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Progress Toward Restoring the Everglades: The Second Biennial Review - 2008 (2008)

Chapter: Appendix A: National Research Council Everglades Reports

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Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: National Research Council Everglades Reports." National Research Council. 2008. Progress Toward Restoring the Everglades: The Second Biennial Review - 2008. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12469.
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Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: National Research Council Everglades Reports." National Research Council. 2008. Progress Toward Restoring the Everglades: The Second Biennial Review - 2008. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12469.
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Page 266
Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: National Research Council Everglades Reports." National Research Council. 2008. Progress Toward Restoring the Everglades: The Second Biennial Review - 2008. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12469.
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Page 267
Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: National Research Council Everglades Reports." National Research Council. 2008. Progress Toward Restoring the Everglades: The Second Biennial Review - 2008. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12469.
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Page 268
Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: National Research Council Everglades Reports." National Research Council. 2008. Progress Toward Restoring the Everglades: The Second Biennial Review - 2008. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12469.
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Page 269
Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: National Research Council Everglades Reports." National Research Council. 2008. Progress Toward Restoring the Everglades: The Second Biennial Review - 2008. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12469.
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Page 270
Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: National Research Council Everglades Reports." National Research Council. 2008. Progress Toward Restoring the Everglades: The Second Biennial Review - 2008. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12469.
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Page 271
Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: National Research Council Everglades Reports." National Research Council. 2008. Progress Toward Restoring the Everglades: The Second Biennial Review - 2008. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12469.
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Page 272

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Appendixes

Appendix A National Research Council Everglades Reports Progress Toward Restoring the Everglades: The First Biennial Review, 2006 (2007) This report is the first in a congressionally mandated series of biennial evaluations of the progress being made by the Comprehensive Everglades Res- toration Plan (CERP), a multibillion-dollar effort to restore historical water flows to the Everglades and return the ecosystem closer to its natural state, before it was transformed by drainage and by urban and agricultural development. The report finds that progress has been made in developing the scientific basis and management structures needed to support a massive effort to restore the Florida Everglades ecosystem. However, some important projects have been delayed due to several factors including budgetary restrictions and a project planning process that that can be stalled by unresolved scientific uncertainties. The report outlines an alternative approach that can help the initiative move forward even as it resolves remaining scientific uncertainties. The report calls for a boost in the rate of federal spending if the restoration of Everglades National Park and other projects are to be completed on schedule. Re-engineering Water Storage in the Everglades: Risks and Opportunities (2005) A Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) was formulated in 1999 with the goal of restoring the original hydrologic conditions of the remain- ing Everglades. A major feature of this plan is providing enough storage capacity to meet human and ecological needs. This report reviews and evaluates not only storage options included in the plan, but also other options not considered in the plan. Along with providing hydrologic and ecological analyses of the size, location, and functioning of water storage components, the report also discusses and makes recommendations on related critical factors, such as timing of land acquisition, intermediate states of restoration, and trade-offs among competing goals and ecosystem objectives. 267

268 Appendix A The CERP imposes some constraints on sequencing of its components. The report concludes that two criteria are most important in deciding how to sequence components of such a restoration project: (1) protecting against addi- tional habitat loss by acquiring or protecting critical lands in and around the Everglades, and (2) providing ecological benefits as early as possible. There is a considerable range in the degree to which various proposed storage components involve complex design and construction measures, rely on active controls and frequent equipment maintenance, and require fossil fuels or other energy sources for operation. The report recommends that, to the extent possible, the CERP should develop storage components that have fewer of those requirements, and are thus less vulnerable to failure and more likely to be sustainable in the long term. Further, as new information becomes available and as the effectiveness and feasibility of various restoration components become clearer, some of the earlier adaptation and compromises might need to be revisited. The report rec- ommends that methods be developed to allow trade-offs to be assessed over broad spatial and long temporal scales, especially for the entire ecosystem, and gives an example of what an overall performance indicator for the Everglades system might look like. Adaptive Monitoring and Assessment for the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (2003) A key premise of the CERP is that restoring the historical hydrologic regime in the remaining wetlands will reverse declines in many native species and bio- logical communities. Given the uncertainties that will attend future responses of Everglades ecosystems to restored water regimes, a research, monitoring, and adaptive management program is planned. This report assessed the extent to which the restoration effort’s “monitoring and assessment plan” included the following elements crucial to any adaptive management scheme: (1) clear restoration goals and targets, (2) a sound baseline description and conceptualization of the system, (3) an effective process for learning from management actions, and (4) feedback mechanisms for improving management based on the learning process. The report concludes that monitoring needs must be prioritized, because many goals and targets that have been agreed to may not be achievable or inter- nally consistent. Priorities could be established based on the degree of flexibility or reversibility of a component and its potential impact on future management decisions. Such a prioritization should be used for scheduling and sequencing of projects, for example. Monitoring that meets multiple objectives (e.g., adap-

