The SFWMD and the National Park Service break ground on the Everglades restoration project to move more water south.
Improvements will increase the flow of clean freshwater south.
EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK, January 26, 2023, The Everglades Foundation joined the South Florida Water Management District and the National Park Service as they broke ground on the Taylor Slough Flow Improvement Project within Everglades National Park.
This environmental restoration project will allow more clean freshwater to flow south through Taylor Slough and into Florida Bay, where it is needed to balance salinity levels and promote ecological health.
Taylor Slough is located in the southeastern part of Everglades National Park and was historically a major contributor of freshwater to Florida Bay. The duration, timing, and extent of wetland inundation of Taylor Slough’s interconnected wetlands and freshwater flows through Florida Bay are a critical component of the Everglades ecosystem.
In the early 1920’s, surface flow was substantially reduced by the construction of Old Ingraham Highway, which was opened as the first motorway to Flamingo, a small fishing village on the edge of Florida Bay. Old Ingraham Highway acted as a dam, cutting off and redirecting freshwater flow away from Taylor Slough. Additional infrastructure changes, including the building of the regional flood control system known as the Central and Southern Florida (C&SF) Project, have also reduced the flow of water to this important ecological resource.
The Taylor Slough Flow Improvement Project will install up to 18 culverts at nine locations along a 3.2 mile section of Old Ingraham Highway in Everglades National Park to improve the distribution of freshwater flows and restore natural plant communities and wetlands. The project is expected to be complete in Summer 2023.
The project also supports the overall restoration goals of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP)-the world's largest and most ambitious ecosystem restoration effort. CERP is led by the South Florida Water Management District and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Watch the recap video below:
Comentarios