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Essays on the history of the florida everglades
Essays on the history of the florida everglades
Introduction to florida everglades
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The Florida Everglades is one of the most diverse wetland ecosystems in the United States. These tropical wetlands span an area of more than seven hundred square miles in southern Florida. The term Everglade means river of grass. The system starts in central Florida near Orlando and travels southwest to the tip of Florida. The Everglades has a wet season and a dry season which causes a great change in hydrology. During the wet season the system is a slow moving river that is sixty miles wide and over a hundred miles long. During the dry season water levels drop and some areas will completely dry up. The Everglades has many different aquatic environments all having interdependent ecosystems. The most important factor for all these environments is water. It helps shape the land, vegetation, and all the organism that live in each area. Each environment has particular needs for the organisms living in that area. Throughout the years humans have diverted the water to fit their varying needs. The state has built dikes and levees, dug canals, and have built locks to divert the water. This has all been done to keep areas completely dry for developing and agricultural needs. Today, The Everglades is half the size of its original size. Throughout the years many restoration acts have been created and updated. The Everglades restoration projects have been the most expensive environmental repairs in The United States. This is because The Everglades is one of the three most important wetland areas in the world. The Everglades National Park is the home of thirty six protected species including the West Indian Manatee, the American Crocodile, and the Florida Panther. The Everglades also homes hundreds of species of birds, fish, mammals, and repti...
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...overnment. This restoration plan is very controversial because it is the biggest environmental restoration plan in history. Many feel with a task this large many important ecological factors could be overlooked. The State of Florida has already spent billions of dollars on restoring various ecological problems in The Everglades, but it is not enough. The U.S. government has only given The State of Florida four hundred million dollars of the eight billion dollars due to them. Researchers say the quality and the hydrology of the water needs to be addressed now before it is too late. The expected completion of these fifty projects that will restore The Everglades is estimated to take around twenty more years. In 2012, twelve years after The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan was created little progress was achieved restoring the core of The Everglades.
Florida became a state in 1845 and almost immediately people began proposing to drain the Everglades. In 1848, a government report said that draining the Everglades would be easy, and there would be no bad effect. Canals and dams were dug to control seasonal flooding. Farmers grew vegetables in the rich soil of the drained land, Ranchers had their cattle graze on the dry land, and new railways lines were constructed to connect communities throughout south Florida; but the ecosystem of the Everglades was not suited for either farming or ranching. The natural cycle of dry and wet seasons brought a devastating series of droughts and floods. These had always been a p...
Invasive species have the potential to harm their new environments. The release of Burmese pythons in South Florida is especially troublesome because the subtropical climate and the vast undisturbed habitats of the Everglades enable the species to thrive. Other large non-native snakes— such as the common boa (Boa constrictor), green anaconda (Eunectes murinus), yellow anaconda (Eunectes notaeus), and reticulated python (Python reticulatus)—have been observed in the wild in South Florida, but only Burmese pythons and common boas are known to be breeding. Burmese pythons were first reported as established in Everglades National Park (ENP) by Meshaka, based in part on specimens collected on the Main Park Road in the mid-1990s. Since then, the number of Burmese pythons captured or found dead in and around ENP has increased dramatically increased. From 2002 - 2005, 201 pythons were captured and removed or found dead. In 2006 - 2007 alone, that number more than doubled to
This is a very critical situation that needs to be fixed urgently. The habitats of the Everglades depend on an annual water cycle which has been hindered by the development construction which was imposed on the farmland. Back in the 19th century, developers were keen on draining all the swamps in the Everglades for developmental purposes. Their intention was to grow sugarcane plantations on the land yet sugarcanes are highly destructive to the Everglades. They too disrupt the water cycle to which the wildlife has adapted. The Florida sugar industry built on the southern Shore of Lake Okeechobee directly clocks the water source for the remaining Everglades hence destroying the habitats of the wildlife existing in the affected areas.
Fifty percent of the original wetlands doesn’t even exist today. The water supply in the Everglades is changing and that has affected the Everglades in many ways. For one, population is decreasing and mankind needs to restore it somehow. Next, the Everglades are in need of some money to do that restoration, but where will they get it from? Last, the water supply is poisoning the humanity around it with much bacteria and many bad and dangerous elements. The Everglades water supply affected it in fixing the Everglades and wildlife.
Despite the overall opinion of our class, I enjoyed Hugh Willoughby’s Across the Everglades. The short history he provided and the description of his journey through mangroves and saw grass was both enlightening and entertaining. He offered insight into the historical part of Florida that we, in 2004, will never know of by first hand experience. Willoughby’s journal was also the perfect handbook for an Everglades class canoe trip. From the intricate metaphors he weaves into his facts to the influence of opinion behind those facts, Willoughby’s work captures the minds of his readers.
...restore natural lands. The federal, state, and local governments are joining forces to bring these pristine natural lands back to their original splendor and beauty. "The question of why we should protect the Everglades has now evolved into how we should restore the Everglades," according to Suzie Unger. "Everglades National Park is the largest remaining sub-tropical wilderness in the continental United States and has extensive fresh and saltwater areas, open Everglades prairies, and mangrove forests. Abundant wildlife includes rare and colorful birds, and this is the only place in the world where alligators and crocodiles exist side by side. The park is 1,506,539 acres (606,688 hectares) in size. It is a World Heritage Site, an International Biosphere Reserve, and a Wetland of International Significance," according to the following website: http://nps.gov/ever
Within the state of Florida there are dozens of individualized, non-profit organizations making an effort to help the local wildlife. The local land and marine wildlife includes birds, geckos, frogs, snakes, panthers, manatees, sea turtles, fishes, sharks, corals, lizards and many, many more. Florida State is located on the Southeastern tip of the United States providing a unique opportunity for conservation of salt-water animals. While there are animal conservation efforts taking place all over the world, this essay will focus on two animal species that humans are specifically trying to save in Florida State. The two main animal species of focus are manatees and sea turtles.
