Highlights
Everglades National Park was created in 1947 to protect the southern end of the Everglades ecosystem, a wildlife-rich wilderness threatened by the growth of the human population of South Florida. Although most of the 1.5 million-acre park is remote and difficult to explore, it contains extensive hiking paths, boardwalks and canoe trails. Among the most famous is the Anhinga Trail, a boardwalk from which it's possible to look down at the struggle for food and life among alligators, wading birds, turtles and snakes. A 15-mile paved loop at Shark Valley allows people to walk, bicycle or ride a tram through the heart of the sawgrass marsh, with the chance to see alligators, deer and wading birds...
Everglades National Park was created in 1947 to protect the southern end of the Everglades ecosystem, a wildlife-rich wilderness threatened by the growth of the human population of South Florida. Although most of the 1.5 million-acre park is remote and difficult to explore, it contains extensive hiking paths, boardwalks and canoe trails. Among the most famous is the Anhinga Trail, a boardwalk from which it's possible to look down at the struggle for food and life among alligators, wading birds, turtles and snakes. A 15-mile paved loop at Shark Valley allows people to walk, bicycle or ride a tram through the heart of the sawgrass marsh, with the chance to see alligators, deer and wading birds.
The park's beauties are subtler than the glaciers, mountain ranges, grizzly bears and buffalo herds of some of the showier national parks. The park incorporates a wide variety of habitats, the sawgrass marshes of the classic Everglades, mangroves shorelines, marl prairie, hardwood hammock and pinelands. The park also encompasses Florida Bay. Along the southern coast of the park live American crocodiles, part of the only population in the United States. The park's creation marked a milestone in the history of American conservation. For the first time, according to the National Park Service, "a large tract of wilderness was permanently protected not for its scenic value, but for the benefit of the unique diversity of life it sustained."
Among the species found at the park are the alligator, smooth-billed ani, manatee, Florida panther, American white pelican, roseate spoonbill and wood stork. Extending to the very tip of the Florida peninsula, the park occupies portions of Collier, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties. The only highway through the park is State Road 9336. The park receives more than 1 million visitors a year. The park faces several threats. A row of rock mines blasts and digs for limestone on its eastern border. Several non-native species have taken hold in the park, including a breeding population of Burmese pythons. The park's managers are working on a plan to stop boat propellers from tearing up seagrass on the floor of shallow Florida Bay, a delicate issue that risks angering people who fish in the bay. And most important, the historic flow of water into the park from the north has been disrupted. The land encompassed by the park forms the southern end of an ecosystem that was once dominated by the slow flow of shallow water from Lake Okeechobee. An elaborate drainage and water-supply system constructed gradually over the past century has altered the flow of water, flooding some areas and parching others.
The federal government has established several programs to restore the park and the larger ecosystem that surrounds it. A key element involves ripping out levees to increase the flow of fresh water into the park. Among the issues to be determined is whether to raise several miles of Tamiami Trail to allow water and wildlife to pass underneath.
The park's beauties are subtler than the glaciers, mountain ranges, grizzly bears and buffalo herds of some of the showier national parks. The park incorporates a wide variety of habitats, the sawgrass marshes of the classic Everglades, mangroves shorelines, marl prairie, hardwood hammock and pinelands. The park also encompasses Florida Bay. Along the southern coast of the park live American crocodiles, part of the only population in the United States. The park's creation marked a milestone in the history of American conservation. For the first time, according to the National Park Service, "a large tract of wilderness was permanently protected not for its scenic value, but for the benefit of the unique diversity of life it sustained."
Among the species found at the park are the alligator, smooth-billed ani, manatee, Florida panther, American white pelican, roseate spoonbill and wood stork. Extending to the very tip of the Florida peninsula, the park occupies portions of Collier, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties. The only highway through the park is State Road 9336. The park receives more than 1 million visitors a year. The park faces several threats. A row of rock mines blasts and digs for limestone on its eastern border. Several non-native species have taken hold in the park, including a breeding population of Burmese pythons. The park's managers are working on a plan to stop boat propellers from tearing up seagrass on the floor of shallow Florida Bay, a delicate issue that risks angering people who fish in the bay. And most important, the historic flow of water into the park from the north has been disrupted. The land encompassed by the park forms the southern end of an ecosystem that was once dominated by the slow flow of shallow water from Lake Okeechobee. An elaborate drainage and water-supply system constructed gradually over the past century has altered the flow of water, flooding some areas and parching others.
The federal government has established several programs to restore the park and the larger ecosystem that surrounds it. A key element involves ripping out levees to increase the flow of fresh water into the park. Among the issues to be determined is whether to raise several miles of Tamiami Trail to allow water and wildlife to pass underneath.
