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River Of Grass Awaits Flow Of Funding

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 25, 2007

PICAYUNE STRAND - It all comes back to the water.

Water is at the heart of the plan to save and restore the Everglades. How it flows, where it goes and what it contains.

From north of Lake Okeechobee to the Picayune Strand State Forest in southwest Collier County, the Everglades restoration plan hinges on a complex system of engineering and environmental projects meant to reverse damage to the fragile ecosystem that defines Florida.

For the past seven years, however, the biggest question about the Everglades hasn't been water.

It has been money.

Specifically, whether the federal government would pay its share. The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, now estimated at more than $10 billion, has seen few federal dollars since being approved in 2000. Instead, the state has paid for the majority of work.

On Nov. 8, Congress seemed to answer the question of funding.

Federal lawmakers voted to override President Bush's veto and approve the $23 billion Water Resources Development Act. The water bill contains about $2 billion for Everglades restoration projects.

Florida leaders such as Gov. Charlie Crist and U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson heralded the vote. Conservationists rejoiced. For the first time in a long time, lawmakers appeared to be making the Everglades a priority.

The money, however, won't be flowing anytime soon - possibly not until late 2008 or 2009.

Even then, project leaders say they must rely on congressional appropriations to receive any money.

With multiple high-profile projects competing for a limited amount of dollars, some say the future is less certain than when the project was first approved.

"We're waiting with bated breath to see that the appropriations come through," said Stephen Parker, director of the National Research Council's Water Science and Technology board, which includes an Everglades oversight committee mandated by Congress.

"It doesn't seem to have quite the level of political support it had several years ago."

A Plan On Hold

Development has consumed nearly half of one of the world's most vibrant ecosystems, which used to span about 3 million acres.

Agricultural operations such as sugar plantations and produce farms have contributed by draining chemicals, both natural and manmade, into the water.

Wildlife populations have declined, nearly vanished or been replaced by invasive organisms.

In the late 1990s, scientists from the South Florida Water Management District and Army Corps of Engineers unveiled the Everglades plan.

Many critical projects languished for years as federal lawmakers were unable to regroup on a new water resources bill.

About $200 million was expected to come from federal coffers each year, or roughly $1.4 billion to date. The actual federal contribution is less than $300 million.

Gary Hardesty, the Everglades restoration chief for the Corps of Engineers, said the lack of federal money has forced the corps to take a more deliberate approach to restoration efforts for fear that funding might not be made available.

The corps has 68 Everglades projects that are slated to receive federal dollars. To date, no construction has occurred on any of them. And no work will begin until at least 2009, Hardesty said.

"What I don't want to have happen is we start building the 68 components, and maybe the money dries up and we've built a reservoir out there but we can't get water to it," he said.

Nancy Payton, who runs the Southwest Florida office of the Florida Wildlife Federation in Naples, worried that additional federal money would never appear. Approval of the federal water bill has given her hope.

"There had been concern that support had waned. There were other issues taking the interest of Congress," she said during a recent tour of restoration efforts in Picayune Strand, a 55,000-acre tract. "It's good to know the Everglades is still of interest to people across the country."

The federal bill includes about $1 billion that would go to buy land around the Indian River Lagoon in Martin and St. Lucie counties, construct a series of reservoirs, and implement efforts to treat stormwater runoff and improve the quality of water flowing south.

It also includes about $700 million to fund work at Picayune Strand, where a failed subdivision development disrupted the natural flow of water with roads and canals.

Plans call for plugging the canals, constructing pump stations, and removing 227 miles of road and scores of pine trees and cabbage palms.

Critic Calls Scientists 'Goobers'

The goal is to create a water flow similar to what existed centuries ago when sheets of water moved across the land unencumbered.

It's a delicate solution that the state's project officials hope will work.

There are signs of encouragement, they say. Nearly 35,000 trees have been removed. One canal has been plugged. Wildlife appears to be returning. Invasive plants seem to be coming under control.

The plan is not without its critics - the most outspoken might be James Smith.

Smith's family came to Collier County in the 1850s, and he said he practically grew up in Picayune Strand, where his father, James Sr., taught him to respect the environment.

He learned to hunt and fish there. His 5-year-old cousin drowned in a Picayune canal.

It's also where he is making a stand, railing with a camera in one hand and a petition in the other, determined not to stop until state and federal officials listen or his cause is lost.

For the past year, Smith has been a thorn to the state Division of Forestry and South Florida Water Management officials. He has pestered and photographed workers charged with removing scores of pine trees and cabbage palms.

He has collected signatures, more than 1,000, he says, from people nearby and far away - Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Washington state - to try to stop the Picayune portion of the Everglades plan from being completed.

Smith's complaints range from allegations that forestry officials have allowed two companies hired by the state to remove more trees than necessary to questions about the overall impact of plugging the canals and the cost of restoration.

The state is selling the trees - $17.50 per palm tree and $1.51 per ton of pine trees.

To date, it has received more than $260,000 for about 13,000 palm trees and about 22,250 tons of pine trees hauled out to make mulch. About 15 percent of the money collected will be given to Collier County schools.

Forestry officials said the companies are monitored, and one company was fined for removing 22 more trees than required.

Forestry supervisor Gregory Ihle declined to comment about Smith or his accusations.

