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.
This had farmers in distress, for they were losing more money than they were making. Farmers’ incomes were low, and in order to make a profit on what they produced, they began to expand the regions in which they sold their products. This was facilitated through the railroads, by which through a series of grants from the government as contracted in the Pacific Railroad Act of 1862, were made possible; which latter lead to the boom of rail roads in 1868-1873.... ... middle of paper ...
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.
But not to leave out conflicts that aroused after doing so with people trying to carry slavery over there to help with the rural living and construction. The United States being on the heels of this great real estate venture changed the economy, politics and morals of this soon to be great nation. One of the biggest gains to the economy was the double land size received in the purchase. This achievement supported Jefferson’s idea of a democratic and republican society. It gave us firm control of the Mississippi River, an important transportation route for shipping goods to other parts of the country.
The State of Florida’s marine ecosystems are in a constant pattern of change. Change is necessary in nature. Change is nature’s way of adaptation. While there are “occasional good” changes, the progressive major changes have a devastating negative impact to the Florida marine environment. There are several factors correlated directly to this negative change. Most of these factors are due to man. One cause is natural. It is the hurricane. Hurricane Season is from June to November (NOAA) each and every year. On average 11 named storms occur in the Atlantic Basin each year with 6 reaching hurricane strength and 50% of these becoming a major hurricane of category 3 to 5 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale (NOAA). Whether small or large, hurricanes cause damage and modifica...
Should exotic snakes or other large reptiles be allowed as pets in Florida? Right now these escaped/released feral reptiles create an estimated $120 billion in environmental damage each year according to David Steen on Slates Animal Blog.
The commission is firmly committed to taking all necessary actions within their given authority to assure recovery for the Florida panther. The panthers are still going to need broad public support and active cooperation among all management. "Civilization is the main threat to the survival of the Florida panther…," and so it will be until we learn how to respect these species that occupied the land before us. A land that was not ours to take and land we truly need as badly for survival as these creatures. Works Cited: 1.
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.
“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 Homestead Act of 1862 was signed into law by our late president, Abraham Lincoln. The Homestead Act transferred over 200 million acres of public land into private land for purchase. Anybody who wanted to move west just had to file for land, usually it was like 160 acres and after five years of living there it was theirs for free or after 6 months they could purchase it for a dollar and sixty two cents an acre. Settlers would set out in search of gold and land. The land wash is harsh and much more suitable for raising cattle as compared to farming.
People in the northern United States during the early nineteenth century wanted to rapidly industrialize and increase the amount of money they were making. The Erie Canal they believed was a great way to reduce the distance and time of shipping goods to the west. They also realized that the canal would probably increase their markets, which would mean a larger profit. The problem with all of this was how people had to destroy parts of nature in order for this to happen. Nathaniel Hawthorne, a prominent writer during the time, described the canal as “too rapid, unthinking advance of progress.” (57) Hawthorne and his supporters were very upset to see how forests and swamps were being destroyed and ruined in order t...
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.
The undertaking of a project as large as building a railroad across the expanse of the United States seemed impossible and way too expensive for any railway companies to undertake; therefore, in the early/mid 1800’s, railway companies and business people began approaching legislators in an attempt to convince them to support railroad expansion. This, combined with economic necessity, helped to pass the first of several land grant bills. The bills entailed the gifting of public land to railroad companies in exchange for railroad track being laid in designated areas. The land that was not used for track was then sold. Both railroad companies and the government gained from this. The land where track was laid also became more valuable and the profit that was made from the sale of the land was used to pay for materials and labor to continue the railroad expansion. (Railroad Land Grants).
Daniel Murphree, “Perpetuating a Mythical Paradise: Transnational Visions of the Colonial Floridas,” Terrae Incognitae 37 (Jan. 2005): 41-52.
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...