What is destroying the Everglades?
Urban development, industry, and agriculture pressures have destroyed more than half of the original Everglades. Ever-increasing population growth along with industry in south Florida has resulted in large metropolitan areas and rising pressures on the surrounding natural environments.
What was the purpose of draining the Everglades during the 19th and 20th century?
The goal was to create farmland by digging canals that would draw off the swamp water and allow it to flow to the ocean. Most people thought that draining the Everglades would be as simple as pulling the plug in a bathtub (Blake 1980, 4).
What are some of the environmental threats to the Florida Everglades?
Despite protection of a significant portion of the historic Everglades and recognition as an international biosphere reserve, the ecosystem faces severe threats from the impact of surrounding urban sprawl, ecologically unsound water management, agricultural development, invasion of exotic species, and fire.
Was Florida built on a swamp?
MIAMI — Florida was built on the seductive delusion that a swamp is a fine place for paradise. The state’s allure — peddled first by visionaries and hucksters, most famously in the Great Florida Land Boom of the 1920s — is no less potent today.
How did the melaleuca tree get to the Everglades?
It originally was imported from Australia in 1887 as an ornamental tree. By the 1930s, its seeds were dropped by planes over the Everglades in an effort to drain the wetlands and create forests.
Why are there so many dead trees in the Everglades?
A fungus carried by an invasive beetle from southeast Asia is felling trees across the Everglades, and experts have not found a way to stop the blight from spreading.
Why are the Everglades dying?
High phosphorus causes impacts in the Everglades such as: loss of the natural communities of algae that are defining characteristics of the Everglades. loss of water dissolved oxygen that fish need. changes in the native plant communities that result in a loss of the open water areas where wading birds feed.
Why is the middle of Florida empty?
There was really just one reason South Florida remained so unpleasant and so empty for so long: water. The region was simply too soggy and swampy for development. Its low-lying flatlands were too vulnerable to storms and floods.
Which side of Florida gets the most hurricanes?
Surprisingly enough — or maybe not surprising at all to some people — Northwest Florida, situated on the Panhandle, is the most hurricane-prone area in Florida. That’s partly due to the Gulf of Mexico, which is known for its warm shallow waters, and partly due to its location in the U.S.
Are there sharks in Lake Okeechobee?
It is not uncommon to see a shark within 10 yards of the shore break anywhere in the state. They are even seen and caught in inshore estuaries, lagoons and rivers. There has even been a bull shark in Lake Okeechobee. For many anglers, a popular version of big game fishing is to catch a shark from a beach.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqNcTRGb1Cw