EVERGLADES, Fla. — In a region of Florida known as the River of Grass, John Kominoski plops into hip-deep waters. Blobs of brown periphyton – a mishmash of algae, bacteria and other organisms – carpet the surface.
The air is thick and sticky as Kominoski, a Florida International University professor, pushes a rod to secure a tube that collects timed and continuous water samples that will help his team investigate the impacts of climate change and freshwater flows in this unique, sensitive ecosystem.
The Everglades ecosystem was degraded and transformed when a highway connecting Tampa and Miami was built in 1928, cutting through a mosaic of prairies, sawgrass marshes, freshwater ponds and forested uplands. Sections of the road are now being elevated to restore water flows into the Shark River Slough – a vital restoration area deep in the Everglades National Park.
The highway elevation is part of a massive state-federal project, approved by Congress in 2000 with bipartisan support, that aims to undo damages wreaked upon these wetlands.
''This is the biggest, most complicated and most expensive ecosystem restoration project in the world," said Eve Samples, executive director of Friends of the Everglades. "It's really important that we get it right.''
More than two decades into it, there are signs of progress. Wildlife is returning to some areas, regions dominated by the invasive melaleuca tree have dropped 75%, and enthusiasm is high as significant projects are finally underway, others gain momentum and funding pours in. But there are also worries: the projects are billions of dollars over budget and questions remain about whether some will work.
Once about twice the size of New Jersey, today only half of the Everglades remains. Home to endangered and threatened species, the area buffers storms and is a vital source of drinking water for millions of Floridians. Decades of engineering projects for development and agriculture partitioned and drained water that once flowed freely from the Kissimmee River to Lake Okeechobee to the Florida Bay. Invasive species have transformed the land, and pollution from agriculture – primarily phosphorus – has impoverished water quality.
Efforts to repair the Everglades are projected to cost more than $23 billion and take 50 years to complete. Water quality has improved, but challenges remain and accelerating salt water intrusion, sea level rise and higher temperatures are ongoing threats.