Appendix A 269 tive management, regulatory compliance, and a “report card”) should be given priority. Ecosystem-level, system-wide indicators should be developed, such as land- cover and land-use measures, an index of biotic integrity, and diversity measures. Region-wide monitoring of human and environmental drivers of the ecosystem, especially population growth, land-use change, water demand, and sea-level rise are recommended. Monitoring, modeling, and research should be well integrated, especially with respect to defining the restoration reference state and using “active” adaptive management. Does Water Flow Influence Everglades Landscape Patterns? (2003) A commonly stated goal of the CERP is to “get the water right.” This has largely meant restoring the timing and duration of water levels and the water quality in the Everglades. Water flow (speed, discharge, direction) has been considered mainly in the coastal and estuarine system, but not elsewhere. Should the restoration plan be setting targets for flows in other parts of the Everglades as well? There are legitimate reasons why flow velocities and discharges have thus far not received greater emphasis in the plan. These include a relative lack of field information and poor resolution of numerical models for flows. There are, however, compelling reasons to believe that flow has important influences in the central Everglades ecosystem. The most important reason is the existence of major, ecologically important landforms—parallel ridges, sloughs, and “tree islands”—are aligned with present and inferred past flow directions. There are difficulties in interpreting this evidence, however, as it is essentially circumstan- tial and not quantitative. Alternative mechanisms by which flow may influence this landscape can to some extent be evaluated from short-term research on underlying bedrock topography, detailed surface topographic mapping, and accumulation rates of suspended organic matter. Nonetheless, more extensive and long-term research will also be necessary, beginning with the development of alternative con- ceptual models of the formation and maintenance of the landscape to guide a research program. Research on maintenance rather than evolution of the land- scape should have higher priority because of its direct impact on restoration. Monitoring should be designed for the full range of flow conditions, including extreme events. Overall, flows approximating historical discharges, velocities, timing, and distribution should be considered in restoration design, but quantitative flow- related performance measures are not appropriate until there is a better scientific

270 Appendix A understanding of the underlying science. At present, neither a minimum nor a maximum flow to preserve the landscape can be established. Florida Bay Research Programs and Their Relation to the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (2002) This report of the Committee on Restoration of the Greater Everglades Eco- system (CROGEE) evaluated Florida Bay studies and restoration activities that potentially affect the success of the CERP. Florida Bay is a large, shallow marine system immediately south of the Everglades, bounded by the Florida Keys and the Gulf of Mexico. Some of the water draining from the Everglades flows directly into northeast Florida Bay. Other freshwater drainage reaches the bay indirectly from the northwest. For several decades until the late 1980s, clear water and dense seagrass meadows characterized most of Florida Bay. However, beginning around 1987, the seagrass beds began dying in the western and central bay. It is often assumed that increased flows to restore freshwater Everglades habitats will also help resto- ration of Florida Bay. However, the CERP may actually result in higher salinities in central Florida Bay than exist presently, and thus exacerbate the ecological problems. Further, some percentage of the proposed increase in fresh surface water flow discharging northwest of the bay will eventually reach the central bay, where its dissolved organic nitrogen may lead to algal blooms. Complicating the analysis of such issues is the lack of an operational bay circulation model. The report notes the importance of additional research in the following areas: estimates of groundwater discharge to the bay; full characterization and quantification of surface runoff in major basins; transport and total loads of nitro- gen and phosphorous from freshwater sources, especially in their organic forms; effects on nutrient fluxes of decreasing freshwater flows into the northeastern bay, and of increasing flows northwest of the bay; and the development of an operational Florida Bay circulation model to support a bay water quality model and facilitate analysis of CERP effects on the bay. Science and the Greater Everglades Ecosystem Restoration: An Assessment of the Critical Ecosystems Study Initiative (2003) The path to restoration will not be easy, but sound scientific information will increase the reliability of the restoration, help enable solutions for unanticipated problems, and potentially reduce long-term costs. The investment in scientific research relevant to restoration, however, decreased substantially within some agencies, including one major Department of the Interior (DOI) science program,

