The Everglades In Florida

To begin with, Florida's Everglades is important because a large population of animals live in the Everglades. Many animals live at the Everglades for shelter and food. In the food chain a variety of species and plants rely on each other. The food chain allows biodiversity into the ecosystem. " Biodiversity is a good thing. Having many different kinds of plants and animals means that species have different choices for survival... if, for instance, snakes could only eat rabbits, and hawks could only eat snakes- then both snakes and hawks would die out...." In accordance with this piece of

(Babbitt, 2007), (Dedekorkut 2003) Both the federal and state agencies, along the American people are dedicated to clean-up the water flows in the Everglades. With this, the Everglades Restoration, as Babbitt points-out, is an example of a national commitment to large scale restoration of degraded ecosystems (Babbitt 2007). However , currently, both the public and the political culture rely heavily on natural resource science for answers the many phenomena that exist in water resource policy.

One hundred years ago the Everglades covered close to 4 million acres between Lake Okeechobee and the Gulf of Mexico. Billions of gallons of water flowed into the Everglades. The population of the East coast of Florida was 23,000. This was partially due to a lack of suitable land for housing because of periodic flooding and the threat of hurricanes. When Florida was first becoming settled there were many attempts by settlers to make the area more hospitable. Most of these attempts failed. It was after two devastating hurricanes (1926 and 1928) that the Federal government had the US Army Corps of Engineers create a system of canals, levies, and dikes to further development of that area. They diverted much of the normal southward flow of water eastward. This allowed 1.3 million acres to be developed. It also left 2 million acres for the Everglades National Park and water conservation areas. 1 million acres was left for agricultural use (Everglades Agricultural

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

Finally there was a public outcry for change. "Now that it was almost too late," wrote Marjory, "men began to realize that the water supply was never just a local problem. The Everglades were one vast unified harmonious whole in which the old subtle balance which was destroyed needed to be replaced or restored" (Bryant pg 57, 1992). A new, scientific study of the region recommended

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 is a place where nature is free in it’s paradise, besides the fact that there are hundreds of issues. The Everglades is home to many types of wildlife, and also provides for humans. The water supply has dramatically affected everyone, and everything, not all of it good. Water issues have affected the Everglades, and Florida by decreasing wildlife, droughts, and money issues.

Although, the Everglades is a very special and cool place. But there are way too many pythons there and we need a way to get them out, because it’s hurting the entire place. Pythons are causing huge numbers of opossums, raccoons, and many more animals. The python has no natural predators meaning they are wiping out many important animals. According to source 2, “With no natural predators, these eating machines appear to be wiping out huge numbers of opossums, raccoons, and bobcats, as well as many bird species.” Florida’s natural climate is very hot and humid which makes it harder to get those snakes out of here. According to source 1, “Burmese pythons are carnivores and survived primarily on small birds and mammals.” Another thing that horrible is that the population keeps growing and growing and it’s dangerous for us and animals also the everglades. Sadly, the everglades is changing rapidly and it’s not good. Now that you know about what’s happening to Florida and the everglades. Are you sacred yet?

Nearly as large as the state of New Jersey, the Everglades used to measure about 6,000 square miles (Bucks, 1998). The Everglades was a complex wetland consisting of a mosaic of ecosystems. The heart of the Everglades was a slow moving body of water with a span of one hundred twenty miles long and forty miles wide with an average depth of six inches to two feet of water (Lauber,1973). This broad shallow, often called the "river of grass," was covered in a blanket of saw grass (not actually a grass but a sedge) that slowly drained the water from its main source, Lake Okeechobee, all the way to the southernmost tip of the state and into the Florida Bay. Shaped much like a saucer, when full Lake Okeechobee would send its overflow spilling into the shallows of the Everglades river. This natural filling process, along with the wet season's rains, is what fed the flow of the Everglades and the underlying aquifers for centuries.

Due to constantly changing water levels, ecosystems like the Everglades can be very unpredictable places. Since the 1800s, people have tried to control the Everglades to prevent flooding (Blake). Large canals were built to send the water into the ocean and away from the Everglades. The land along the canals dried up and became more

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

The Everglades is the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States. The Everglades is a rough terrain landscape which is home for many rare and endangered species like the manatee, american crocodile, and the elusive florida panther. Those animals and possibly part of Florida's human population. Because work crews began draining the Everglades water towards farms and cities the Everglades vast stock of water is slowly decreasing. This is bad because The Everglades water source is the greatest source of drinking water to

Since we get a lot of good outcomes from the Everglades , doing it bad will do us bad .From tourism to water usage . By letting old snake pets out there it will decrease the population of other animals , so the next time you were to go visit you would see nothing but snakes and some gators. Then there has been water loss from the Everglades by draining it to the sea . As it says here from the article The Everglades: Quick facts it states "One out every three Floridians (7million people)rely on the Everglades for their water supply". So dams to slow it down will be going

Groundwater is the largest and most available usable source of drinking water in the state. There is a vast and mysterious system of caves and natural springs in North Central Florida. The cave system within the aquifer is one of the most amazing parts. The caves are remarkable in many ways. They are among the deepest and longest in the world, let alone the U.S. Another amazing aspect of the system is the purity of the water. The springs collectively produce billions of gallons of crystal clear water per day. The whole system stems from the Florida Aquifer that rests under the entire state. When most people think of Florida, they think of the weather and the beaches, but its the springs and the whole water

Freshwater biomes make up 1/5 of Earth's surface, and .8% of the total amount of water. They include lakes, rivers, streams, and creeks. The size of these biomes vary, and any small body of water, such as puddles, can also be considered a Freshwater biome if it can support life. These bodies of water can move slow, fast, or be still,  and usually have a depth that is under 6 feet. These waters also contain minimal to no salt, and have many different types of animals and plants living within them. These biomes can be found all over the world, such as Florida and the Amazon River. The Florida Everglades is known as the largest Freshwater biome in the World. Freshwater biomes are vital to our environment, providing plants and animals with nutrients