The Everglades: North America's Subtropical Wilderness — A "River of Grass"

The Everglades is not a swamp. It is a slow-moving, shallow river — 60 miles wide, 100 miles long — flowing south from Lake Okeechobee to Florida Bay over a limestone shelf. "River of Grass" (Marjory Stoneman Douglas) captures its essence: sawgrass marsh interlaced with tree islands (hammocks), sloughs, marl prairies, mangrove estuaries.

Hydrology: The Pulse

• Wet Season (May–Oct): Sheet flow 1–3 ft deep, inches/day. Recharges aquifer (Biscayne — 8M people's water).
• Dry Season (Nov–Apr): Water recedes → concentrated pools → wildlife spectacle (wading birds, alligators, fish).
• Engineered Disruption: 1,800 mi canals/levees (C&SF Project) drained 50% for agriculture (EAA sugar) & urbanization (SE FL coast).

Biodiversity Hotspot

• 2,000+ plant species (120 trees, 30 orchids, bromeliads, ferns).
• Iconic Fauna: American alligator (keystone — gator holes), Florida panther (<100 left), West Indian manatee, roseate spoonbill, wood stork, snail kite, 350+ bird species.
• Only place on Earth where alligators & crocodiles coexist (brackish south).

Ecological Services

• Water filtration (periphyton mats scrub nutrients).
• Flood attenuation (sponge).
• Carbon sequestration (peat soils).
• Nursery for Gulf/Atlantic fisheries (shrimp, stone crab, snapper).

Restoration: CERP ($23B, 30+ yr)

• Remove barriers, restore sheet flow, storage reservoirs (EAA, C-43, C-44), water quality treatment (STAs).
• Tamiami Trail bridging (completed 2023) — major flow restoration.
• Goal: Reconnect Kissimmee → Okeechobee → Everglades → Florida Bay.

The Everglades is a global test case: can a heavily engineered subtropical wilderness be healed while serving 9M people? The answer defines 21st-century restoration ecology.