The Everglades: Theres More Than Meets the Eye

     Florida is home to one of the most unique ecosystems in the world, the Everglades. The Everglades is a subtropical wetland environment that starts at Lake Okeechobee in central Florida and continues south until it ends at Florida Bay. There are many different environments that make up the Everglades from hardwood hammocks and pinelands to sloughs and sawgrass marshes. This unique and diverse habitat houses a wide variety of different species and gives way to unique features not found anywhere else in the world. For a list of wildlife found in the Everglades click here. 

  The Everglades is the only subtropical preserve that exists in North America and houses temperate and tropical wildlife. It also contains both saltwater and freshwater habitats. With all the different environments that it contains, the Everglades is basically a huge slow-moving river which is hard to imagine since there is no definitive river system that most people are used to picturing. Because of this it is often known as the “River of Grass”. In the Everglades you can find many species of wildlife from more northern environments that intermingle with tropical wildlife. It is also the only place on earth where alligators and crocodiles live side by side.  

              

 

         While the Everglades is an essential part of the lives of wildlife, it is also a huge importance for humans as well. The freshwater that flows through the Everglades was diverted many years ago to allow farmers to have water for crops which created a booming agricultural zone around it. It is also the source of freshwater for much of Fort Lauderdale and Miami residents. Almost 1 in 3 Floridians rely on the water from the Everglades to supply their freshwater. Unfortunately, because humans rely so heavily on the water from the Everglades, the water levels have dropped and caused shrinkage of the wetlands. We are trying to remedy this by the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP). The goal is to restore the flow of water in the Everglades back to historical levels before human intervention. The plan was approved by Congress in 2000 and has had success thus far but climate change is causing some challenges. Since climate change is raising water levels and increasing the global temperatures, CERP has to figure out how to balance its projects in order to not increase water flow too much where it could end up having a negative impact of the environment. For more info on the CERP project click here.