The Overflowed Lands Act of 1850 approved 81,000 km2 of federal land to be given to the State of Florida, which marks the start of the economic history of southern Florida. The International Improvement Fund (IIF) then used these granted lands in 1855 to encourage development by means of land reclamation. Railroad and canal companies were then given land in an effort to make new lands accessible for colonization. In the late 1800’s, land drainage projects were headed by prosperous entrepreneurs and the first railroad completed its connection with Miami, serving to provide access to southern Florida. As a result of public funding and demand, the Everglades Drainage District (EDD) of 1907 was formed by Governor William Jennings to institute a design strategy to combat the overwhelming drainage. The Everglades Drainage District received its income as a result of its ability to tax, and over a period of the next twenty years built drainage and flood control structures that laid the groundwork for the major aspects of the existing drainage scheme. The state then marketed thousands of lots of land to companies which were then sold to individuals in hopes that southern Florida would prosper to become a plentiful agricultural region. The total volume of land owners rose dramatically from just 12 owners in 1909 to around 15,000 owners just three years later because of the advertised, exaggerated farming prospective. Landowners flooded into Florida, paying inflated land prices, to own a piece of the potential agricultural utopia that they had been advertised, yet when the land turned out to be less abundant and the drainage issues persisted the housing markets took a big hit. Miami also created a center for tourism and attracted around 125,...
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...of concern. Alligators raise over 18,000 complaints from residents according to state officers, and present a safety hazard to the population (Floridians 1).
Works Cited
"Floridians Face Alligators Fleeing Fay." The Washington Times. N.p., 22 Aug. 2008. Web. 21 Mar. 2014.
"Historical Everglades." Everglades Foundation. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2014. .
Walker, Robert, and William Solecki. "Theorizing Land-Cover and Land-Use Change: The Case of the Florida Everglades and Its Degradation." Annals of the Association of American Geographers 94.2 (2004): 311-28. JSTOR. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.
Willard, Debra A., Christopher E. Bernhardt, Charles W. Holmes, Bryan Landacre, and Marci Marot. "Response Of Everglades Tree Islands To Environmental Change." Ecological Monographs 76.4 (2006): 565-83. JSTOR. Web. 21 Mar. 2014.
Floridians lives on top of a limestone foundation that was once upon a time was a shallow coral sea and is now riddled with caves. In the film Water’s Journey: Hidden Rivers of Florida there were divers tracking the path of water through underground caves, specifically Florida’s aquifers. They were navigating through the complicated system of undergrounds rivers from where water disappears underground to where it resurfaces in the springs of Florida.
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...
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.
The effect of the Everglades in water supply is wildlife. One effect of this is, the water is dirty and unclean with mercury, phosphorus, and other hazardous waste. As a result of that, the water is killing the animals. In passage one it states,”Quantity and diversity of the wetlands 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.
There are invaders among us, they are not alien or human, but Burmese Pythons. Arguably one of the most beautiful and unique parts of nature remaining in the United States is rapidly being destroyed by the Burmese Python. It has enormously impacted the Everglades in a negative way. The beautiful indigenous animals have quickly disappeared and new predators surface as we dig deeper into the Everglades. This fierce animal is a constrictor, squeezing the life out of its prey. The Pythons tight grip sucks the life out of its prey and swallows it whole. “It sounded like a joke when news reported Burmese Pythons were invading the Everglades in 2000” states USA Today. Pythons are slithering their way through the Florida Everglades with a big appetite and a similar habitat as their original home in Asia. Now, they have marked their territory permanently and there may be nothing scientists can do in order to prevent this issue.
1. Alden, Peter, Rich Cech, and Gil Nelson. 1998. National Audubon Society Field Guide to Florida. New York: Knopf.
Exotic snakes such as the python, boa constrictors and anaconda as well as the Monitor and Tegu lizard are taking over central and southern Florida and pose an extreme threat to the eco- system and to the families that are residing there.
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.
Parry, Wynne. (Sept. 23Rd , 2011) Exotic Pets Turning Invasive, Threatning Florida. Tech Media. Retrieved March 10th 2014, from http://www.livescience.com/16204-florida-invasive-reptiles-amphibians.html
“Hissssss!” That's the sound of all the burmese pythons wandering into the Everglades. Pythons are infamous in the Everglades, changing many things and are affecting people, animals, and the ecosystem. The pythons are changing animals because they are eating abnormal amounts of food that the other animals eat. The pythons are changing people because people are taking them as pets, and some pythons may not be as docile as many people think. Pythons are also changing the ecosystem because there are so many pythons that have ended up being released there. Therefore, pythons are changing the Everglades and causing many incidents.
The Florida Everglades have been slowly and steadily diminishing in size for over many decades. Throughout the years, the Everglades have had an abundant, healthy environment. The massive swamps were once rich with marshland, and had ecosystems chock-full of wildlife. However, due to large corporations, natural disasters and most importantly, the growth of the human population, the Everglades are 50% smaller than they were hundreds of years ago. The destruction of the Florida Everglades includes not only a diminishing number of the marshland, but also the lessening of wild life, such as alligators, herons, and exotic plants. While there is a government plan set for the restoration of the everglades, it will take many years to make up for the
To begin with, it should be noted, that the government of Florida is operated and established according to the Constitution of Florida, which is the main law document of the state. According to the Constitution the government is composed of three branches. First of all it is the executive branch consisting of the ruling Governor of Florida and the other appointed and elected constitutional officers. Second is the legislative branch, or the Florida Legislature. It consists of the House and Senate, as well as some other functions such as state auditors or the utility-regulating Public Service Commission. Third branch of the government of Florida is the judicial branch. It consists of the Supreme Court of Florida and other lower courts.
Rising sea levels are becoming a prominent issue along with global warming and climate change for many regions near costal areas, Miami, Florida being one of the most detrimental areas. With a current population of 413,892 living just 6 feet above sea level, Miami is positioned as one of the first areas to feel some of the disastrous effects of climate change (Johnson). Within the next 100 years rising sea levels have the ability to damage South Florida’s fragile barrier island, the population that lives near costal areas, and its appealing subtropical beaches (Madigan A12). Coastal areas, which provide the largest area for disaster, however are not the only area that will experience the effects of climate change. Looking further inland, the Everglades, which provide Miami with source of fresh water could be contaminated through the high salt levels of the ocean, rendering them unusable (Madigan A12). The everglades of Miami depend upon precipitation as source of fresh water, however with the rise in sea levels the overwhelming amount of saltwater is detrimental to their health (Linhoss, Chambers, Wozniak, and Ankersen). The rise of sea levels will result in the plunge of the Florida Keys along with the Key West (Madigan A12). The high risk of flooding that the Florida keys are faced with propose a decline in environment for various species that are endangered (Linhoss, Chambers, Wozniak, and Ankersen). By the end of this century, effects from melting snow and ice reserves and the thermal expansion of the ocean water mass are significant factors attributed to the rise in sea levels affecting Miami (Sea level rise). Thermal expansion that was once the main factor in sea level rise has decelerated causing the acce...