ), The U.S. Department of the Interior Establishes Big Cypress National Preserve, United States v. South Florida Water Management District, 847 F. Supp. ", "I’m hoping it becomes the new normal. There will be much more money spent. al., 75 So. “Nature wants the water to go one way, but certain people who are experts,” she said, the air quotes implicit in her tone of voice, “are very vocal about how they feel water historically always went to the east. The plan’s primary goal is to "get the water right"—that is, to deliver the right amount al. “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. 3d 1270 (Fla. 4th DCA 2011); United States Sugar Corp. v. 1000 Friends of Florida, et. “Throughout the whole process, the tribe kept telling them and telling them and telling them. The SFWMD is working hard to continue accelerating the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) Storage Reservoir. 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. 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. For years, a major vision of Everglades restoration was the reconnection of the natural hydrological flow between Lake Okeechobee and Florida Bay. Everglades National Park and the WCAs were designated as Outstanding Florida Waters in 1978. 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. ), 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. 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.”. "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. Fla. 2006), Miccosukee Tribe of Indians v. United States (Miccosukee III), 420 F. Supp. 1567 (S.D. And what we once called the “River of Grass” will be permanently relegated to history books. Image Courtesy of EvergladesPlan.org. al. §§ 4321, et. The birds weren’t the only astonishing part of the journey. Dist., 570 F.3d 1210 (11th Cir. 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. Everybody agrees the Everglades must be restored. 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. 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. Knee-deep water?” she asked. 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. Florida’s Chief Resilience Officer, Valenstein heads the state's Department of Environmental Protection, which coordinates with the federal and state agencies implementing CERP. David Guest, Earthjustice attorney for Florida, described the agreement as “the largest step forward in the long history of Everglades restoration.” Well, lo and behold, the water moves, no matter how much pumping they do. The Restudy made clear that a grand-scale revision was needed – something that would help recover natural function – to the extent that was possible. v Antwerp et al. 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. … 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. 2009), Miccosukee v. United States, 566 F.3d 1 257 (11th Cir. CERP’s early years were marked by delays, lawsuits and money squabbles. Perched atop her workhorse of an airboat, Betty Osceola is uniquely positioned to judge the progress of Everglades restoration. In addition, private companies offer guided tram and boat tours in portions of the park. 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. What's a WRDA? Fla. 2005), Florida Wildlife Federation, et. “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. When Everglades restoration was drafted, the plan was based on historical ecological trends in the river of grass. 2d 1324, 1345 (S.D. Ron DeSantis on Monday backed a controversial reservoir being built in the Everglades while announcing the state will use a pool … “The Everglades is still not likely to receive anywhere near the clean fresh water it needs to restore a significantly degraded ecosystem. Phosphorus in agricultural and stormwater runoff has degraded water quality in the Everglades since the 1960s. Wildlife dwindled. Everglades continue to provide shelter, not only for diverse wildlife but also for the sensitive yet integral wetlands ecosystem in which they live. 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. Florida Bay's prized spiny lobsters and game fish began disappearing as its "gin-clear water turned a slimy pea green," Grunwald reports. 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. al., 69 So. 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. “Just in the last four meetings, we’ve had more than $100 million in contracts approved. Florida Everglades Alligator. 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 … “That’s a pretty tall order from my perspective. Yet questions and conflict about CERP remain. Fla. 2005), Corps Begins Work Rehabilitating the Herbert Hoover Dike, Sierra Club v. Flowers, 423 F.Supp.2d 1273 (S.D. “You see C-43 ripping along. They are the surviving remnants of the historical Everglades that once extended over an area approximately 40 miles wide by 100 miles long, from the south shore of Lake … Environmental restoration (is) becoming an economic engine.”. “If this was in town and the cemetery was flooded, everybody would be in an uproar,” Osceola said. 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. “Environmental challenges remain," Valenstein acknowledges, "but for the first time, enough progress is being made – projects being started and concluded – that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.”. 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