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National Audubon Society Says Restoring Louisiana Wetlands Critical
The National Audubon Society says restoring the Louisiana coast should be a top priority. The organization on Wednesday urged Congress and the White House to make restoring ecosystems part of the nation's economic recovery plan. The group said there...Tags: Florida, New York, Long Island Sound, Louisiana, White House
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BP: Mile-long tube sucking oil away from Gulf well
ABC26 NewsOil company engineers on Sunday finally succeeded in keeping some of the oil gushing from a blown well out of the Gulf of Mexico, hooking up a mile-long tube to funnel the crude into a tanker ship after more than three weeks of failures. Millions of...Tags: Florida, Science and Technology, Ken Salazar, Science, Janet Napolitano
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Familia argentina lucha por quedarse en suelo americano
South Florida Sun-SentinelNota editorial: Comenzando en esta edición, y en las próximas tres semanas, le contaremos sobre las experiencias de una familia argentina de Miramar atrapada en el limbo del sistema migratorio de EEUU. Los Rojas representan el drama que viven miles de...Tags: Miramar, Argentina, DREAM Act, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Miami (Miami-Dade, Florida)
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Florida can't buy its way out of unemployment challenge
The current political mantra is jobs, jobs, jobs! This singular focus is creating opportunities for businesses to ask for business incentives and to propose relaxed regulations in all types of industries. Our politicians are allowing or considering...Tags: Environmental Issues, Conservation, Economy, Business and Finance, Business, Companies and Corporations
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South Florida outdoors calendar
May 26: Ron Gallo seminar on fishing local canals for largemouth bass, 9-11 a.m., Wal-Mart, 5571 W. Hillsboro Blvd., Coconut Creek. Call 954-684-3636. May 27: Bass-N-Fools 33rd annual Spring Fling bass tournament, Everglades Holiday Park. Call Mark...Tags: Coconut Creek, Ronald McDonald House Charities, Lighthouse Point, Palm Beach County, Dania Beach
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South Florida outdoors notebook
Outdoors notebook Dolphin tournaments: Competition Tackle & Marine has its 16th annual Dolphin Round Up to benefit Hospice by the Sea June 1-30. Entry fee is $200 per boat for up to four anglers. Early entrants fish for free in the Dolphin Dash for...Tags: Coconut Creek, Ronald McDonald House Charities, Lighthouse Point, Palm Beach County, Lifestyle and Leisure
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South Florida fishing report
Fishing report LAKE OKEECHOBEE Bass were biting topwater plugs early and swimbaits and jigs all day along the outside grass lines and points. Bluegills were biting around West Wall and East Wall. EVERGLADES/FRESHWATER Bass fishing has slowed with...Tags: Lifestyle and Leisure, Jeff Stewart, Port Everglades, Boynton Beach, Fishing
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Trading Mecca Farms could bring Palm Beach County 1,600 acres and $30 million
Palm Beach County could get more than 1,600 acres of land and potentially $30 million in a proposed deal for taxpayer-owned Mecca Farms, according to terms disclosed Thursday. The county has invested more than $100 million of taxpayer money trying to...
Tags: Standards, Palm Beach County, Jupiter, Science and Technology, Arable Farming
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South Florida Water Management District seeks Mecca Farms deal
The environment could get a boost, but taxpayers may not recover their $100 million investment under a new deal proposed for Palm Beach County's Mecca Farms. The South Florida Water Management District is making a push to acquire the more than 1,900...
Tags: Jupiter, Palm Beach County, Environmental Issues, Conservation, Delray Beach
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Republicans don't have a candidate to challenge Congressman Ted Deutch
Palm Beach Politics | Sun Sentinel blogsU.S. Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Boca Raton, may get a pass from the Republicans in this year's election. The only Republican who'd expressed an interest in challenging him said Tuesday she was dropping out, and Palm Beach County Republican Chairman Sid......Tags: Coral Springs, Republican Party, John Kerry, Parties and Movements, Alex Sink
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FCAT writing: Was the camel topic a good one for fourth-grade essays?
Sentinel School Zone - Orlando SentinelThe big news last week about FCAT writing, of course, was that the scores were “a disaster” and left educators feeling “blindsided.” But there was also a complaint — which had surfaced earlier, right after the test was... -
Conservation groups acquire land to help Florida panthers migrate
A partnership of government agencies and conservation groups announced Tuesday that they have protected 1,278 acres west of Lake Okeechobee to help Florida panthers as they migrate with increasing frequency from the Everglades north toward Central...
Tags: Orlando, Wildlife, Energy Resources, Endangered Species, Lake Okeechobee
Jan 15, 2009
|Story| WGNO-LTV
May 16, 2010
|Story| WGNO-LTV
May 25, 2012
|Story| South Florida Sun-Sentinel
May 25, 2012
|Story| Orlando Sentinel
May 24, 2012
|Story| South Florida Sun-Sentinel
May 24, 2012
|Story| South Florida Sun-Sentinel
May 24, 2012
|Story| South Florida Sun-Sentinel
May 24, 2012
|Story| South Florida Sun-Sentinel
May 23, 2012
|Story| South Florida Sun-Sentinel
May 22, 2012
|Blog| Sun-Sentinel
May 21, 2012
| Orlando Sentinel
May 22, 2012
|Story| Orlando Sentinel
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