EVERGLADE, Fla. (AP) — John Cominoski jumps into waist-deep water in an area of Florida known as the Glass River. A brown sessile mass (a collection of algae, bacteria, and other organisms) covers the surface.
The air is thick and sticky as Kominoski, a professor at Florida International University, pushes a stick to secure a tube that will take continuous, timed water samples. The tube will help his team investigate the effects of climate change and freshwater flows on this unique and sensitive ecosystem.
The construction of the Tampa-Miami highway in 1928 degraded and transformed the Everglades ecosystem, carving out a mosaic of grasslands, sawtooth swamps, freshwater ponds, and forested uplands. A portion of the road is currently being raised to restore water flow to Shark River Slough, a critical restoration area deep within Everglades National Park.
The elevated highway is part of a large state-federal project approved by Congress in 2000 with bipartisan support aimed at reversing the damage caused to these wetlands. .
“This is the largest, most complex and most expensive ecosystem restoration project in the world,” said Eve Samples, executive director of Friends of the Everglades. “It’s very important to get it right.”
More than 20 years later, there are signs of progress. Wildlife is returning to some areas, areas dominated by non-native melaleuca trees have declined by 75%, enthusiasm is growing as important projects are finally starting to move, and momentum is building in others. Additional funds are flowing in. But there are also concerns. The project is said to be in the billions of dollars. It’s over budget and questions remain as to whether some of it will work.
Once about twice the size of New Jersey, today only half of the Everglades remains. Home to endangered and endangered species, the area provides storm mitigation and a critical source of drinking water for millions of Floridians. Decades of development and agricultural engineering projects have divided and drained water that once flowed freely from the Kissimmee River to Lake Okeechobee to Florida Bay. Invasive species have transformed the land, and agricultural pollution (mainly phosphorus) has degraded water quality.
Restoring the Everglades is expected to cost more than $23 billion and take 50 years to complete. Although water quality has improved, challenges remain, with accelerating saltwater intrusion, rising sea levels, and rising temperatures posing continuing threats.
Since 2019, the South Florida Water Management District has celebrated completion, groundbreaking or other milestones on approximately 70 projects. This year, lawmakers allocated $1.275 billion for recovery efforts over the next 12 months, the largest annual allocation. It’s unclear what Donald Trump will do with restoration efforts after taking office, but he allocated funding during his first presidential term and helped pass the Great American Outdoors Act. The bill set aside $900 million annually in permanent funding to improve access to and protect public lands. watershed etc.
A large enough reservoir?
Northwest of Miami, excavators are digging through piles of blasted limestone as workers replace acres of sugar cane fields in a massive project aimed at providing clean fresh water to the Everglades.
When completed, the $3.9 billion Everglades Agricultural Reservoir Project will store and clean contaminated water from Central Florida’s Lake Okeechobee in reservoirs and wetlands before releasing it into the southern Everglades.
Considered by some to be the most important part of the project, the reservoir spans 10,500 acres (4,249 hectares) and has the capacity to store water for approximately 480,000 to 720,000 homes. An adjacent 6,500-acre (2,630.5-hectare) wetland, or stormwater treatment area, purifies the reservoir’s water before it is released.
All of this together makes this project almost a marathon.
“The wildlife and mosaic of habitats here depend on proper water use, and that’s what this project is about,” said Jennifer Reynolds, director of ecosystem restoration and capital projects for the water district. said. “It’s about having adequate water for natural habitats, and it’s also about sustaining the populations of people who live and reproduce here.”
The administrations of Democratic President Joe Biden and Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have called it a “priority,” but it’s also one of their most controversial projects. Due to a lack of land, the reservoir will be 82.5% smaller than originally planned.
Questions remain as to whether it will function after completion. Critics fear the project is too small and deep to significantly purify the water. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which is building the reservoir, itself has expressed uncertainty about whether the water will meet standards.
Climate and development threats
On a sticky May morning, FIU professor Kominoski and research specialist Rafael Travieso wanted to learn about water chemistry, including phosphorus levels.
Although phosphorus levels have increased slightly with increased water volume, the data shows that water quality in the area is excellent. This is good news, given that phosphorus pollution has degraded Everglades water quality for decades and remains a challenge. Phosphorus is altering ecosystems, causing toxic algae blooms, oxygen depletion, and harming native plants and wildlife.
But downstream measurements tell a different story. Kominoski said salinity levels have been rising from days to weeks to months, suggesting sea level rise and saltwater intrusion are accelerating.
