Actions taken to stem, and eventually reverse, damaging social and environmental trends fall into four main categories: protecting land and water, enacting laws and initiatives, changing land use patterns, and forming partnerships.

PROTECTING LAND AND WATER

In response to public persuasion, Congress established Everglades National Park in 1934, although it would be 13 years before funds were acquired to open the park. The creation of the park set an early precedent for putting sensitive lands aside for preservation and public enjoyment. Since then numerous federal, state, and county holdings have been set aside in South Florida. These include

• 30 state parks
• 17 state aquatic preserves
• 11 federal wildlife refuges
• 4 national parks
• 1 national marine sanctuary
• 1 national estuarine research reserve
• numerous county land units

In addition, three water conservation areas (WCAs) have been designated, while significant portions of the state's coastal waters and portions of the waters around the Florida Keys have been named Florida outstanding waters.

Overall millions of acres of South Florida land area and water are protected in one way or another. Despite these efforts, the ecosystem remains at risk. Direct and indirect impacts from the built environment are ongoing and cumulative. The underlying problems of a disrupted hydropattern and fragmented natural habitats persist. Simply setting lands aside is not the answer. Resolutions to ecosystem problems lie in how the land and water are managed and the strategies that are employed to do so.

ENACTING LAWS AND INITIATIVES

Over the past 25 years the Florida Legislature and U.S. Congress have passed a growing body of legislation directed at managing growth and protecting the natural environment. This collective legislation has evolved into a more holistic and integrated vision for restoring the South Florida ecosystem in its totality.

Early state legislation such as the 1972 Land Conservation Act and the Florida Water Resources Act laid the foundation for managing state growth and protecting sensitive waters. These acts signaled a change in public and governmental attitudes about development and the natural environment.

Another major initiative expanded this theme with the launching of the 1983 Save Our Everglades program — a partnership between the South Florida Water Management District (Water District) and state and federal governmental agencies. The initiative's goal was to work toward restoring the natural components of the ecosystem. Affecting the entire Kissimmee River, Lake Okeechobee, Big Cypress Swamp, and Everglades, this initiative set a precedent for addressing problems on a regionwide scale and for interagency cooperation.

In 1985 Florida strengthened its existing planning laws by adopting the Local Government Comprehensive Planning and Land Development Regulation Act. This act has resulted in the adoption of comprehensive plans by every local government in the state. The 1987 Surface Water Improvement and Management Act (SWIM) complemented the new growth regulations by requiring each Florida water management district to identify critical problems in surface waters and to implement comprehensive restoration plans.

In the early 1990s restoration efforts became more consolidated, focused, and expanded in scope. The federal 1992 Water Resources Development Act authorized a massive and comprehensive review study of the C&SF Project known as the Restudy. The goal of this project is to restore the system's natural hydropattern while maintaining the existing levels of flood control and improving the integrity, capability, and conservation of urban and agricultural water supplies. The ongoing Restudy focuses on virtually the entire ecosystem and is being carried out by an interdisciplinary/interagency team composed of state and federal representatives.

The Kissimmee River Restoration Project underscores the success of collaborative efforts. Plans to restore the river, developed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) and the Water District, culminated in the Water Resources Development Act of 1992. The act authorized and partially funded the restoration of this critical river/floodplain ecosystem, which was disrupted when the river was channelized during the 1960s.

Florida's 1994 Everglades Forever Act established another ambitious ecosystem restoration plan known as the Everglades Program. The program involves the construction of man-made wetlands on land previously used for agriculture and the implementation of agricultural best management practices (BMPs) designed to reduce phosphorus contamination on remaining farmlands. The act also initiated intensive research and monitoring studies and implemented new incentive-based regulations requiring farmers and municipalities to meet state phosphorus-reduction standards.

A concerted effort is being made to dovetail activities associated with the Restudy and those ongoing under the Everglades Program. Both represent major steps toward implementing a regionwide, integrated plan based on federal and state cooperation.

The 1996 Water Resources Development Act and subsequent appropriation bills continued to stress interagency cooperation and provided funding for restoration efforts on a regionwide basis. The bill charged the Corps to develop a comprehensive review study for restoring the hydrology of South Florida (i.e., the Restudy). Further, it authorized federal, state, local, and tribal governments to develop recommendations for implementing the plan. The act also authorized additional critical construction projects related to the C&SF Restudy. Finally, the bill formally established a South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Task Force.

This evolving body of legislation and initiatives has culminated into what is now known as the South Florida Ecosystem Restoration and Sustainability Project.

CHANGING LAND USE PATTERNS

International trade, tourism, construction, and agriculture make up the major economic supports for the state's multibillion-dollar annual economy. Earlier in the century many of these industries expanded rapidly, often at the expense of natural systems. However, a clear trend of managing re-sources and growth in more sustainable ways is emerging.

Working closely with the scientific community and land managing agencies, much of the agricultural industry has begun to embrace best management practices. These practices reduce the amount of agricultural runoff, decrease the need for fertilizers, conserve soils, and foster habitat for wildlife.

Best management practices are leading to greater efficiency and lower rates of nutrient runoff into the ecosystem.

Similarly, state and local governments have enacted measures to limit growth and development in sensitive areas. Counties and municipalities increasingly are recognizing the need for and benefits of buffer zones between the built and natural environment and open green spaces within built areas.

