In addition to Universal Studios and Disneyland, Florida’s Everglades bring in quite a few tourists to the state. The Everglades represent one of a number of different marshes throughout the state. The marshes of Florida provide a home for some diverse plants and animals within the state, but face a number of ecological issues.
Also known as tidal marshes, salt marshes occur between low tide and high tide areas, where water is more still, as well as areas known as estuaries where freshwater mixes with ocean saltwater. Salt marshes host a number of young fish within Florida who then move on to freshwater marshes as they age. Salt marshes appear frequently within the Big Bend area of Florida, from Apalachicola Bay to Cedar Key. Plants within saltwater marshes include black needle rush, salt meadow cord grass and saw grass.
Freshwater marshes within Florida occur south of Orlando. Several of them have disappeared because of the expansion of human habitats. The Everglades, Florida’s largest freshwater marsh, houses several thousand different plants and animals; this number, though, once ranged in the millions. Plants within freshwater marshes include cattails, saw grass and water lilies. Wildlife mainly consists of various bird species, such as the Cape Sable seaside sparrow. As with saltwater marshes and swamp areas in the state, freshwater marsh water levels fluctuate with the rainy and dry seasons.
The diversity of fauna within the marshes of Florida includes animals not found anywhere else in the world. The Florida panther, for example, hunts around the forests and marshes of Florida; this animal faces extinction, however, due to habitat loss. More common around the swamps, animals like the marsh rabbit, white-tailed deer, and alligators thrive on the resources available within the marsh. The animals that live within the marsh must be able to live within aquatic conditions with water levels that ebb and flow. Because of the fluctuation of conditions within the marsh, many animals that live there adapt nomadic tendencies in order to find water sources and food during dry seasons or find higher ground during floods.
Visitors to Florida’s Everglades have a host of activities they can pursue. One of the more popular vacation activities within the Everglades involves cruising around the water on an airboat. Guided airboat tours let visitors get up close and personal with the swamps and marshes of Florida while learning about the history and ecology of the region. Several different airboat tours exist, as well as tours by regular boat. Some people enjoy fishing in certain approved areas of the region. For families, a manatee sightseeing trip might provide a unique experience; the tour claims that if no manatees are spotted, the trip is free.
Despite the Everglades and other marsh land bringing in tourism dollars for the state, the Everglades faces several ecological issues. While the Everglades remains the largest sub-tropical wilderness within the contiguous 48 states, its size has shrunk significantly. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council website, the Everglades has dwindled to half its original size due to factors such as improper water management, expansion of human habitat and agricultural expansion. Wildlife found exclusively within the Everglades faces habitat loss and extinction.
In order to combat conservation concerns, President Clinton and Congress passed the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, known as CERP, in 2000. With CERP, engineers and conservationists work together to reverse any water mismanagement problems by pumping in fresh water from the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. Additionally, CERP involves tearing down water flow barriers to restore proper water flows around the Everglades. Conservationists also plan to create bridges so that traffic goes over the marshes rather than through them.
