Large-Scale Ecosystem Restoration

Five Case Studies from the United States

Mary Doyle, Cynthia Drew, Mary Doyle, Cynthia Drew

• Publisher: Island Press
• Year: 2012
• ISBN:
  9781610910897
• Topic: Biological Sciences
• Subtopic: Science General
• Index: Biological Sciences

Large-Scale Ecosystem Restoration presents case studies of five of the most noteworthy large-scale restoration projects in the United States: Chesapeake Bay, the Everglades, California Bay Delta, the Platte River Basin, and the Upper Mississippi River System. These projects embody current efforts to address ecosystem restoration in an integrative and dynamic manner, at large spatial scale, involving whole (or even multiple) watersheds, and with complex stakeholder and public roles.Representing a variety of geographic regions and project structures, the cases shed light on the central controversies that have marked each project, outlining• the history of the project
• the environmental challenges that generated it
• the difficulties of approaching the project on an ecosystem-wide basis
• techniques for conflict resolution and consensus building
• the ongoing role of science in decision making
• the means of dealing with uncertaintiesA concluding chapter offers a guide to assessing the progress of largescale restoration projects.Large-Scale Ecosystem Restoration examines some of the most difficult and important issues involved in restoring and protecting natural systems. It is a landmark publication for scientists, policymakers, and anyone working to protect or restore landscapes or watersheds.

PART I

The Everglades

One of the most diverse, challenged bioregions on Earth, the Everglades is rich in 2,000 plant species, 45 mammal and 50 reptile species, 20 species of amphibians, hundreds of fish species, and 350 species of birds. For the past five decades, the most powerful force shaping the destiny of South Florida, home to the Everglades, has been population growth. While the Everglades merits preservation for its natural beauty and unique ecosystem, it must also be protected because it is a primary source of water for the fast-growing region. Development has caused South Florida to become one of the United States’ greatest ecological problem zones. Stephen Polasky’s chapter 3 discusses the economic perspective of the resultant competition for water allocation.

Half of the historic “river of grass” (Douglas 1947) has been lost, and the remaining natural areas are highly fragmented by the Central and South Florida Project, built and operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE or the Corps) to drain large quantities of freshwater from the cities and farms of South Florida. Water quality is also an issue, due largely to phosphorous discharges from sugarcane farms upstream. Thomas L. Crisman’s chapter 2 explores the impact of hydrologic alterations and restoration plans critical to the landscape of the Everglades proper.

In the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA 2000), Congress authorized the $7.8 billion Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP), the largest effort of its kind ever undertaken. The CERP sets up a partnership among the Corps, the U.S. Department of the Interior (manager of two national parks and five national wildlife refuges in South Florida), and the state of Florida with the goal of “getting the water right” in the Everglades. This means that the quantity, quality, timing, and distribution of the water have to be altered so as to mimic as closely as possible predrainage conditions, a highly ambitious undertaking. Since CERP was authorized, despite prodigious efforts by the federal and state partners, its progress has been slow. Delays in federal funding have frustrated state officials, who have launched their own, self-funded effort to build CERP projects. Disputes on the methods and schedule for meeting water quality standards for the Everglades have also strained the federal–state partnership. The South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Task Force, established by Congress (WRDA 1996) to coordinate agency efforts in implementing CERP, has grappled with key issues, such as coordinating and integrating science and providing independent, scientific peer review. Those involved in this vast, complex undertaking have learned valuable lessons about effective collaboration, the role of leadership in achieving success, the crucial need for organizational adaptability, and the continuing importance of effective communication with shareholders and the public.

REFERENCES

Douglas, M. S. [1947] 1974. The Everglades: River of Grass. Sarasota, FL: Pineapple Press.

Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) 1996. 110 Stat. 3658, Public Law No. 104-303. October 12. At http://www.fws.gov/habitatconservation/Omnibus/WRDA1996.pdf.

WRDA 2000. Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP). 114 Stat. 2687, Sec. 601 (j), (h). Public Law No. 106-541. December 11. At http://www.fws.gov/habitat-conservation/Omnibus/WRDA2000.pdf.

FIGURE 1.1 Everglades Restoration Areas (USGAO 2007).

Chapter 1

The Challenges of Restoring the Everglades Ecosystem

TERRENCE “ROCK” SALT, STUART LANGTON, AND MARY DOYLE

One of the most complex, challenged bioregions on Earth, South Florida covers the lower third of the Florida peninsula, encompassing the Everglades, Lake Okeechobee, and the Florida Keys. A rare combination of elements—slow and vast water flow, high annual rainfall, low elevation, underlying limestone configuration, and proximity to the ocean—has made the Everglades a diverse, unique ecosystem, rich in 2,000 plant species, 45 mammal species, 50 reptile species, 20 species of amphibians, hundreds of fish species, and 350 species of birds.