Maintaining ecological diversity is necessary for the survival of a biological community. In the United States, American citizens are on the verge of irrevocably damaging one of the country's most unique and diverse treasures - the Florida Everglades. This national park is now the only remaining patch of a river that used to span 120 miles from Lake Okeechobee to the Florida Bay. Dikes and levees created by the Army Corps of Engineers in the late 1940's drained this river to reduce flooding and increase useable water for the development of the region. This major diversion of water lead to a trickle down effect causing the continual decline of the environmental state of the Everglades. Since then, debates over the Everglades' future have silently raged on for years about how, why, and when the restoration will begin. This ongoing, but virtually unproductive effort has cost taxpayers a great deal without any apparent benefits. Recently, this debate has been amplified by the voices of the sugar industry in Florida, which was attacked for its major contribution to pollution of the Everglades. Now debates rage on with a new effort called the Restudy. Backed by the Army Corps of Engineers, this effort would change the flow of the Everglades, potentially restoring it into the viable community of life that it used to be. The question now is, will this latest attempt to restore the Everglades ever be realized (thus ending the cyclic Everglades debate) or will it simply add up to one more notch on the bedpost of inadequate and failed attempts to save this national treasure. The world is watching to see how the United States will handle this unprecedented cleanup.
Is it possible to need reasons to move to Florida? After all, the Sunshine State is hardly a backwater nor does it battle with nasty winter conditions. Still, if your boss comes to you and says he wants you to establish a new base in Fort Meyer or Kissimmee, you should seriously consider Florida and for the following 12 reasons.
The water supply of Florida is important for a number of reasons. But it is crucial because it not only helped develop human society but it is also continually sustaining it. There are a number of phases and processes that take place to make this happen.
In understanding how my worldview was subconsciously constructed by my life experiences from the past nineteen years, I had to first think about my roots. I was born in Tampa, Florida to a Puerto Rican mother and white father. They divorced when I was too young to remember, and while I did have a relationship with my dad, I lived with my mother and was raised in a tight-knit Puerto Rican family, often times being cared for by my grandmother. I was an only child for ten years which I’m sure has impacted my personality, and at ten I got a baby sister whom I am very close to. Growing up in Florida was interesting because I was half white and half Hispanic, which mirror the main demographics of Florida well, but I never quite fit in with either group because while I look very white and this is what people perceive me as, I was not raised by the white side of my family but rather the Puerto Rican side. Still, I don’t quite fit into this group either because I don’t speak perfect Spanish at home and most Hispanic people treat me as an “outgroup” and not one of them.
Vacation is the one thing that people look forward to throughout the year. People usually think of it as a time to relax, unwind, and enjoy an amazing tropical getaway. Maybe it’s chilling at the beach or taking the night out, vacation is always something fun for anyone. Imagine yourself soaking in the sun, laying by the shore, breathing in the salty air, and laying under a palm tree. People can experience this all right along the island of Key West. Key West is an exciting vacation for the whole family to enjoy that includes snorkeling to amazing seafood.
The American Great Lakes; Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario make up 21% of the world’s surface, fresh water. These lakes are home to a variety of wildlife species and fish that are a concern. The lakes also provide drinking water for 40 million people. Commercial fishing, sport fishing and Native American fishing are the major industries providing jobs in the Great Lakes Region and this impacts the fragile ecosystem. The urban runoff and sprawl, sewage disposal, agriculture and toxic industrial waste also affect human health, fish populations, and aquatic food chains. The Great Lakes Restoration initiative is the largest investment in the Great Lakes in two decades. There is a task force of 11 federal agencies that developed an action plan to implement the initiative. The action plan is to cover fiscal years 2010-2014 and addressed five urgent issues. Those issues include; 1. Cleaning up toxics and areas of concern. 2. Combating invasive species, 3. Promoting nearshore health by protecting watersheds from polluted runoff, 4. Restoring wetlands and other habitats. 5. Tracking progress and working with strategic partners. In 2012 and 2013 with the input of citizens 3 key priorities helped to guide the restoration project. They were cleaning up areas of concern, reducing nutrients entering the lakes and preventing the introduction of new, invasive species. New technologies, such as a swimming video camera and an all-terrain robot, are granting researchers their first glimpse of a region critical to the Great Lakes’ health.
Their habitats, in the warm Florida waters have provided wintering refuges for manatees in natural warm water springs Kasnoff, C. 2016). They also are attracted to the warm water outflow from power plants, where occasionally a manatee has gotten stuck and rescue efforts have been made. Residential and commercial development along rivers and waterways has also affected the manatee population. Habitat destruction has damaged the estuarine seagrass communities on which manatees depend (Kasnoff, C. 2016 and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission 1999-2016).
In Sean Baker’s 2017 film, The Florida Project, one is introduced to six year old Moonee and her single mother Halley. Unemployed and living in the Magic Castle Motel juxtaposed with Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, Halley and Moonee live through the struggles of not having money. Halley and Moonee’s worlds are immersed in this hyper reality surrounding Walt Disney World;however, even that isn’t enough to shield them from the film’s theme that real life is a world where maturity wins against the immature. Halley’s consistent immaturity as a parent prevented her from making the necessary mature decisions that would result in better living conditions for her and Moonee. It isn’t until Florida Department of Children and Families, DCF, threatens