Complete Report

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Complete Report U.S. Department of the Interior Science Plan in Support of Ecosystem Restoration, Preservation, and Protection in South Florida May 2004 Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY _____________________________________________________________1 1. PLAN BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE _______________________________________________5 THE GREATER EVERGLADES ECOSYSTEM__________________________________________________5 The Natural System ________________________________________________________________5 Human Alterations to the Natural System _______________________________________________5 ADDRESSING THE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES OF GROWTH __________________________________6 Overview of the Restoration Effort_____________________________________________________6 The Department of the Interior as Steward and Partner ____________________________________7 THE ROLE OF SCIENCE IN ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION ________________________________________8 Ongoing Interior Science Efforts ______________________________________________________8 Purposes of the Department of the Interior Science Plan ___________________________________9 NEXT STEPS – PRIORITIZING SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND SYNTHESIZING RESULTS _________________10 2. PRIORITIZATION OF SCIENCE RESOURCE ALLOCATIONS_________________________11 3. PROJECTS TO IMPROVE THE QUANTITY, QUALITY, TIMING, AND DISTRIBUTION OF WATER____________________________________________________________________________13 INTRODUCTION _____________________________________________________________________13 Overview of Water Management Activities and Authorities_________________________________13 Overview of Science Support for DOI Managers_________________________________________15 Organization of Water Projects ______________________________________________________18 KISSIMMEE-OKEECHOBEE WATERSHED AND THE EVERGLADES AGRICULTURAL AREA______________19 Overview________________________________________________________________________19 Kissimmee-Okeechobee Watershed Projects ____________________________________________22 Aquifer Storage and Recovery Pilots and Regional Study __________________________________24 Everglades Agricultural Area Reservoirs_______________________________________________27 UPPER EAST COAST _________________________________________________________________30 Overview________________________________________________________________________30 Restoration on the Allapattah Ranch Natural Area _______________________________________31 Ten Mile Creek Reservoir-Assisted Stormwater Treatment Area_____________________________34 LOXAHATCHEE _____________________________________________________________________36 Overview________________________________________________________________________36 North Palm Beach County Part 1_____________________________________________________37 Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee NWR Internal Canal Structures____________________________39 WATER PRESERVE AREAS AND SEEPAGE MANAGEMENT ALONG THE MARSH/URBAN INTERFACE______41 Overview________________________________________________________________________41 Water Preserve Areas______________________________________________________________43 Lakebelt In-Ground Reservoir Technology Pilot Project___________________________________45 L-31N Seepage Management Pilot and Everglades National Park Seepage Management _________47 LOWER WEST COAST ________________________________________________________________49 Overview________________________________________________________________________49 Southwest Florida Feasibility Study___________________________________________________52 C-43 Basin Storage Reservoir _______________________________________________________54 Henderson Creek / Belle Meade Restoration ____________________________________________56 Southern Golden Gate Estates Hydrologic Restoration____________________________________57 EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK, BISCAYNE BAY, AND THE FLORIDA KEYS _______________________61 Overview________________________________________________________________________61 Water Conservation Area 3 Decompartmentalization and Sheetflow Enhancement ______________66 Combined Structural and Operational Plan (CSOP), Including the C111 Spreader Canal ________70 Biscayne Bay Coastal Wetlands ______________________________________________________72 Additional Water for Everglades National Park and Biscayne Bay Feasibility Study_____________73 Wastewater Reuse Pilot Project ______________________________________________________75 i Introduction Florida Bay and Florida Keys Feasibility Study _________________________________________76 LANDSCAPE-SCALE SCIENCE NEEDED TO SUPPORT MULTIPLE CERP PROJECTS ___________________79 Overview________________________________________________________________________79 Landscape–Scale Modeling _________________________________________________________81 Comprehensive Integrated Water Quality Feasibility Study ________________________________84 Studies to Support Fish and Wildlife Friendly Siting and Operation of Reservoirs, STAs, and ASR Structures _______________________________________________________________________86 Risks to Fish and Wildlife from Soil-Borne Contaminants__________________________________86 Landscape-Scale Monitoring and Assessment ___________________________________________90 4. HABITAT AND SPECIES RECOVERY PROJECTS____________________________________91 INTRODUCTION _____________________________________________________________________91 Overview of Activities and Authorities _________________________________________________91 Overview of Science Support for DOI Managers_________________________________________93 PROJECTS TO RECOVER VEGETATIVE COMMUNITIES AND MULTIPLE ANIMAL SPECIES ______________94 Avian Species Recovery ____________________________________________________________96 Recovery of Scrub Community: Lake Wales Ridge _______________________________________99 Recovery of Scrub-Dependent Animals _______________________________________________101 Recovery of Pine Rockland Community: Miami-Dade County _____________________________103 Recovery of Florida Keys Species ___________________________________________________105 SPECIES RECOVERY PROJECTS ________________________________________________________107 Conservation Strategy for the Florida Panther in South Florida____________________________108 Recovery of Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow _____________________________________________111 West Indian Manatee: Accessibility to and Mortality and Entrapment Risk in the Central and Southern Florida Canal System and Structures_________________________________________________112 5. LAND AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PROJECTS ________________________________115 OVERVIEW OF MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES AND AUTHORITIES ________________________________115 EXOTIC PLANT AND ANIMAL CONTROL PROJECTS _________________________________________117 Implementing an Exotic Plant Management Strategy ____________________________________118 Invasive Exotic Plant Detection and Monitoring ________________________________________120 Invasive Exotic Plant Management on the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge ______________________________________________________________________________120 Aquatic Exotic Animals ___________________________________________________________122 FIRE MANAGEMENT PROJECTS ________________________________________________________125 Everglades National Park Fire Management Plan ______________________________________125 ii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Florida Everglades is a complex ecosystem of diverse, interconnected subtropical habitats. Once comprised of over 4 million acres, today the historic Everglades have been reduced by half. The conflict of human versus natural elements in South Florida began in earnest in the early 1900s, when the control of water and the drainage of wetlands were first considered essential for commerce and human safety. Loss of life due to hurricane-related flooding in the 1920s accelerated drainage projects, culminating in the congressional authorization of the Central and Southern Florida (C&SF) Flood Control Project in 1948. Over the course of the next 50 years, exponential population growth, urbanization, and agricultural practices significantly altered the Greater Everglades ecosystem. Implementation of the C&SF Project hydrologically fragmented the Everglades, resulting in unnatural quantities and timing of freshwater flows to and through the remaining natural areas. These hydrologic changes resulted in severe ecosystem degradation, evidenced by a 90% decline in wading bird populations, declines in commercial and recreational fisheries, significant decreases in the number of Everglades tree islands, and widespread invasions of exotic plants and animals. Currently 69 species in the Greater Everglades are federally listed as threatened or endangered. During the past two decades, the Florida Legislature and the U.S. Congress have enacted a series of laws to redress environmental harm to the South Florida ecosystem. Many of these laws provide the authorities under which the state and the federal governments operate and fund programs that collectively comprise the South Florida restoration effort. Most recently, the Congress authorized the implementation of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP), which will be implemented over the next four decades by the federal and state governments. The CERP will modify the C&SF Project to increase future water supplies for the environmental purpose of restoring the South Florida natural system, while also providing
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