To get a glimpse of the Everglades, try to imagine this kaleidoscope of flora and fauna: Caribbean pine, palmetto, yellow tea bush, tiny wild poinsettia, live oak, resurrection, maidenhair, and Boston fern (among 50 species of ferns), strangler fig, red-brown gumbo limbo, ilex, Eugenia, satinwood, cherry laurel, Florida boxwood, more wild orchid varieties than any other place in the United States, brown Florida deer, wildcat, diamondback rattler, otter, Florida panther, alligator, and crocodile. Add flocks of water fowl and birds: least and great blue heron, glossy, Louisiana, and great white heron, snowy egret, the warblers (pine, myrtle, black-throated, blue, and redstart), brown and white pelican, roseate spoonbill, and white ibis.

As pioneering environmentalist Marjory Stoneman Douglas observed, “There are no other Everglades in the world” (Douglas, [1947] 1974, 5). Despite being diked, dammed, and polluted, the Everglades is like no other place on Earth. In recognition of its rare beauty, the United Nations has designated Everglades National Park (ENP or the Park) as a World Heritage Site and a World Biosphere Reserve.

Quantity and Quality of Water

While the Everglades clearly merits preservation for its natural beauty and unique ecosystem, it must also be protected because it is a primary source of the region’s water. As a result of the natural system’s deterioration, water shortages are not uncommon for South Florida’s communities. In the past, the limestone rock beneath the soil absorbed rainwater like a sponge, replenishing the natural aquifer, but human-made changes now divert the flow of freshwater before it soaks into the ground. Miles of paving, brought on by development of the human habitat, also prevent rainwater from penetrating the soil and entering the aquifer. Restoration efforts require more effective diversions and conservation of water to make it available to the ecosystem and for local water supplies.

Quantity is not the only issue: water quality is also of great concern. If less freshwater enters the aquifer, the probability of saltwater intrusion is increased, and agricultural runoff, including varying levels of pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, nitrogen, and phosphorous, contribute to the degradation of the water’s purity. The fate of South Florida’s water supply is directly related to the quantity and quality of water in the natural Everglades. Thus the long-term survival of all species in the region depends upon successful Everglades restoration.

The Larger South Florida Ecosystem

South Florida covers 18,000 square miles and supports a rapidly growing population. The region’s landscape contains significant protected natural areas, surrounded by a large rim of urban, suburban, and agricultural development. This rim includes the Florida Keys, urban east coast, agricultural lands south and west of Lake Okeechobee, and lower west coast. Over 98 percent of South Florida’s population lives along this 600-mile swath of land that is seldom wider than 20 miles. Inside the rim are several million acres of protected land. One of the paradoxes of South Florida is that large segments of the population live in congested areas, and yet the same region contains the largest remaining wilderness east of the Mississippi River.

Diverse land areas and habitats surround the Everglades. The slightly elevated Big Cypress Swamp, located to the northwest, serves as a natural levee. The Big Cypress region, 2,800 square miles in area, contains the largest variety and concentration of wildlife in South Florida, including endangered species such as the large black bear, Florida panther, and West Indian manatee. In 1974, the federal government established the Big Cypress National Preserve to protect the area.

South of the Everglades, at the point where its freshwater mingles with the saltwater of Florida Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, is located the largest strand of red, black, white, and buttonwood mangroves in America. Stretching for several hundred miles around the tip of the Florida peninsula, this mangrove wilderness, rich in bird life with an abundant fishery, is interspersed with bays and rivers that continue inland for many miles. Fallen mangrove leaves nourish young shrimp and other estuarine life. Although much has been done to protect this area, the Florida Keys and Florida Bay are under considerable environmental stress. Florida Bay has suffered algae blooms, hypersalinity, loss of sea grass, and reduction in pink shrimp and fish stocks. On the Atlantic side of the Keys, coral reefs show signs of degradation, though restoration efforts under way since 1992 appear to have stabilized some of them.

East of the Everglades, the coastal ridge originally contained all of the upland plant communities found in South Florida, including some that are indigenous only to the ridge. Miles of attractive sandy beaches border the ridge, as does Biscayne Bay, around which the cities of Miami and Miami Beach are built—the most intensely developed area of Florida, home to nearly one-third of the state’s population.

The headwaters of the Everglades lie in the Kissimmee River valley, a 3,000-square-mile area that includes the Chain of Lakes region south of Orlando. The lakes flow into the Kissimmee River, which runs for some 90 miles south and flows into Lake Okeechobee. In 1962, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE or the Corps) began to drain and convert the Kissimmee River for flood control purposes into a canal 56 miles long (named the C-38 Canal), which includes six water control structures (SFWMD n.d.). Much of the floodplain of the Kissimmee was destroyed by this project and replaced by large-scale dairy and cattle farms. One of the project’s unintended, deleterious consequences was the introduction of phosphorous-laden runoff from these farms into Lake Okeechobee.

