41 



This project completed drainage of the Kissimmee River 

 wetlands, regulated Lake Okeechobee's water levels and 

 drained and irrigated the Everglades Agricultural Area. 

 Channelization directly destroyed 40,000 acres of wet- 

 lands and facilitated drainage of more than 100,000 acres 

 of contiguous wetlands (Figure 37; Thompson 1983). By 

 reducing floods, the flood control project also accelerated 

 filling of wetlands for urban expansion of coastal cities, 

 especially in Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties, 

 as well as increasing agricultural conversion of wetlands 

 (Figure 38). For example, between 1972 and 1980, Palm 

 Beach County lost 23 ,76'/ acres of wetlands to agriculture 

 and 655 acres to urban development (U.S. Fish and Wild- 

 life Service 1982) for a 7% wetland loss in just 8 years. 



Problems related to water supply have also resulted 

 from this flood control project. Although three large im- 

 poundments called "conservation areas" were construct- 

 ed to maintain recharge of the Biscayne Aquifer and 

 prevent salt water intrusion into public drinking water 

 supplies, salt water intrusion remains a constant threat. 

 Urban growth and agricultural development increase de- 

 mand for water. Public wells have been constructed fur- 

 ther west which have lowered the Everglades water table 

 and have increased the flow of salt water into the Bis- 

 cayne Aquifer. Besides public water supply problems, 

 the flood control project has also seriously disrupted the 

 natural hydrologic regime of the Everglades National 

 Park. Levee L-29 completely blocked sheet flow of fresh- 

 water into the Park in 1963. After much controversy and 

 public debate, the Corps of Engineers in 1970 agreed to 

 release a minimum of 3 1 5 ,000 acre-feet of water annually 

 (Yates 1982). Park officials estimate that at least twice 

 this amount is needed and that the water must be distribut- 

 ed over a wider area and be released on a more natural 

 regime. These changes are necessary to preserve the bio- 

 logical integrity of the Everglades National Park. 



Wetland alterations in South Florida have created prob- 

 lems for many fish and wildlife species. Periodic dis- 

 charges of freshwater from the conservation areas have 

 disrupted fish nursery grounds in estuaries. Colonial wad- 

 ing bird populations have declined from about 1 .5 million 

 in 1935 to about 0.25 million today. Alligators have been 

 eliminated from many areas and frog populations have 

 been critically reduced from a commercial harvesting 

 standpoint (Marshall 1981). 



Possible effects of the Kissimmee River channelization 

 and wetland drainage on local rainfall patterns have also 

 been raised. Although quite controversial, some scien- 

 tists have suggested that wetland drainage in South Flor- 

 ida has reduced the mist of evaporation and plant 

 transpiration which triggers rainfall from sea breezes. 

 This condition may be responsible for recent severe 

 droughts. 



in 1976, the Florida legislature passed a mandate to 

 restore the Kissimmee River. They recognized that chan- 

 nelization of this river among other things; increased the 

 seriousness of water shortages and droughts, degraded 

 water quality of Lake Okeechobee, eliminated vast acre- 



ages of wetlands, drastically reduced fish and wildlife 

 populations and destroyed a beautiful, meandering river 

 (Florida Conservation Foundation 1977). Ironically, the 

 Hood control project actually increased the potential for 

 catastrophic floods and rai.sed costs to ranchers and farm- 

 ers. Florida's Save Our Rivers Act of 1981 created state 

 funds to purchase threatened wetlands. The Nature Con- 

 servancy, the Richard King Mellon Foundation, and Na- 

 tional Audubon Society have also been active in wetland 

 acquisition. In 1983, Governor Graham announced a 

 multi-million dollar "Save Our Everglades" program to 

 restore the ecology of the Everglades, which includes 

 acquisition of 250,000 acres of wetlands and improving 

 hydrology (Thompson 1983). He also stressed the impor- 

 tance of Federal-state cooperation in achieving this goal. 

 These efforts should be instrumental in preserving these 

 fragile wetlands and their associated values. 



GULF OF MEXICO 



LEGEND 



[jTI Drained Wetlands 



EQ Remaining Wetlands 



ATLANTIC OCEAN 



FLORIDA BAY 



Fig. 38. Present extent of wetlands in the Florida Everglades; former 

 wetlands are also shown (from Marshall 1981). 



