Field Trip: Slogging Through The Everglades

Maintaining ecological diversity is necessary for the survival of a biological community. In the United States, American citizens are on the verge of irrevocably damaging one of the country's most unique and diverse treasures - the Florida Everglades. This national park is now the only remaining patch of a river that used to span 120 miles from Lake Okeechobee to the Florida Bay. Dikes and levees created by the Army Corps of Engineers in the late 1940's drained this river to reduce flooding and increase useable water for the development of the region. This major diversion of water lead to a trickle down effect causing the continual decline of the environmental state of the Everglades. Since then, debates over the

The Everglades, also known as the River of Grass, is one of South Florida's most treasured areas. It is an area still full of wonder and mystery. The Everglades is lined with a specific type of limestone bedrock formed by tiny organisms called byrozoans. These animals, though not related to coral, act like coral by extracting dissolved limestone from the sea water around them and using it to construct protective chambers in which to live. They then attach to various kinds of sea grasses on the ocean floor and coat them as well. Individual chambers combine together to form rock-like structures. Over thousands of years, when South Florida was completely submerged, a vast amount of this limestone

First and foremost, a main reason why the water supply to the everglades is having a bad effect, is because of all of the past draining. As stated in source 1 (The Florida Everglades) it says “From 1905-1910 , the settlers coverted the land… the Everglades were nearly drained entirely.” This shows that these new settlers wanted to get rid of the Everglades completely. As a result to their actions the Florida lost 50% of the wildlife’s population and diversity. This also included the subtropical wilderness of the Everglades. Which contained grassy marshes, hardwood hammocks, and mangrove forests. The draining of the Everglades was only one of the reasons why that the water supply on the park is bad.

The Everglades National Park protects the largest wild life area east of the Mississippi River. The Everglades are the largest remaining sub-tropical wild life area in 48 states sitting on 1.5 million acres preserved at Florida’s tip off shore. The Everglades contain various ecosystems such as rivers, lakes ponds, marshes, etc. These wild life areas feature both fresh and saltwater areas, open prairies, pine rock lands, tropical hardwood forests, offshore coral reefs, and mangrove forests. This paper will summarize how humans contributed to the destruction of the Everglades and how man is working to save the Everglades. Since the Everglades is comprised of both fresh and saltwater areas the vast range of wildlife species in the Everglades include but not limited to reptiles, mammals, aquatic birds, etc. The vast spectrum of wildlife living in the Florida Everglades include but not limited to aquatic animals, mammals, reptiles, etc. Of this vast spectrum of wildlife living in the Florida Everglades there are 56+ species who are either endangered or are in jeopardy of being endangered. The Everglades are home to two National Parks, four National Wildlife Refuges, and one National Marine Sanctuary that bring almost 2 million visitors every year to experience this natural beauty located minutes from Miami Florida. The powerful environmental forces of sun, water, wind, and fire greatly affect the development and lifecycles of these

What is the value of Florida's Everglades? The Everglades is very important to the ecosystem. A large variety of things depend upon Florida's Everglades. But some of us destroy the Everglades by building homes on the Everglades, which puts animals at risk. This is valuable because a large population of different species rely on the Everglades, many humans also rely on the Everglades, and the Everglades are very interesting.

The Florida Everglades have been adversely impacted for decades because of human attempts to control this historical ‘River of Grass’. The reason for our insistence on attempting to control and manage the area can be defined in one word: water. There has always been plenty of water available within the Everglades’ ecosystem, but no logical way to extract it. Our extraction efforts eventually led to devastating results. My paper will focus on the initial policy and practices involved in the extensive downgrading of this once biologically unequaled ecosystem; as well as discuss recent policy initiatives that have been implemented in order to restore the Everglades to its once magnificent status. I will attempt

Have you ever thought about getting lost in the Florida Everglades, facing the most dangerous creatures? In the book CHOMP by Carl Hiaasen, Derrick Badger the star of the show Expedition Survival! He gets lost in the middle of the Everglades because his airboat that he stole crashed. He ran away from his show because he was bitten by a bat and truly believed he was becoming a vampire. Derrick Badger is a dumb, selfish, but funny character in the novel. He plays an important role through the story because he really is the one to blame for everything that is happening in the story. The reader will see how carefully Carl Hiaasen chose the

The Florida Everglades is a region of tropical wetlands in south Florida. It consists of the southern half of the state, ranging from the Kissimmee River, Lake Okeechobee, and the Everglades. This watershed is referred to as the KOE. Water in south Florida once flowed from the Kissimmee River to Lake Okeechobee, then flowed southward over low-lying lands to Biscayne Bay, the Ten Thousand Islands, and Florida Bay. This shallow, slow-moving sheet of water created a mosaic of ponds, marshes, and forests. Over thousands of years this developed into the balanced ecosystem we know today as the Florida Everglades. In the later half of the 19th century, America was expanding and there was a nation wide push for progress. The idea for expansion led

The Everglades was once a lush, green wilderness home to many endangered species. Now it is a drained swampland with half of its wildlife wiped out. One change made a big impact on this wetland. Many people are working hard to save the Everglades before it’s too late.

Have you ever wondered where your water comes from? If you live in Florida it comes from a place known as the Everglades. However the water supply is affecting the park located in Florida. To explain it further the park is being affected by small changes having a big impact, the water being affected and the price for saving the Everglades is high. Not to mention a approved is needed to save the subtropical wilderness.

The Everglades is located in the southern part of Florida. It is one of the largest subtropical wetlands in all of North America. The area only experiences two seasons: wet and dry. The wet season lasts from May to October and the dry season lasts from November to April. The Native Americans called it Pa-hay-okee, which means grassy river, and today it is often referred to as “the river of grass,” which was coined by author Marjory Stoneman Douglas. The Everglades has many habitats such as a river, mangroves, lakes and sawgrass. It is home to many different species of plants, animals and insects because of this. The Everglades flows from the Kissimmee River down to the Florida Bay. The river is about 60 miles wide and over 100 miles

I researched the Everglades in Florida. There have been many negative changes in this habitat both from humans and other species. The region’s water resources are being depleted by invasions of exotic plants such as the Australian Melaluca. The Australian Melaluca also affected the native species of which the rest of the ecosystem depends. Another effect on the water is the runoff from agricultural operations, which gets into the water and pollutes it. Development pressures from agriculture, industry, and urban areas have destroyed more than half of the original Everglades

This unique blend of natural and cultural history is what led to its "coronation." Slight changes in elevation, at points only a couple of inches, water salinity, and soil have created a number of different landscapes within the confines of Everglades National Park. The interaction of these distinct environments is what makes this area of the world so unique. Within the Everglades, there is an estuarine community, mangrove forests, coastal prairies, freshwater marl

The first way that the water supply affects the everglades is that it kills off many of the species of plants and animals that live there.Polluted or not enough water can affect the animal population, as mentioned in source 1, (Past and Present: The Florida Everglades) paragraph 1 where it says,

Imigan your traped in a small area with pollution all around and no fresh water in sight. Well that’s how the animals in Floridas Everglades feel because humans have taken away their land, poisoned their water, and the cost is to fix it all of this is just way to much.