Located directly north of the Everglades and surrounded by agricultural lands, Lake Okeechobee is the only significant water storage area in the South Florida ecosystem, and the Kissimmee River provides the largest influx of water to the lake. Other tributaries include Nubbin Slough and Taylor Creek; Fisheating Creek is the only major unchanneled source of water flowing into the lake.

While Lake Okeechobee stores a vast amount of freshwater, the greatest source of South Florida’s water supply is rainfall. The region receives an average of 40 to 60 inches of rain per year, about 75 percent between May and October (Lake Okeechobee.org n.d.). Historically, the weather pattern is marked by periods of flooding, caused by hurricanes and heavy rains, and periods of drought so severe that lightning often ignites vast fires in the dried-up muck of the Everglades.

Damage Done to the Natural System

The Everglades is particularly vulnerable to damage from a variety of human activities, including population growth, drainage, and agricultural practices.

Population Growth

For the last five decades, the most powerful force shaping the destiny of South Florida has been population growth. The population has grown from 3,283,712 in 1980 to an estimated 5,538,594 people in 2006 in Palm Beach, Miami-Dade, Monroe, and Broward counties (USCB 2007). This is an increase of 59 percent or 2,254,882 people. By 2020, the population is projected to increase by 50 percent and by 2050, 100 percent. One observer has noted that South Florida’s population is growing faster than Haiti’s and India’s (Grunwald 2002). South Florida—with a substantial economy, diverse communities, and a vibrant cultural life—includes sixteen counties, 122 cities, two Indian tribal nations, five regional planning agencies, and scores of state and national parks and preserves. The only government agency that exclusively serves the region is the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD or District), one of five such districts created by the Florida legislature in 1972. Supported in part by an ad valorem tax, the SFWMD had an annual budget of $1.1 billion in fiscal year (FY) 2006.

South Florida’s rapid growth has significantly damaged the natural environment. Prompted by long-standing, urgent requests from Florida leaders, in 1947 the USACE began construction of a massive drainage and flood control project, called the Central and South Florida Project (C&SF Project) to allow increased development of South Florida. Operation of the C&SF Project has caused over half the original South Florida wetlands to be lost to urban and agricultural uses in the past fifty years. As a result, the hydrology of the Everglades has been seriously degraded. Today, the Everglades and other areas of South Florida are crisscrossed with 1,800 miles of canals and levees, 200 large and 2,000 small water control structures, and 25 pumping stations. Five large canals drain water into the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean to control flooding; an average of 1.7 billion gallons of freshwater are pumped into the gulf and the ocean every day. The result is that the Everglades receives only half its original water flow (CERP 2000). Development has caused South Florida to become one of America’s greatest ecological problem zones. From the headwaters of Lake Okeechobee in the Kissimmee River valley to the north, to the coral reefs lying off the Florida Keys, there are hundreds of instances of environmental disturbances and deterioration. The most serious include the following:

• Excessive amounts of phosphorous in Lake Okeechobee and in water flowing into the Everglades (EPA 2003)
• Significantly decreased wading bird populations (Gawlik and Sklar 2000)
• Sixty-eight threatened and endangered species, identified under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) (McIntosh 2002)
• Invasive exotic plants that infest 1.5 million acres of land in South Florida (FDEP 2006)
• A decline of living corals in the reefs off the Florida Keys despite restoration efforts (Hu et al. 2003)
• Lesions on fish in the St. Lucie estuary, where water is flushed from Lake Okeechobee (DOI 1999)

Draining the Everglades

In fewer than one hundred years, South Florida has witnessed profound environmental change. Half of the historic Everglades has been lost, and the remaining natural areas are highly fragmented. Fragmentation started over a century ago, when government policies began to be directed toward draining large parts of the Everglades wetlands. By the 1920s, hundreds of miles of drainage canals had been built, and in 1930, a two-lane road, the Tamiami Trail, was completed across the Everglades. By the early 1960s...

Table of contents

• ABOUT ISLAND PRESS
• SOCIETY FOR ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION INTERNATIONAL
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• INTRODUCTION - The Watershed-Wide, Science-Based Approach to Ecosystem Restoration
• PART I - The Everglades
• PART II - The Platte River
• PART III - The California Bay-Delta
• PART IV - The Chesapeake Bay
• PART V - The Upper Mississippi River
• Conclusion
• ABOUT THE AUTHORS
• ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS
• INDEX
• ISLAND PRESS BOARD OF DIRECTORS