That likely doesn't bother Smith, who refers to the state's lead scientists as "goobers."

"I was hoping the veto would stick," Smith said recently. "I understand they're trying to do something out here, but this makes no sense. They're raping the land."

Randy Smith, the water district spokesman, also declined to comment about James Smith's accusations.

But he urged public patience.

Much like the Everglades itself, progress is moving slowly, he said, but it is moving.

"There is some destruction that's going to take place, but the end result is a much better scenario than what exists there now," he said. "Nature works at its own pace. It's probably going to look ugly in some spots to make it look beautiful in the long run."

Delays Cost Money, Too

Saving the Everglades is not an easy proposition. Nor is it a sure thing.

Experts agree that too much damage has occurred over time.

There are signs of success, though.

In 2004, as part of the 2000 federal bill, the Committee on Independent Scientific Review of Everglades Restoration Progress was formed to provide oversight and analysis. The committee's members - academics and experts from across the United States - will release a report every two years until the project ends.

In its first report, released last year, the committee criticized delays, particularly in funding, that kept crucial projects from beginning.

It said restoration efforts faced challenges from a growing population and the need for increased water supply, flood protection and recreation.

Cost, as well, was a concern. In 1999, the Everglades project was estimated at $8 billion. That was adjusted to $10.9 billion in 2004.

"Further delays will add to this increase," the committee concluded, "particularly because of the escalating cost of real estate in South Florida."

One agency the committee praised was the water management district and its efforts to improve water quality.

On Nov. 14, in Miami, a week after the override vote by Congress, the committee held its most recent meeting.

Stephen Parker attended the meeting. Despite the apparent support from Congress, he said committee members seemed discouraged.

"Both the federal and state financial situations have been better than they are now," Parker said. "I think our committee ... we, like others, we think things are going well in the studies and planning. We're eager to see some of the projects proceed. We're hoping that the funding comes through, but it's a little worrisome."

'We're Writing The Textbook'

Funding concerns aren't all that haunt project leaders.

There is still the question of whether any of the projects will work.

No how-to books exist to help engineers and scientists. Many of the solutions being proposed never have been tried before.

"It's not an act of brilliance. It's an act of trial and error," said Chip Merriam, the water management district's deputy executive director of water resources. "We're writing the textbook."

His agency has taken the lead even as federal projects remained stalled.

The district has pledged $1.8 billion in state money for the ACCELER8 initiative, a collection of eight projects deemed too vital to restoration efforts to wait for federal money. The projects include creating stormwater treatment areas and reservoirs, and they are spread across the lower-half of Florida all the way to Everglades National Park.

It has already invested billions to create a series of stormwater treatment areas across 700,000 acres known as the Everglades Agricultural Area, which flanks the southern rim of Lake Okeechobee.

In Palm Beach and Henry counties, scientists monitor about 60,000 acres of treatment cells. The cells unexpectedly have become a habitat for millions of birds, including the endangered Snail Kite hawk, as well as scores of alligators and other wildlife.

The treatment areas capture runoff from neighboring farms. By moving the water into cells, or shallow pools, they can use nature to fix nature. In the cells, scientists monitor water quality and experiment with plants that help absorb high concentrations of phosphorous from the water.

High levels of phosphorus, if allowed to flow into the Everglades, can cause certain plant life to grow that essentially strangles native species. Runoff concentrations can be as high as 100 parts per billion. When that water leaves, however, the phosphorous concentration is less than 50 parts per billion.

The oversight committee, in its report, called the reduction of phosphorous "remarkably effective."

Water management scientists use airboats to navigate the treatment cells. They conduct experiments to test the resiliency of plant life. They plan for hurricanes, which can damage the cells. And they look for indicators of success, such as periphyton, a type of algae that doesn't exist in water with high concentrations of phosphorous.

"This you call pond scum, we call beautiful," Merriam said, scooping up a handful of periphyton, which has the texture of congealed oatmeal.

The cells produce cleaner water that eventually will be released by the district to flow into Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge.

"Every day we make decisions that do help the Everglades," Merriam said. "We make a difference every day."

'Trying To Fix It'

To understand the magnitude of the restoration plan and what it means to those who live near the Everglades, you have to drive deep into the heart of Picayune Strand.

There are no street signs, even though homes once were planned. And one could wait for days at the handful of stop signs for another vehicle to pass.

It's beautiful, and eerily quiet, and drastically different from the upscale boutiques, expensive restaurants and waterfront mansions that sit not far away in downtown Naples.

Many residents have never ventured into Picayune Strand despite its abundant camping, hunting and fishing opportunities.

In early October, after studying water quality in class, Carolyn McAlear, a science teacher at nearby Palmetto Ridge High School, brought 40 students into the state forest to conduct experiments.

They tested water quality and waded into shallow lagoons to document aquatic species.

Many of the students were unaware of the Everglades plight, despite it being in their back yards.

Jaime Ceron, a 15-year-old sophomore, credited McAlear with helping him understand why the restoration effort is important.

"She showed us, it's like they made a mistake. They're trying to fix it," he said. "If they'd never touched it, it would have been all right."

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report. Reporter John W. Allman can be reached at (813) 259-7915 or

jallman@tampatrib.com.

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