Low-lying areas of South Florida are especially vulnerable to storms and accelerating sea level rise, which some estimates predict could reach up to 4 feet (1.2 meters) by 2100. Experts also warn that the effects of rising sea levels and rising temperatures will reduce water runoff and increase evaporation. .
In its latest report to Parliament, the Committee of Experts acknowledged that considering the effects of climate change in recovery efforts is a huge challenge. They recommended several actions, including the development of a set of climate scenarios to be used consistently across all planning and implementation.
The long-term survival of the Everglades depends, in part, on the ability of mangroves, some of our most unique and endangered native species, to cope with climate impacts. These salt-tolerant trees, which buffer against erosion and hurricanes, are moving inland as sea levels rise. Although recovery efforts have been successful, high seas remain a threat.
“You’re going to be flooded at certain points, which limits your ability to survive and recover, and you’re going to experience wetland loss,” FIU student Kevin Montenegro said.
Salt water intrusion also threatens biodiversity, drinking water and peat soils that store global warming carbon.
Then there are the people.
Florida’s population has continued to grow for decades, and by 2022 it will be the fastest growing state in the nation.
Homestead, south of Miami, is under pressure to develop flood-prone, low-lying farmland between Everglades and Biscayne National Parks.
“This is a huge hurdle, and it’s happening in all 16 counties, including the greater Everglades region,” said Sample of Friends of the Everglades. “Population growth and development are currently a huge threat.
Back at Shark River Swamp, the airboat roared into action. For the next few hours, Cominoski and Travieso glided over the reflective water, past tree islands and lily pads, dodging alligators and watching dragonflies cling to their clothes take flight.
signs of progress
Steve Davis looked down at the Tamiami Trail from the back seat of a small plane about 800 feet in the air.
The wetlands surrounding the highway were once dry, but restoration efforts have increased flow. “It’s a big deal to see water during the dry season,” said Davis, the Everglades Foundation’s chief science officer. “You don’t want the area to dry out completely.”
As parts of the Everglades rehydrate and habitat re-emerges, so do native species such as the stork. Sandpiper colonies have returned to the Kissimmee River floodplain. In some areas, habitat in marshes and shallow lakes called sloughs is increasing. Flamingos blown away by Hurricane Idalia remain in the Everglades.
“Progress has accelerated significantly over the past decade,” Davis says. “It’s more than optimism. We’re starting to see the benefits.”
A new plan to manage Lake Okeechobee water levels is intended to have broad benefits for recovery efforts. It calls for sending more water south, reducing harmful discharges to the east and west coasts, and giving us more flexibility in water management decisions.
Other parts of the Everglades need more help.
Floating mats of harmful blue-green algae can be seen from the air in Lake Okeechobee, a sign of rising temperatures and excess nutrients.
In the West, rising sea levels and saltwater intrusion are impacting the drinking water wells of the Miccosukee Tribe of Florida Indians, said environmental activist and tribal member Betty Osceola. The islands where the tribe’s ancestors planted trees are being flooded due to mismanagement of water, decimating the flora and fauna on which they survived, they said. Other regions are drier and face continued threats from contaminated water and wildfires.
“Restoration efforts are primarily for the benefit of Everglades National Park,” Osceola said. “There may be benefits for national parks, but there may be sacrifices for tribes.”
That’s why for decades, the tribe has advocated for Western Everglades Restoration Projects that aim to improve water quantity, quality, timing, and distribution. The project’s first major features broke ground in July.
The future of the everglades
Inside the Everglades, Michael Kennedy Yun looked through binoculars at the sawgrass swamp.
A man in New York discovered a soft-shelled turtle. Earlier, he saw two crocodiles. But he was most excited about the birds on his list, including the anhinga, night heron and swallowtail kite.
“I think the preservation and conservation of wildlife and wildlife habitat is one of the best and most profitable uses of taxpayers’ money,” said Kennedy Yun, sweat glistening on his face. . “If we don’t change something, we’re going to lose areas like this.”
But it’s about more than just restoring and protecting the Everglades and its wildlife for recreation. As Samples from Friends of the Everglades points out, this is also about building Florida’s climate resilience.
She quoted a famous quote popularized by author and conservationist Marjory Stoneman Douglas. If we can pass this, we may be able to sustain the Earth. ”
In the face of development pressures and climate change, Samples says that statement is truer than ever.
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