The Everglades have taken a beating over the years. So much so that 15 years ago the state of Florida in partnership with federal officials from Washington issued a statement declaring their partnership in the goal of re-establishing the Everglades by 2030. The Everglades is a World Heritage Site and is also the largest subtropical wetland ecosystem in the world.
However, as of now it seems that sufficient efforts are not being made in order to achieve that goal, and it looks like it will take more time than initially thought to complete. As part of the initial plan, 68 different projects were included as a part of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan. However, after 15 years, not even one of these plans has been implemented and only 13 out of the 68 have officially been approved.
Costs have also begun to skyrocket along with the everchanging timeline, both of which have already doubled since the original estimation. The Great Recession also played a role in decreasing both federal and state funding for the projects. Congress can also be singled out for its part as the bills related to the water projects failed to pass.
"There hasn't been a sense of urgency" former Florida governor, Democrat and former US senator who co-sponsored the Everglades restoration law, Bob Graham says. "There's an attitude of, well, if it doesn't happen this year, it'll happen next year or two years from now, or three years from now."
The Everglades is spread across over 8 million acres, covering areas from the southern suburbs of Orlando all the way down to the Florida Keys. It supports an ecosystem that is both vast and unique in many ways and is home to 67 threatened or endangered species.
According to the South Florida Management District, the state agency responsible for the Everglades restoration, the southern interior was a huge swampland and it was difficult to reach most of its area during the 1990s.
In the 1920s, hurricanes hit communities around Lake Okeechobee, leading to the need of drainage and other flood-control systems to protect both lives and property. Then the scenario changed and the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers began designing patchworks of canals leading to massive growth in and around the Everglades eventually leading to the endangerment of the area as we know it.
The lack of progress on the restoration projects only highlight the problems facing the Everglades in the future. With costs skyrocketing and the governments of the U.S. and Florida dragging their feet, it could be some time before we see a return of the Everglades to their former glory.