Appendix A 271 the Critical Ecosystem Studies Initiative (CESI). In response to concerns regarding declining levels of funding for scientific research and the adequacy of science- based support for restoration decision making, the U.S. Congress instructed the DOI to commission the National Academy of Sciences to review the scientific component of the CESI and provide recommendations for program management, strategic planning, and information dissemination. Although improvements should be made, this report notes that the CESI has contributed useful science in support of the DOI’s resource stewardship interests and restoration responsibilities in South Florida. It recommends that the fundamental objectives of the CESI research program remain intact, with continued commitment to ecosystem research. Several improvements in CESI management are suggested, including broadening the distribution of requests for proposals and improving review standards for proposals and research products. The report asserts that funding for CESI science has been inconsis- tent and as of 2002 was less than that needed to support the DOI’s interests in and responsibilities for restoration. The development of a mechanism for comprehensive restoration-wide science coordination and synthesis is recom- mended to enable improved integration of scientific findings into restoration planning. Regional Issues in Aquifer Storage and Recovery for Everglades Restoration: A Review of the ASR Regional Study Project Management Plan of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (2002) The report reviews a comprehensive research plan on Everglades restora- tion drafted by federal and Florida officials that assesses a central feature of the restoration: a proposal to drill more than 300 wells funneling up to 1.7 billion gallons of water a day into underground aquifers, where it would be stored and then pumped back to the surface to replenish the Everglades during dry periods. The report says that the research plan goes a long way to providing information needed to settle remaining technical questions and clearly responds to sugges- tions offered by scientists in Florida and in a previous report by the NRC. Aquifer Storage and Recovery in the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan: A Critique of the Pilot Projects and Related Plans for ASR in the Lake Okeechobee and Western Hillsboro Areas (2001) Aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) is a major component in the CERP, which was developed by the USACE and the SFWMD. The plan would use the upper

272 Appendix A Floridan aquifer to store large quantities of surface water and shallow ground- water during wet periods for recovery during droughts. ASR may limit evaporation losses and permit recovery of large volumes of water during multiyear droughts. However, the proposed scale is unprecedented and little subsurface information has been compiled. Key unknowns include impacts on existing aquifer uses, suitability of source waters for recharge, and environmental and/or human health impacts due to water quality changes dur- ing subsurface storage. To address these issues, the USACE and the SFWMD proposed aquifer storage recharge pilot projects in two key areas. The CROGEE charge was to examine a draft of their plans from a perspective of adaptive management. The report concludes that regional hydrogeologic assessment should include development of a regional-scale groundwater flow model, extensive well drill- ing and water quality sampling, and a multi-objective approach to ASR facility siting. It also recommends that water quality studies include laboratory and field bioassays and ecotoxicological studies, studies to characterize organic carbon of the source water and anticipate its effects on subsurface biogeochemical processes, and laboratory studies. Finally, it recommends that pilot projects be part of adaptive assessment.

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This book is the second biennial evaluation of progress being made in the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP), a multibillion-dollar effort to restore historical water flows to the Everglades and return the ecosystem closer to its natural state. Launched in 2000 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the South Florida Water Management District, CERP is a multiorganization planning process that includes approximately 50 major projects to be completed over the next several decades.

Progress Toward Restoring the Everglades: The Second Biennial Review 2008 concludes that budgeting, planning, and procedural matters are hindering a federal and state effort to restore the Florida Everglades ecosystem, which is making only scant progress toward achieving its goals. Good science has been developed to support restoration efforts, but future progress is likely to be limited by the availability of funding and current authorization mechanisms. Despite the accomplishments that lay the foundation for CERP construction, no CERP projects have been completed to date. To begin reversing decades of decline, managers should address complex planning issues and move forward with projects that have the most potential to restore the natural ecosystem.

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