FLORIDA BAY FLORIDA a Resource Assessment

Home , Florida Bay

® Protecting Parksfor FutureGenerations National Parks ConservationAssociation ® ® FLORIDA BAY FLORIDA A Resource Assessment

december 2005 FLORIDA BAY AT A GLANCE • Everglades National Park, which encompasses the southern tip of Florida and much of Florida Bay, has received international recognition for its superb resources that are important not only to United States citizens but

to all the world’s people: The park has been designated an International EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK Biosphere Reserve, World Heritage Site, and Wetland of International Importance.

• The bay is home to the most significant breeding ground for wading birds in North America; provides habitats for a diverse collection of marine animals, including federally listed threatened and endangered species; and is part of the largest preserved mangrove system in the Western Hemisphere.

• Visitors from nearby communities, from around the country, and from all Florida Bay offers a host of recreational over the world take advantage of Florida Bay’s opportunities to view opportunities, including kayaking, wildlife, kayak, canoe, and experience solitude. canoeing, and bird watching.

• Florida Bay is also a world-class destination for recreational anglers, and park waters support habitats and nurseries for fisheries (including spiny INTRODUCTION lobster and pink shrimp) that form the foundation of commercial fishing At the southern tip of Florida is in the waters bordering Florida Bay. Everglades National Park, replete with flocks of wading birds as well as alli- gators and crocodiles—the only place in the world where these two species coexist. Varied habitats include laby- CAROLEE DOUGHTY rinthine mangrove forests, salt-tolerant coastal prairies, freshwater prairies and sloughs, hardwood hammocks, and pinelands. The park’s 1.5 million acres (607,000 hectares) comprise the largest designated subtropical wilder- ness in North America and include much of Florida Bay, a marine lagoon that supports a host of recreationally and commercially important fishes as well as a number of federally listed threatened and endangered species. Water is the lifeblood of Everglades National Park, and the park’s dynam- ic story revolves around how water flows through the land, shapes the landscape, influences ecosystem functions, and drives plant and animal distributions. This story also reveals how water flow has been altered by human activities to the detriment of park resources. KEY FINDINGS This report focuses on the condition • The hydrologic balance of Florida Bay has been altered by a series of of resources in the 444,790-acre extensive water drainage and diversion projects implemented in south (180,000-hectare) Florida Bay portion Florida beginning in the late 19th century. These projects altered the of Everglades National Park. The health amount, quality, timing, and distribution of freshwater flows, leading to of the bay and its resources largely changes in bay ecosystem structure and function. depends upon water flow, so this report also addresses threats to the integrity of • The Everglades region, including Florida Bay, is the site of the largest bay resources and ways that managers restoration project yet conceived—the Comprehensive Everglades are working to protect these resources. Restoration Plan (CERP). The overarching goal of CERP is to “get the water right” by restoring the natural hydrologic conditions of the region, LAND USE HISTORY—WATER while ensuring the continued economic and social development of south PROJECTS DRAMATICALLY Florida. Successful completion of several key components of the restora- ALTERED NATURAL tion plan will provide direct benefits to Florida Bay resources. ECOSYSTEMS • Numerous marine species migrate between Florida Bay and habitats out- Before Everglades National Park was side Everglades National Park, so management policies must address the established in 1947, humans began to ecosystem as a whole. When part of the system is compromised by habi- alter south Florida’s environment to tat damage or overfishing, migratory species suffer, including many make it more suitable for agriculture, species key to commercial and recreational enterprises. urban development, and resource ex- ploitation. The most dramatic changes • Evidence of seagrass damage caused by boat propellers is found came as a result of major development throughout Florida Bay. By educating park users about safe navigation and drainage projects that altered the within the bay and showing boaters how to avoid shallow seagrass beds, hydrology of the entire region. the Park Service could reduce damage, but those education and outreach The ecological health of Florida activities require funding. In addition to education, the Park Service must Bay’s natural resources is intimately also improve navigation aids and channel markers. tied to the hydrology of south Florida. • Estimates indicate that wading bird populations have declined 90 to 95 Under natural conditions, a delicate percent in south Florida, though not quite as precipitously in Florida balance of fresh and marine waters Bay as in other areas, since major water drainage and diversion projects flowed through a complex series of were begun more than 75 years ago. shallow basins in the bay, creating a mosaic of salinity and nutrient conditions that in turn supported a wide array of marine life. Although the details of this hydrologic regime are not well understood, it is clear that the hydrologic balance of the bay has been EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK significantly altered—particularly the amount, timing, and distribution of freshwater flows—by a series of extensive water drainage and diversion projects implemented in south Florida. Beginning in the 1880s and continu- ing through the early 1970s, thousands and thousands of acres were drained, numerous canals and levees were con- Seagrass communities, which cover much of the bay floor and are critical habitats for a variety of recreationally and commercially important marine species, provide one example: Salt-toler- EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK ant turtle grass (Thalassia testudinum) has replaced shoal grass (Syringodium filiforme) in some areas, resulting in seagrass communities that resemble mon- ocultures rather than the mixed communities that result under lower salinity conditions. This change translates to a reduction in some recreationally and commercially important fish species in parts of Florida Bay. Restoring natural flows into Florida Bay could go far Extensive water drainage and diversion projects undertaken in south Florida from toward returning normal salinities and the 1880s through the 1970s have transformed the landscape and dramatically fluctuations, enabling the bay to sup- altered natural water flows and ecosystem