These trends mark a positive change in the way people view the natural environment and socioeconomic needs, and how the two can be mutually beneficial.

FORMING PARTNERSHIPS

Legislative efforts and changing land use patterns have led to the formation of several important partnerships involving federal, state, local, and tribal governments, and private entities. Groups that in the past held opposing views on how to manage natural and economic resources are now working more closely together in pursuit of increasingly common goals. Today, these partnerships provide the vision, strategic thinking, and planning needed to carry out coordinated and effective restoration actions.

South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Task Force

In 1993 a federal ecosystem restoration task force was established through an interagency agreement. The task force was created "to coordinate the development of consistent policies, strategies, plans, programs, and priorities for addressing the environmental concerns of the South Florida ecosystem."

The task force was later formalized and expanded to include tribal, state, and local governments by the 1996 Water Resources Development Act.

The purpose of the expanded task force is to facilitate implementation of the overall restoration effort. In this capacity it serves as an information clearinghouse, referee, and coordinating entity that helps guide the restoration effort, keep it on track, and ensure fiscal accountability.

The South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Task Force currently facilitates the coordination of the restoration work associated with the Everglades Forever Act, the C&SF Restudy, the Kissimmee River Restoration Project, and other efforts being conducted by federal, state, and academic entities. These efforts have largely focused on reestablishing the functions of natural systems of the South Florida ecosystem.

Governor's Commission for a Sustainable South Florida

In 1994 the governor of Florida established a commission "to develop recommendations and public support for regaining a healthy Everglades ecosystem with sustainable economies and quality communities." The commission has been instrumental in formulating strategies that address both natural and built ecosystem problems in integrated and innovative ways. Its underlying premise is that South Florida's environment, society, and economies are not discrete but are related and interlinking subsystems of the overall ecosystem. This realization represents a major shift in the way the ecosystem, in its totality, should be viewed and managed.

A COMMON VISION

Through a confluence of thinking stemming from preservation, progressive legislation, and innovative partnerships, the South Florida ecosystem restoration effort is

• developing strategies for further ecosystem restoration and protection based on an accepted premise that the current course in South Florida is not sustainable

• acknowledging that the environment, society, and economics are not discrete systems but are related and interlinking subsystems that make up the South Florida ecosystem. These premises have led to an emerging common vision of a: landscape whose health, integrity, and beauty are restored, and are nurtured by its interrelationships with South Florida's human communities

1947 Establishment of Everglades National Park
set aside 1.3 million acres as a permanent wilderness; the park was expanded to 1.4+ million acres in 1989

1947 Publication of The Everglades: River of Grass by Marjory Stoneman Douglas 
brought attention to declining conditions of the Everglades

1948 Central and Southern Florida Project
provided congressional authorization to construct a massive water delivery system for South Florida

1969 National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
established federal environmental review and compliance procedures

1972 Florida Water Resources Act
established fundamental water policy for Florida, attempting to meet human needs and sustain the natural systems

1972 Florida Land Conservation Act
authorized the issuance of bonds to purchase environmentally endangered and recreation lands

1983 Governor's Save Our Everglades Program
recognized that the entire ecosystem needs to be restored, not just parts of it; initiated Kissimmee River Restoration Project

1984 Florida Warren Henderson Act
gave authority to the Department of Environmental Regulation (now DEP) to protect wetlands and surface water of the state for public interest

1985 Florida Local Government Comprehensive Planning and Land Development Regulation Act
required the development and coordination of local land use plans

1987 Florida Surface Water Improvement and Management Act (SWIM)
required the five Florida water management districts to develop plans to clean up and preserve Florida lakes, bays, estuaries, and rivers

1990 Florida Preservation 2000 Act
established a coordinated land acquisition program to protect the integrity of ecological systems and to provide multiple benefits, including the preservation of fish and wildlife habitat, recreation space, and water recharge areas

1990 The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and Protection Act
established a 2,800-square-nautical-mile marine sanctuary and authorizes a water quality protection program

1991 Florida Everglades Protection Act
provided water management districts with clear tools for ecosystem restoration

1992 Water Resources Development Act
authorized the Kissimmee River Restoration Project and the Central and Southern Florida Project Restudy

1993 Federal South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Task Force
was established to coordinate state ecosystem restoration efforts in South Florida

1994 Florida Everglades Forever Act
outlined a comprehensive plan to restore significant portions of the South Florida ecosystem through construction, research, and regulation

1994 Governor's Commission for a Sustainable South Florida
was established to make recommendations for achieving a healthy South Florida ecosystem that can coexist with and mutually support a sustainable economy and quality communities

1996 Water Resources Development Act
expanded the task force to include tribal, state, and local governments, mandated extensive public involvement, allowed task force to address full scope of restoration needs (natural and built)

DUTIES OF THE TASK FORCE

• consulting with federal and nonfederal agencies involved in developing a comprehensive restoration plan for South Florida

• coordinating the development of restoration policies, strategies, and programs and assisting in determining whether critical projects are yielding their expected benefits

• establishing a Florida-based working group to formulate and implement restoration policies and programs

• exchanging information on restoration programs and projects

• facilitating the resolution of conflicts associated with restoration activities

• working with advisory committees (e.g., the Governor's Commission for a Sustainable South Florida) that represent a broad variety of public and private interests

• preparing an integrated financial plan and recommendations for coordinated budget requests

• submitting biennial reports to Congress on the progress of restoration efforts