Draining the Everglades Notes

Everglades

5000 years ago, everglades were formed. Indigenous people adapted to this climate. Florida gets a lot of rain and lake Okeechobee is the largest lake in the South. Lake Okeechobee has no rivers to drain. Florida doesn’t have changes in elevation. Everglades was formed from the lake draining. The Kissimmee chain brought river water into the lake. Called the River of Grass. 100 miles in length and 60 miles wide. Water in everglades flows so slow. The ecosystem is diverse since there’s salt and fresh water available. The water contained a lot of phosphorus from the runoff from companies. The Calusa tribe were the main Indians in this area. 1847, Buckingham Smith, was tasked to survey the Everglades. He concluded it could be drained for 500K at the time. He said the Everglades could be drain with canals to the gulf and the Atlantic. Political battles and civil war caused this process to lose interest. Hamilton Diston land purchase was supposed to Drain the land. Broward proposed to drain the everglades for 1$ an acre. Water will run downhill was his campaign slogan. He began governor of Florida and his focus was draining the everglades. He wanted to make it useful for cultivation. Conservationism was geared towards wise use. Teddy Roosevelt supported building Dams and proud of reclamation act. Their idea of conservationism was growth. Supported hunting the bloombird in the everglades. Broward’s plan was to build a canal to St. Lucie River. His plan was not feasible. He dredged canals through Broward County. It made a rising Star in politics. The government wanted to help drain the everglades. James’s wrights made errors in calculation from rainfall and other ecological concerns. He began Florida chief engineer. Northerners set up farms south of Okeechobee. Southeast Florida grew in the 1920s. They experienced the roaring 20’s with the south Florida real estate boom. They also experienced the bust of late 1920’s. Hurricanes destroyed homes and killed many people in 1926 and 1928. Communities south of the lake were flooded. 2.5 thousand people were killed, most African American. Fall 1928 Herbert Hoover supported flood support operations. 20 million dollars were put into the lake’s dykes. Water was cut off from flowing into the everglades. It caused a lot of disruptions and fires. 1 mil acres burnt in 1939. Views started to change when Marjorie Douglass wrote about preservation of the Everglades.

Earnest Co was a designer who help put together the Everglades National Park. He proposed 2 mil acres. Political circumstances changed the results. 1947 the park was created. The same year a lot of flooding happened in SWFL. Federal involvement increased to control the water problem. CNF project was a flood control plan. 1960s the Everglades was the most messed up park. In the 60’s and 70’s projects became skeptical. 1990’s a lot of the wetland were gone, and birds were gone. 1994 everglades forever act was supposed to reduce pollutants. Economy and population were affected. Comprehensive restoration Act by Bill Clinton to restore the Everglades.