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SAVING THE EVERGLADES

A unique ecosystem
Encompassing three million acres of wetlands, the Everglades is home to more than 350 species of birds, including the Great Egret, Wood Stork, Swallow-tailed Kite, and Roseate Spoonbill.

Often called the "River of Grass," the Everglades is a subtropical wilderness featuring slow-moving fresh water that flows south from Lake Okeechobee through sawgrass and tree islands to the mangroves and seagrasses of Florida Bay. An international treasure, the Everglades is an open system, which drains into the ocean, and there is no other ecosystem like it in the world.

The greater Everglades ecosystem is also an international center for business, agriculture, and tourism, with a rapidly growing population of varied ethnic, economic, and social values - all dependent on a fully functioning ecosystem for an adequate freshwater supply, a healthy and sustainable economy, and overall quality of life.

Driven to the breaking point
Poor development, water mismanagement, and urban and agricultural pollution make the Everglades ecosystem among the most endangered in the world. Populations of wading birds and other critical indicator species have been decimated, and Lake Okeechobee and the tropical estuaries on the edges of the Everglades ecosystem have been severely damaged.

The decline of the once widespread flocks of wading birds, by as much as 90 percent, was the first sign that the Everglades ecosystem was threatened. Everglades restoration will repair much of the damage from drainage and development, bringing back the wading birds that once filled the South Florida landscape, and restoring hundreds of thousands of acres of wetlands and estuarine habitat.

What Audubon is doing
Audubon's storied ties to the everglades began in 1902 when Audubon Wardens risked their own safety to protect Everglades birds from plume hunters. In the decades that followed, Audubon played critical roles in the establishment of parks and preserves in the area.

During the past 80 years, Audubon sanctuaries have given millions a glimpse of the region's wildlife and nature. Our scientists at the Tavernier Science Center have collected some of the most critical baseline data by which future restoration efforts will be judged.

In response to the threats to the South Florida ecosystem, Audubon established the Everglades Conservation Office in 1992 as our largest nationwide conservation initiative. Restoring the Greater Everglades Ecosystem is one of our highest nationwide priorities. Audubon experts in public policy and land-use planning have been at the forefront of changing political will in favor of restoration of our natural ecosystems.

Our mission is to restore and conserve a fully functional, healthy Everglades ecosystem, through (1) providing technical guidance for and participating in restoration efforts, (2) developing and implementing local, regional, and national advocacy, and (3) cultivating an informed and engaged mainstream constituency.

For more information about Everglades Restoration efforts, please visit Audubon of Florida.