The History of The Everglades

Spreading throughout the southern part of Florida is a large, slow moving river called the Everglades. Big Cypress Swamp, Lake Okeechobee and the Atlantic Coastal Ridge create the boundaries of this subtropical wetland that is connected by the groundwater flow from the Kissimee River into Lake Okeechobee at the very southern end of Florida. 

This “groundwater connection is essential for the maintenance of the wetland” (Everglades) and the complex systems of interdependent ecosystems. “Wading birds, alligators, crocodiles, and snail kites” (Everglades) create a biological richness that is supported by habitats that include “ponds, sloughs, graminoid, and forested wetlands” (Everglades). “Seasonal rainfall and slow drainage result in flooding by surface water” (Kushlan 109) which along with fire are an important feature of the Everglades as both “help to maintain early successional habitats” (Everglades).

Current Human Impacts

As human population continues to grow, more land is needed to supply the new generations with enough resources to live. Due to human impacts, “50% of the original Everglades has been converted into agricultural or urban areas” (Human Impacts) resulting in a drastic change from it’s original natural state. Development of land and agricultural farming are the main human factors that cause complicated issues for the ecosystems in the Everglades. Altered water flow, invasive species, destruction of habitats and polluted water are the results of human expansion into the Everglades.

The Everglades is historically known as a land with swampy marshes that create a perfect habitat for wading birds, alligators and saw grass. In 1948 the Federal Government hired the “Army Corps of Engineers to build 1,400 miles of levees and canals south of Lake Okeechobee to drain 700,000 acres of wetland” (Schmalz) to allow for the land to be developed. This type of development was catastrophic, as human alteration to the natural water flow resulted in a “90% reduction in wading bird populations, 68 plant and animal species threatened or endangered and 1.7 billion gallons of water per day on average lost through discharge to the ocean.” (Restore the Everglades).

Altering water flow has created a chain reaction throughout the Everglades as species cannot adapt quickly enough to the forced change. The effects were first seen in the 1960s when the “the Everglades dried, the marshes burned, and animal populations decreased and suffered reproductive failure” (Kushlan, 113). The wood stork is a native species that nests during the dry season, but with biologically inappropriate water flow resulting in interruption of the drying period, “the nesting population of the storks in Everglades National Park has decreased” as “under these conditions the wood storks abandon their nests and nestlings, or do not nest at all.” (Kushlan, 116).

Controlled water flow is not the only reason habitats are being destroyed as “more habitat destruction in the Everglades is being caused by invasions of exotic plants, such as Australian Melaleuca, which deplete the region’s water resources and squeeze out the native species” (Florida Everglades). Introduction of invasive, exotic species added to the human contamination of the Everglades in their attempt to drain the land for development.

Once the land was drained and altered to fit the needs of urbanization, farms began to degrade the Everglades even more. “Sugar cane is most commonly cultivated, and the effects of fertilizer and pesticides result in widespread degradation throughout the ecoregion” (Everglades) as they cause runoff and are carried throughout the water of the Everglades. This type of agricultural runoff has resulted in “an explosion in the growth of plant varieties that clog open waterways, robbing them of oxygen and crowding out animal life” (Schmalz). In the Everglades the “wetland that had been converted to agricultural use that was releasing phosphorous naturally as its soil decayed” (Schmalz) contributed to the many environmental problems, such as invasive species and habitat destruction. The phosphorus “depleted water quality to the point where the US Federal Government brought a lawsuit against South Florida Water Management District for violating state water quality standards” (Kushlan 109). With noticeable changes in the ecosystem, it is clear that water contamination from agricultural practices is a main cause of the destruction of the Everglades.

Future Prospects

Humans continue to benefit from the Everglades as they get ocean front homes, farmland and even National Parks to observe wildlife; yet they need to understand that the Everglades do not benefit from human invasion in any way. The Everglades still face “severe threats from the impact of surrounding urban sprawl, ecologically unsound water management, agricultural development, invasion of exotic species and fire” from the result of the human population, as “no more than 2% of the original everglades ecosystem is truly intact” (Everglades). 

These environmental factors have been noticed by government officials who are now determined to make the Everglades future better than the past. The Congress has “approved a plan to restore the Everglades, as it is the most expensive and comprehensive environmental repair attempt in history” (Everglades). If the government and society of south Florida are able to work together to make positive changes, the Everglades will see a brighter future. But if humans continue to abuse and destroy the Everglades as they have in the past, the land will continue to decline. 

The Future of The Everglades, Finding a Balance

To ensure the future of the Everglades and still allow for the population of south Florida to continue life, strategies and priorities need to be addressed through government actions to develop a plan for restoration. This plan needs to target the key environmental factors in the Everglades, such as poor water quality and distribution. “Water and its distribution were viewed as the central problem to be solved by the creation of the multi billion-dollar effort to restore the Everglades called the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan” (Water Management). This water restoration plan will benefit the natural environment of the Everglades by restoring natural water elevations and thus the natural habitats for the many species of the Everglades.

The Army Corp of Engineers have now begun working on new, environmentally friendly ways “to control the flow of water so that the dry season stays dry and the wet season wet- an important cycle affecting birds’ nesting habits that was disrupted by man-made levees” (Schmalz). Along with water flow, the government needs to enforce farmers to “meet standards for phosphorus reduction from sugar cane lands in the Everglades agricultural area” (History Culture) as improved water quality will benefit all of the ecosystems in the Everglades, and human population.

As the human population and ecosystem of the Everglades are intricately intertwined, “research, monitoring, land acquisition, construction of water delivery and water quality improvement projects are followed through with adaptive management strategies” (Kulshan 118) as there are so many diverse ecosystems in the Everglades that it has to be carefully altered for each area. An example of this is the research taken to develop the MWD Project to improve water deliveries to National Parks in the Everglades. The researchers “must carefully consider the full effects of their actions for endangered species, public roadways, and private residents” (History Culture) as all are important factors of life in present day south Florida. This team work of society, government, and science research can create new life in the Everglades.

Spreading the boundaries of the Everglades National Park and Big Cypress National Preserve would allow for the necessary land to restore a more natural flow. Currently, “congress is considering a bill that would bring 100,000 more acres under the protection of the Everglades National Park, which encompasses about a fifth of all the Everglades. State water managers have proposed seizing 40,000 acres of private and state owned wetlands that would be used as natural purification system to filter out nutrients before they reach sensitive areas” (Schmalz). The key to life in the Everglades is it’s water flow as it connects all of the ecosystems together, by helping the water flow we would be helping the future of the Everglades.

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