| Everglades Restoration |
| Restoring America's Everglades reflects
the Department's strong commitment to collaborative conservation.
The Department manages over 3.1 million acres of conservation
lands in South Florida, which is also home to over 6 million
people and a growing economy. Areas managed by the Department
include Everglades and Biscayne National Parks, Big Cypress
National Preserve and 16 national wildlife refuges, all of which
protect habitat found no where else.
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| To preserve these resources for the
future, the Department is implementing an aggressive restoration
program with State, Federal, Tribal and local government partners
and numerous stakeholders. With its partners, the Department
is improving water quality and restoring more natural flows
of water to the Everglades, restoring habitat, and recovering
endangered species. The Department chairs the South Florida
Ecosystem Restoration Task Force, which serves as a focal point
for the ongoing collaboration that is necessary to undertake
the largest watershed restoration program in the world.
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| The on-the-ground progress is impressive.
Pollution flowing into the Everglades from agricultural operations
has been reduced by approximately 50% and the water is the cleanest
it has been in decades. Projects to restore more natural flows
of water to Everglades National Park are nearing completion
and more are underway. Melaleuca, an invasive exotic, was eradicated
at Big Cypress National Preserve and 18,000 acres of invasive
exotics were treated last year at Loxahatchee National Wildlife
Refuge. The Fish and Wildlife Service is working closely with
private landowners to conserve habitat for the endangered Schaus
Swallowtail butterfly and the red-cockaded woodpecker and is
undertaking recovery actions for the endangered Key Deer. So
much progress has been made to conserve habitat that several
endangered plants are being reviewed to see if they can be delisted.
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| News Release for Everglades Restoration: |
| 11/04/2003 |
Secretary Gale Norton Commends Corps of Engineners for Efforts to Implement Everglades Restoration Plan. |
| 10/16/2003 |
Deputy Secretary Griles Applauds First Groundbreaking
In Implementation of Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan. |
Additional Documents and Information:
|
 Programmatic Regulations Questions and Answers |
| Interior Department Accomplishments in Everglades Restoration Since 2000 |
| South
Florida Ecosystem Restoration Task Force |
| Comprehensive
Everglades Restoration Plan |
| South
Florida Water Management District |
| Florida
DEP |
| USGS South Florida Information Access (SOFIA) |
