THE EVERGLADES“There are no other Everglades in the world. They are, they have always been, one of the unique regions of the earth, remote, never wholly known.” – From “The Everglades: River of Grass” by Marjory Stoneman Douglas (1947) The Florida Everglades draws visitors from around the world who are fascinated by its remarkable complexity, diversity and uniqueness. Originally considered a worthless swamp by settlers wishing to transform the marsh into profitable farmland, it is now recognized as an extraordinarily important piece of Florida’s ecological puzzle – one that must be protected at all costs.
This remarkable system developed a rhythm all its own, determined by Florida’s wet and dry seasons, but things began to change around the beginning of the 20th century. By this time, Florida was the 27th state in the union and northern residents were flocking to the state, either for relaxation or to try their hand at Florida’s emerging industries, including agriculture. The need for farmland fueled initial attempts to drain the Everglades. In 1881 Philadelphia businessman Hamilton Disston purchased four million acres of swampland, which he vowed to drain and make profitable. He died without accomplishing the task but in 1904 Governor Napoleon Bonaparte Broward initiated the construction of five major canals, all of which still exist today, and the drainage of the Everglades got underway.
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Of no less importance to the state’s human residents is the fact that the Everglades acts as a back-up water supply for about three million South Floridians. Water from Everglades National Park and other areas drains into the Biscayne Aquifer, which is the source of drinking water for Dade, Broward and some Palm Beach County residents. Without the Everglades to “recharge” this underground water supply, the Aquifer would be in danger of running dry or being contaminated by salt water. Fortunately, local, state and national leaders recognized the importance of protecting the Everglades and, in 2000, ratified the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP). This 30-year plan aims to re-route water from Lake Okeechobee so that less will flow out to sea and more will be stored or sent south to the Everglades, where it can nourish that water-dependant ecosystem. With a price tag in the tens of billions, CERP is the most expensive and ambitious restoration project of its kind anywhere in the world.
SOURCES USGS Ground Water Atlas of the United States: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina |
For centuries the Everglades dominated the southeast portion of the state’s peninsula, beginning in the Kissimmee chain of lakes and draining through the shallow basin of Lake Okeechobee into a wide, shallow flow-way that eventually delivered water to Florida Bay. At its broadest point, this “River of Grass,” as it was decribed by author Marjory Stoneman Douglas, measured 60 miles across but only be a few feet deep.
Today, the ‘Glades is less than half of its original size. Much of the farmland that was created by the drainage is still in production, especially in Belle Glade, Clewiston and other towns on the banks of Lake Okeechobee. The dark, loamy soil beneath the Everglades is among the richest substrates on earth. Formed by the slow decomposition of generations of plants and animals during the long life of the ‘Glades, this “peat,” as it is called, is so mineral-rich that it’s known as “black gold” in the Okeechobee-area farming communities. 
While early Florida residents had legitimate reasons for draining the Everglades, they had little idea of the environmental harm they were doing. In recent decades it’s been discovered that the Everglades plays a vital role in cleaning air and ground water and providing a home for thousands of species of native plants and wildlife. The degradation of the ‘Glades has resulted in the extinction or near-extinction of numerous species, including the Florida Panther, of which less than 100 individuals remain.
In June 2008, Governor Charlie Crist initiated a historic land purchase to restore the "missing link" between Lake Okeechobee and the Everglades, a program which the Governor called "Revitalizing the River of Grass". This gave new hope to the future of Everglades restoration. U.S Sugar Corporation, which had long maintained operations in the heart of the Everglades, sold 187,000 acres of farmland to the state, thus making it possible for the long-awaited Everglades flowway to become a reality. Whatever the future holds for the Florida Everglades, the Marshall Foundation will be there. We invite you to join us in the worthy effort to preserve this one-of-a-kind ecological treasure for generations to come.