Indian River Lagoon Case Study

As decades continued to pass by the wetlands change. "People have begun to realize that wetlands are valuable and productive ecosystems that fulfill an essential function for both humans and wildlife. Due to their unique characteristics, wetlands can support a wide diversity of plants, mammals, reptiles, birds and fish. They also control floodwaters and protect us from storms and hurricanes. Wetlands also improve water quality by filtering, cleaning and storing water. Lastly, many people rely on wetlands for their livelihood, as they are important centers for hunting, fishing and recreation." Referring to this from "Wetlands and Habitat Loss", we now see how wetlands are valuable and helpful to the ecosystem. The wetlands are known for our water source. Many people depend on the Everglades for a water source. We also use the Everglades for activities. These activities include fishing, recreation, and

Environmental Protection Agency recognizes the Chesapeake Bay as a damaged ecological community in which millions were spent on research in efforts to save and restore this national treasure and few developments have been proven to be successful, “these actions included upgrading sewage treatment plants, controlling urban runoff, controlling manure and fertilizer runoff, reducing soil erosion, issuing stricter discharge permits, and banning the use of phosphorous detergents.” (Atkins & Anderson, 2003). In partnership, the Chesapeake Bay Program has also made progress in restoring and protecting the Chesapeake Bay. Its efforts include reducing pollution, restoring habitats, managing fisheries, protecting watersheds and fostering stewardship. This program has also set goals in relation to “wetlands, submerged grasses, nutrient reduction, toxins, sustainable development, and citizen involvement.” (Atkins & Anderson, 2003).

The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. About half of the Bay’s water volume comes from salt water from the Atlantic Ocean. The other half drains into the Bay from its enormous 64,000-square-mile watershed. Estuaries are among the most productive environments on earth, creating more organic matter each year than similarly-sized forests and agricultural areas. Estuaries also provide diverse habitats for wildlife and aquatic life, protect our communities against flooding, reduce pollution of waterways, and support local economies through commercial and recreational activities. Thousands of species

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 beautiful of the Everglades is simply breathing all the creatures and different plant life is a joyous site to witness. The beauty of the Everglades that past generations has witness isn’t the same that the current generations witness. As the years progress we continue to do more harm to our beloved Everglades. We continue to push our animals to relocate and find new homes because we take away their land for our own personal developments. The population continues to increase and that calls for newer and better developments, more and more of the Everglades is being taking away from plants and animals. This land that is being taken away from the plant and animal species is being turned into communities, shopping plazas, and other new buildings. The Everglades once rumored to be 22,000 square feet has over time become no more than 11,000 square feet. This major drop over years and years is a result of land development. The continuation of taking land away from our animal and plant life in the Everglades can result in horrible consequences. Animals will eventually be forced to find homes somewhere else and we will lose valued plant

The Everglades in South Florida, home of 36 such endangered species such as the American Crocodile and the Florida Panther, slowly continues to diminish. According to the website of the National Wildlife Refuge Association (NWRA), the Everglades played “a crucial role in the lives of Florida’s human residents” (“Everglades”). Since the 1980s, the government established efforts to protect wildlife and vegetation. Organization groups continue planning on restoring the most well-known wetland on Florida soil. In other words, the development of urban communities and agriculture causes a mass increase in pollution and flood watches. The ongoing conservation of the Everglades preserves limited water quality, protect wildlife, and prevent urban development.

These great sceneries have the power to inspire a great many of people to conserve and protect the natural environment that Florida has to offer. These trees and waterways have a great potential, in that they have the ability to inspire the next generation of scientists and policy writers, simply because they enjoyed walking through the park during their childhoods. This is extremely important, as ecology directly involves how people interact with their environment based off of the knowledge and respect they have for it.

Since the 1960’s and 1970’s, the public consensus for environmental concerns like in the Florida Everglades “has faded somewhat as a political issue” (Babbitt, 2007; p 44-45). However, it wasn't until 2000, the Clinton Administration signed the Everglades Restoration legislation into law. (Babbitt, 2007), (Dedekorkut, 2003). And once again political attention had been focused on the preservation of ecosystem resources concerning the Florida Everglades. Along with its polarized atmosphere, scholars have long debated the role partisan politics plays in the water resource policy for the South Florida, Everglades.

