Progress Toward Restoring the Everglades The Second Biennial Review - 2008 (2008) / Chapter Skim
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Appendix B: Summary from Progress Toward Restoring the Everglades: The First Biennial Review - 2006
Appendix B: Summary from Progress Toward Restoring the Everglades: The First Biennial Review - 2006
Pages 273-284
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From page 273... ...
Invasive exotic species occupy much of the Everglades watershed, cattail has replaced vast areas of native sawgrass marsh, and 68 plant and animal species in South Florida are listed as federally threatened or endangered. Restoration of what remains of the Everglades ecosystem became the focus of activities that began in the 1990s and continue today, representing one of the most ambitious ecosystem restoration projects ever conceived.
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From page 274... ...
These delays have resulted from several factors, including budgetary restrictions and a project planning process that that can be stalled by unresolved scientific uncertainties. Restoration benefits from early water storage projects remain uncertain because decisions have not yet been made regarding water allocations for the natural system.
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From page 275... ...
The goal of the CERP, as stated in WRDA 2000, is "restoration, preservation, and protection of the South Florida Ecosystem while providing for other water-related needs of the region, including water supply and flood protection." The Programmatic Regulations that guide implementation of the CERP further clarify this goal by defining restoration as "the recovery and protection of the South Florida ecosystem so that it once again achieves and sustains the essential hydrological and biological characteristics that defined the undisturbed South Florida ecosystem." These defining characteristics include a large areal extent of interconnected wetlands, extremely low concentrations of nutrients in freshwater wetlands, sheet flow, healthy and productive estuaries, resilient plant communities, and an abundance of native wetland animals. At the same time, the CERP is charged to maintain current levels of flood protection and to provide for other water-related needs, including water supply, for a rapidly growing human population in South Florida.
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From page 276... ...
Several non-CERP projects address water quality issues, including the Everglades Construction Project (construction of over 44,000 acres of STAs) , restoration of the Kissimmee River, and restoration of Lake Okeechobee and its estuaries.
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From page 277... ...
Rapid population growth, with its attendant demands on land and water resources for development, water supply, flood protection, and recreation, only heightens the challenges facing the restoration efforts. Yet, despite new challenges and complexities, some positive examples of restoration progress offer hope that restoration is within reach given continued state and federal support.
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From page 278... ...
Progress in the Use of Science in Decision Making The committee reviewed three major science program documents that col lectively provide a foundation for ensuring that scientific information needed to support restoration planning will be available in a timely way. The committee also examined the extensive set of models that have been developed to support restoration planning and adaptive management.
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From page 279... ...
The committee also judges that incorporating active adaptive management practices whenever possible will reduce the likelihood of making management mistakes and reduce the overall cost of the restoration. Regardless of which adaptive management approach is used, it remains to be seen how willing decision makers will be to make significant alterations to project design and sequencing, as opposed to limiting adaptive management to making modest adjustments in the operation of CERP projects after their construction.
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From page 280... ...
Additionally, six pilot projects originally scheduled for completion by 2004 are expected to be delayed on average by 8 years. The project implementation delays seem to be the result of a number of factors, including budgetary and manpower restrictions, the need to negotiate resolutions to major concerns or agency disagreements in the plan ning process, and a project planning process that can be stalled by unresolved scientific uncertainties, especially for complex or contentious projects.
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From page 281... ...
The eight Acceler8 projects should provide ecological benefits primarily to the Lake Okeechobee region, the northern estuaries, the Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge, and Biscayne Bay. Expected restoration benefits to the WCAs and Everglades National Park largely come from one project -- the WCA 3A/B Seepage Management.
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From page 282... ...
In the end, success will require cooperation among a disparate group of organizations with differing missions as the broad goal of getting the water right is more precisely defined. AN ALTERNATIVE APPROACH TO ADVANCING NATURAL SYSTEM RESTORATION To help address some sources of delay in the pace of restoration progress, including resolving conflicts over scientific uncertainty and addressing project sequencing constraints, the committee proposes an alternative framework for initiating and evaluating restoration actions, here called Incremental Adaptive Restoration (IAR)
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From page 283... ...
IAR can be used in combination with a rigorous monitoring and assessment program to test hypotheses, thereby yielding valuable information that can expedite future decision making. A significant advantage of IAR over the present CERP adaptive management approach is that there may be early restoration benefits, as major restoration projects proceed incrementally in ways that enhance learning, improve efficiency of future actions, and potentially reduce long-term costs.
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From page 284... ...
The state of Florida's Acceler8 and Lake Okeechobee and Estuary Recovery programs are providing a valuable surge in the pace of project implementation, especially in the northern portions of the ecosystem and its estuaries, although the expected ecosystem benefits from early water storage projects remain uncertain. Other important projects, including the work to reestablish sheet flow in the WCAs and Everglades National Park, are far behind the original schedule.
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