In Florida, a race is on to save the Everglades and protect a key source of drinking water

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.

Since 2019, the South Florida Water Management District has completed, broken ground on, or celebrated other milestones on some 70 projects. This year, lawmakers earmarked $1.275 billion for the next 12 months of restoration efforts – the largest annual amount allocated. It is unclear what Donald Trump may do with restoration efforts when he takes office, but during his first presidential term he allocated funds and helped pass the Great American Outdoors Act, which secured $900 million annually in permanent funding to improve access to public lands, protect watersheds and more.

Big enough reservoir?

Northwest of Miami, excavators claw mounds of blasted limestone as crews replace acres of sugarcane fields in a massive project that aims to supply clean freshwater to the Everglades.

When the $3.9 billion Everglades Agricultural Area Reservoir Project is complete, a reservoir and wetland will store and clean polluted water from Lake Okeechobee in central Florida before it's discharged into the southern Everglades.

Considered by some the most important of the projects, the reservoir, at 10,500 acres (4,249 hectares), will have the capacity to store enough water for the equivalent of about 480,000 to 720,000 homes. Its adjacent 6,500-acre (2,630.5 hectares) wetland – or the stormwater treatment area – will clean reservoir water before it's discharged.

''The wildlife and the mosaic of habitats that are here rely on getting the water right, and that's what this project is about,'' said Jennifer Reynolds, the director of ecosystem restoration and capital projects for the water district. ''It's about getting the water right for the natural habitats and also to sustain the population of people who live and recreate here.''

Although both the administrations of Democratic President Joe Biden and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, have called it a ''priority,'' it is also among the most controversial projects. The reservoir will be 82.5% smaller than its original plan due to insufficient land.

Questions remain about whether it will work when completed. Critics worry the project will be too small and too deep to significantly clean water. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which is constructing the reservoir, has itself indicated uncertainty about whether the water will meet standards.

Climate and development threats

On that sticky May morning, Kominoski, the FIU professor, and research specialist Rafael Travieso wanted to know the water chemistry, including phosphorus concentrations.

But measurements downstream tell a different story. Salinity levels have gone up, from a few days at a time to weeks and months, Kominoski said, suggesting that sea level rise and salt water intrusion are accelerating.

South Florida's low elevation is especially vulnerable to storms and accelerating sea level rise, with some estimates of up to 4 feet (1.2 meters) by 2100. Experts have also warned of sea level rise impacts and rising temperatures that will decrease water runoff and increase evaporation.

In its most recent report to Congress, a committee of experts acknowledged the enormous challenge of accounting for climate change impacts in restoration efforts. They recommended several actions, including developing a set of climate scenarios that are consistently used across all planning and implementation.

The Everglades' long-term survival will depend partly on whether mangroves, among its most unique and threatened native species, can keep pace with climate impacts. These salt-tolerant trees that buffer erosion and hurricanes are shifting inland as sea levels rise. While restoration efforts have helped, higher seas remain a threat.

''There are certain points where they are overwhelmed with flooding and it will restrict their ability to stay alive and recoup, and then you experience wetland loss,'' said Kevin Montenegro, a student at FIU.

Then there are the people.

Florida has undergone decades of population growth, becoming the nations' fastest-growing state in 2022.

In Homestead, south of Miami, there's pressure to develop flood-prone, low lying farmlands between the Everglades and Biscayne national parks.

''That is a major hurdle and that's playing out in all 16 counties that encompass the greater Everglades region," said Samples from Friends of the Everglades. ''Population growth and development are really intense threats right now.

Back at Shark River Slough, the airboat roared into action. For the next several hours, Kominoski and Travieso glided over the reflective waters, past tree islands and lily pad clusters, dodging alligators and watching birds take flight as tiger-striped dragonflies clung to their clothes.

Steve Davis looked down at the Tamiami Trail from the backseat of a small airplane some 2,500 feet in the air.

The wetlands surrounding the highway were once drier, but restoration efforts have helped increase flows. ''To see water in the dry season, that's a big deal,'' said Davis, chief science officer for the Everglades Foundation. ''We don't want areas to dry out completely.''

As parts of the Everglades are rehydrated and habitats reemerge, so are native species such as the wood stork. Wading bird colonies have returned to the Kissimmee River floodplain. Habitats in swamps or shallow lakes called sloughs are increasing in some areas. And flamingos blown in by Hurricane Idalia have stayed in the Everglades.

''In the last 10 years, progress has ramped up significantly,'' said Davis. ''It's more than optimism. We're starting to see the benefits.''

A new plan for managing Lake Okeechobee's water levels aims to have widespread benefits for restoration efforts. It calls for sending more water south, reducing harmful discharges to the east and west coasts, and allowing more flexibility in water management decisions.

From the air, floating mats of harmful blue-green algae are sometimes visible on Lake Okeechobee – a sign of warm temperatures and excess nutrients.

In the west, sea level rise and salt water intrusion are impacting drinking water wells where the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida live, according to Betty Osceola, an environmental activist and tribe member. The tribe's ancestral tree islands have been flooded by water mismanagement, they've said, decimating plants and animals they've subsisted on. Other areas are drier and face ongoing threats from polluted water and wildfires.

''Restoration efforts are mainly to benefit Everglades National Park,'' said Osceola. ''So maybe the national park sees benefits, but at the sacrifice to the tribe.''

That's why the tribe has for decades advocated for the Western Everglades Restoration Project, whose goal is to improve the quantity, quality, timing and distribution of water. The project's first major feature broke ground in July.

The Everglades' future

The New York resident spotted a soft shell turtle. Earlier he saw two alligators. But he was most excited about the birds he ticked off his list, including an anhinga, a night heron and a swallow-tailed kite.

''I think that preserving and conserving wildlife and wildlife areas is some of the best and most useful uses of our taxpayer money,'' Kennedy-Yoon said, sweat glistening on his face. ''Something has to change or else we're going to lose areas like this.''

But it's more than just restoring and protecting the Everglades for recreation and its wildlife. As Samples from Friends of the Everglades notes, it's also about building climate resiliency in Florida.

She quoted the famous words popularized by author and conservationist Marjory Stoneman Douglas: ''The Everglades is a test. If we pass it, we may get to keep the planet.''

Faced with development pressures and climate change, Samples said those words are more true today than ever.