Depletion of natural water storage areas 4. Wright's calculations for what canals should be able to hold were off by 55 percent. A pattern of political and financial motivation, and a lack of understanding of the geography and ecology of the Everglades have plagued the history of drainage projects. In 1904 gubernatorial campaigning, the strongest candidate, Napoleon Bonaparte Broward, made draining the Everglades a major plank. [11] Willoughby pointed out that much of the rest of the country had been mapped and explored except for this part of Florida, writing, "(w)e have a tract of land one hundred and thirty miles long and seventy miles wide that is as much unknown to the white man as the heart of Africa."[12]. [42], Wading birds were a particular target. [1], Though a few voices expressed skepticism of the report's conclusions—notably Frank Stoneman, the editor of the Miami News-Record (the forerunner of The Miami Herald)—the report was hailed as impeccable, coming from a branch of the U.S. The Everglades is a massive watershed that crosses multiple ecosystems and communities. [38] Settlers encountered rodents, skinks, and biting insects, and faced dangers from mosquitoes, poisonous snakes and alligators. Early map of the Everglades drainage area. Water delivery shift from slow sheet flow to “pulses” through canals 5. By 1942, U.S. Sugar was indicted for peonage in federal court, though the charges were eventually dismissed on a technicality. The storm surge was as high as 15 feet (4.6 m) in some places. the dedication of Everglades National Park, 1947 in south Florida saw two Potential employees—primarily young black men—were lured from all over the U.S. by the promise of jobs, but they were held financially responsible for training, transportation, room and board and other costs. and 1963, Everglades were divided into basins. After some 2,500 deaths by hurricanes in 1926 and 1928, the Florida legislature … The Everglades are Half the Size They Were 100 Years ago Formed over 6,000 years ago, the Everglades is home to two Indigenous tribes whose ancestors have been in the area since before the Everglades formed. Usually, lake water is drawn south by canals and helps irrigate sugar cane, vegetables, rice and other crops in the nearly 500,000-acre called the … Florida. Dugan, "Wetland Ecosystem Management, and Restoration: An International Perspective" in, Central and Southern Florida Project for Flood Control, Indigenous people of the Everglades region, South Florida Multi-Species Recovery Plan: Pine rockland, "Florida's Forgotten Storm: the Hurricane of 1928", "51 - Special Message to the Congress Outlining the 1972 Environmental Program", "Everglades National Park, Florida, United States of America", U.S. Geological Survey information on the Everglades Agricultural Area, Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, Environmental Impact of the Big Cypress Swamp Jetport, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Draining_and_development_of_the_Everglades&oldid=969844621, Wikipedia indefinitely move-protected pages, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. But swamp-draining can also cause serious problems for people and the environment, and nowhere is this truer than in the Florida Everglades. Low flow pools t… only high school is named after her. Agricultural interests lost about $59 million. "[18] Disston sponsored the digging of a canal 11 miles (18 km) long from Lake Okeechobee towards Miami, but it was abandoned when the rock proved denser than the engineers had expected. Adding 100 pounds (45 kg) of the compound was more cost effective than adding 1 short ton (0.91 t) of manure. Written by James Weiss; Edited by Ira Goldman; Parkland Historical Society President Jeff Schwartz; The Florida "On the Importance of Claims-Making: The Role of James O. Wright in Promoting the Drainage of Florida's Everglades in the Early Twentieth Century". "[95], The C&SF brought the jetport proposal to national attention by mailing letters about it to 100 conservation groups in the U.S.[84] Initial local press reaction condemned conservation groups who immediately opposed the project. The anonymous writer described the hunt for Chekika and the terrain they were crossing: "No country that I have ever heard of bears any resemblance to it; it seems like a vast sea filled with grass and green trees, and expressly intended as a retreat for the rascally Indian, from which the white man would never seek to drive them". Developers were sued and arrested for mail fraud when people who had spent their life savings to buy land arrived in south Florida expecting to find a dry parcel of land to build upon and instead found it completely underwater. (April, 2005). [67] Scientists who took soil samples before draining had not taken into account that the organic composition of peat and muck in the Everglades was mixed with bacteria that added little to the process of decomposition underwater because they were not mixed with oxygen. and Other Purposes (C&SF). Between 1952 and 1954 in cooperation with the state of Florida it built a levee 100 miles (160 km) long between the eastern Everglades and suburbs from Palm Beach to Homestead, and blocked the flow of water into populated areas. One soldier's account of the trip in the St. Augustine News was the first printed description of the Everglades available to the general public. [61] Many were swept away and never recovered. Some burned off the sawgrass or other vegetation only to discover that the underlying peat continued to burn. "[83], Establishment of the C&SF made Everglades National Park completely dependent upon another political entity for its survival. Initially the U.S. Department of Transportation pledged funds to support the jetport, but after pressure, Nixon overruled the department. "His persistence paid off when he and others persuaded Congress to designate the Everglades as a … English tourists in particular were targeted and responded in large numbers. The result, Smith hoped, would yield farmland suitable for corn, sugar, rice, cotton, and tobacco.[14]. In 1948, Subsidence is not caused by cultivation, but occurs wherever drainage desaturates peat soil. Also, South Florida's aquifers, which supply most of the region with drinking water, are recharged by the surface water of the Everglades, so "draining the swamp" led to groundwater depletion … Their feathers were used in women's hats from the late 19th century until the 1920s. Florida. The Everglades is a massive watershed that crosses multiple ecosystems and communities. [76] The C&SF used four methods in flood management: levees, water storage areas, canal improvements, and large pumps to assist gravity. The engineer lost his wife and daughter in the flood. Draining the Everglades The notion of draining the vast wetland persisted into the 20 th century. PROJECT TITLE Draining of the Everglades Ecosystem APPLICANTS Esther Alexandre, Ayanna Johnson, Ariel Berkeley, Tanija Nathaniel; Miami Lakes Educational Center SUMMARY AIMS OF PROJECT The Everglades cover about 8 million acres of the Florida peninsula. [25] Three months after the first train arrived, the residents of Miami, 512 in all, voted to incorporate the town. areas. The project quickly ran out of money, so Broward sold real estate developer Richard "Dicky" J. Bolles a million dollars worth of land in the Everglades, 500,000 acres (2,000 km2), before the engineer's report had been submitted. Extremes either way can create major ripple effects, good for some species but damaging for others. The embattled head of the Everglades Drainage District carried a gun for protection after being threatened. Another dredged waterway between the Gulf of Mexico and Lake Okeechobee was built, opening the region to steamboat traffic. 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