To assist with conversation, the Everglades have been divided by the government into two regions with two purposes. The northern area is reserved for agriculture, primarily sugarcane, and the lower portion has been turned into a historical national park (“Why Should I..”, 2013). The parts that are not included in the preservation constantly face battles against development and even more destruction; thousands of miles of the Everglades are not included in or protected by it’s natural park status. Only 22 of the 56 endangered species are protected in the national parks (Sart, 2015).

Since the 1950s, Florida 's population has risen at an annual rate of approximately four percent. In the [past] 50 years, more than eight million acres of forest and wetland habitats (about 24 percent of the state) have been cleared to accommodate the expanding human population. In 1990, about 19 acres per hour of forest, wetland, and agricultural land [were] being converted for urban uses. Because of this growth, Florida’s ecosystems are now

Everglades, the largest subtropical wetland of North America, has encountered anthropogenic perturbation since the last quarter of 19th century when canals were built and peatlands were drained for economic gain (Godfrey and Catton, 2011). Since then, the system has been exploited, drained, polluted and changed from its natural setup to escalate and widen the potential services from it. The present state is a highly regulated system to buttress economic productivity and fulfill several regional demands. The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, one of the world’s largest restoration initiative, aims to restore, protect and preserve the water resources of central and southern Florida (National Research Council, 2014). While the restoration program is built on a foundation of retrospective science backed by several years of sophisticated research on understanding the Everglades and similar ecosystem (Estenoz and Bush, 2015), the human dimension of restoration was not studied adequately(Clarke and Dalrymple, 2003; Kranzer, 2002; National Research Council, 2014). Particularly, the spatial extent of residents’ preference or the heterogeneity of their opinion is important for CERP as the plan aims to restore ecosystem without compromising the present services (e.g. flood control, water for agricultural, urban and industrial uses etc.), which are also spatially related.

There used to be a thriving area full of lush plants and exotic animals along with many miles of water flowing through central Florida called the Everglades. A lot of water was drained for development and farming, leaving a queer 50% of the wetlands remaining. Many of the beautiful organisms dissipated due to the water purge. The U.S Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) are trying to restore the national park's water system, hopefully bringing back its diverse ecosystem.

The southern tip of Florida, commonly referred to as “south Florida”, has been the breeding ground for art and culture since its development in the early 19th century. Not only humans, but plants and animals also thrive in the region's tropical climate and plentiful ecosystem. As the urbanization and development of south Florida is pushed further and further, the habitat of the diverse organisms within the Everglades are becoming polluted and destroyed. The incompatibility of a growing population as well as a rapidly expanding metropolis and a thriving yet fragile ecosystem is clear. The restoration and protection of the Everglades has been conducted by government and private organizations. These attempts had little success and in some cases caused more damage to the tropical wetlands.

After reading and analyzing the environmental in Sanibel Florida, I am impressed that Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation is dedicated to the conservation of its aquatic resources and coastal habitats on their island Sanibel (SCCF, 2013). We all could learn a lot from this city through their hardships and through their Comprehensive Land Use Plan. We cloud learn from their mistakes of other coastal communities that had developed so intensively they sacrificed the very thing that was the foundation of a tourism-based economy. Not to be deterred, a small group of citizens began the movement for home rule and the right to determine the future of the island. The city is head of its time back in the 70s and still to this day when it come the environmental friendly and dedicated in conservation through acquisitions and land management. The city if Sanibel is a role model for other cities to follow when it comes to wildlife habitat and environment protection program and plans (Duerksen & Snyder, 2005).

Did you know it will take about $1 billion to fix the Everglades ecosystem? When foreign settlers came to the Everglades, they drained the water for farmland. As the population grew, people upset its ecosystem and it was nearly drained entirely. As the water supply lessons and more construction is done, animals’ habitats are destroyed. When the supply of the water is drained, many bad things can happen, such as the water being introduced to chemicals that could kill organisms and animals habitats are being destroyed.