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Disturbance in the Florida Everglades

Florida is home to over 6 million Americans, it is seven of the ten most fastest growing metropolitan areas in the country, has one of the largest tourism industries, a large agricultural economy and holds one of the worlds most unique environmental treasures in the worldÐ'...the Florida Everglades.

Marjory Stoneman Douglas, a long time activist for the Florida Everglades once said, "There is only ONE Florida Everglades!" The Florida Everglades is located in Southern Florida, it is the main fresh water supply for Florida, and it is home to several species. It is also one of the largest wetlands in the world. Several hundred years ago, these wetlands covered one-third of the state of Florida (Exploring FE).

The Florida Everglades consist of a shallow sheet of water that rolls slowly through the land, through billions of blades of saw grass; this is how the everglades got its nickname, "River of Grass" (Exploring FE). But the Florida Everglades is not just a "River of Grass"; it is an important part of our ecosystem.

The Florida Ecosystem is the unique way Floridians receive their fresh water supply. The process begins up in the Kissimmee River Basin, where during the wet months of May through October, the water begins to roll down from the basin into Lake Okeechobee. During these wet months the water that rolls down from the basin, begins to overflow the shallow lake causing it to overflow into the Florida Everglades (Everglades 101).

Since the turn of the century, the ecosystem and the Everglades have been distressed. It all began in 1904 when Governor Napoleon Bonaparte Broward had decided to fulfill a lifelong dream of many Floridian's of that time, which was to drain the Everglades. The Floridians of that time wanted to accomplish this for two main reasons, one was to turn the "Swampland" into farmland and the second reason was so that they could protect themselves from frequently deadly floods. So in 1906, the plan to drain the Florida Everglades went into effect.

Today, almost one hundred years later, we find ourselves trying to find ways to reverse one of the largest mistakes ever made. Due to the draining done in the everglades, many are now startled by what will become of the future of our fresh water resource, and our significant treasure that we have so much taken advantage of, the Florida Everglades. But taking advantage of the everglades is a problem that we Floridians have just recently noticed. Who has really been affected by the damaged caused to the Florida Everglades, as been the many species that call it home.

The Florida everglade's has been home to thousands of species for over millions of years. Today due to the disturbance, these species are suffering tremendously. Many species that once roamed and ruled the land are now threatened; many are endangered, and some are even extinct (Species Loss).

When man development began in 1906, these animals were forced to migrate from their habitat to other parts of the Everglades. During this migration many of these animals died. These deaths were mainly caused by man related incidents such as road kill, boating accidents, pollution and competition with hunters.

Road kill in the South Florida area kills hundreds of species every year. Due to the construction of busy roads, highways, and careless drivers, endangered species such as the Florida Panther have been killed. The Florida Panther is one species that has been severely affected by road kills. Over twenty-one Florida Panthers were reported killed during 1978 through

1988 considering that this particular species only has less that fifty of its kind remaining, road kills are a major contributor to this species loss (Exploring FE).

Boating accidents are a major factor in the deaths of many aquatic species causing them to become closer to extinction. Due to propellers and careless boaters, many aquatic