processes. port a more natural assemblage of plants and animals. structed, and the Tamiami Trail was driven by variations in precipitation, built to connect Tampa and Miami but evaporation, surface freshwater inputs, RESTORING AMERICA’S RIVER in doing so bisected the Everglades. groundwater inputs, and Gulf of Mexico OF GRASS These projects transformed the land- currents, can vary widely over time and Recognizing the need for a healthy eco- scape into compartmentalized and space. Studies suggest that since the system in the Everglades and Florida pooled regions. Water that once flowed early 1900s, the bay’s salinity levels and Bay, south Florida is embarking upon slowly over the gently sloping landscape their fluctuation have increased slightly the world’s most ambitious restoration and into Florida Bay and surrounding as the bay has become more hydrologi- project. The Comprehensive Everglades waters now flows unnaturally through cally isolated from both freshwater and Restoration Plan (CERP) will attempt to canals and other human-made chan- marine influences. Human activities repair damage caused by decades of nels, released in pulses that are out of like groundwater withdrawal and the flood control, drainage, and diversion sync with natural seasonal cycles. diversion of freshwater and marine projects. The program’s main goal is to Only half of the original Everglades water alter the normal flow of ground- restore the ecosystem’s natural hydrolo- or “River of Grass” wetland still exists water, freshwater, and marine water into gy while ensuring continued economic today, and just one-fifth is protected Florida Bay, likely affecting salinity. and social development in south Flo- within the park. More than 125 years Plants and animals that live in the rida. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers of drainage and diversion projects bay respond in different ways to and the South Florida Water Manage- have taken their toll on the Everglades changes in salinity. Some that are able ment District are leading this multi- and Florida Bay. The bay has experi- to move might seek areas with more agency restoration project, and prelimi- enced periods of increased salinity, suitable salinities, while rooted plants nary work has already begun. loss of water clarity, massive seagrass and animals living on the bay floor Specific CERP projects that will and sponge mortality, phytoplankton might lose productivity or even die. Pro- directly benefit Florida Bay resources blooms, reductions in wading bird longed increases in salinity can change include the C-111 spreader canal project populations, and diminished recre- the structure of certain marine commu- and the Florida Bay/Florida Keys Feasi- ational fisheries. nities as salt-tolerant species replace bility Study. The C-111 spreader canal Salinity within Florida Bay, which is those that prefer lower salt levels. has multiple goals: rehydrate the coastal wetlands between Everglades and Bis- altered by almost a century of human Some species migrate between man- cayne national parks known as the activities. groves and seagrasses on a daily basis to Model Lands; establish water flows that Sound scientific research and result- feed, while others spend parts of their will sustain ecosystems in the Southern ant solutions are available to inform lives in one habitat and then move to Glades and Model Lands; provide more restoration projects. Restoration project the other as they mature. For example, natural water flows to Florida Bay by managers are faced with the challenge many of the fishes that reside within the eliminating point sources of freshwater of implementing such solutions while boundaries of Everglades National Park pulses to Manatee Bay and Barnes providing adequate flood protection do so only during their juvenile phases Sound; and maintain flood protection and water supply to south Florida. and leave the park for adult habitat and for agricultural and urban areas. The NPCA believes that the best available spawning sites. Florida Bay/Florida Keys Feasibility Stu- science should be used to guide the res- Pink shrimp (Penaeus duorarum) dy will evaluate connections between toration efforts so that maximum pro- begin their lives in the bay before Florida Bay and the Everglades, Gulf of tection for park resources is achieved. moving to the Dry Tortugas, and juve- Mexico, and Florida Keys in order to nile spiny lobsters (Panulirus argus) determine how to restore water quality ECOSYSTEM-WIDE STRATEGIES live in the bay before moving across and natural conditions to the bay. ARE NEEDED TO CONSERVE the Florida Keys to reside in the reef Other restoration projects that will RECREATIONALLY AND COM- from Dry Tortugas to Pacific Reef, near affect Florida Bay are the Modified MERCIALLY IMPORTANT SPECIES Miami. Gray snapper (Lutjanus griseus) Water Deliveries and additional C-111 Florida Bay’s diverse and complex series juveniles live in the bay, and adults canal modification projects. Together, of shallow basins surrounded by man- migrate offshore to spawn. Research these projects will attempt to reestablish groves and dominated by seagrass shows that gray snapper and some the historic pathway for water flow meadows create a multitude of impor- other migratory species are overfished, through the Everglades and into Florida tant habitats for a variety of fishes and a fact that underscores the need to Bay. The projects will modify the exist- invertebrates and help the bay to main- protect nursery habitat within the bay ing canal network system and other tain its mosaic of salinity and nutrient and manage the wider ecosystem of impediments to flow (such as the Tami- conditions. The close interplay of these this species and others with similar ami Trail) to maintain more natural communities creates a synergy where migratory behaviors. water levels, restore ecological integrity marine species can use these various If all parts of Florida Bay and the to the bay, and enhance an ecosystem habitats to fulfill different functions. adjacent marine ecosystems are not healthy and functioning properly in Florida Bay is a world-class destination for recreational anglers. concert, then migratory species will suffer, leading to diminished recreationally and commercially important stocks. The economic effect on these fisheries will be negative, as will the impact on recreational activities that rely on a healthy EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK Florida Bay. Some scientists who study marine fish advocate development of an integrated fishery management plan that addresses the ecosystems of Florida Bay, the Florida Keys coral reef, and the Dry Tortugas. Clearly it is becoming more important to coordinate partner- ships among various state and federal management agencies, and some of that work has already begun. FUNDING CONSTRAINTS CREATE CHALLENGES FOR RESOURCE PROTECTION

One of the most significant factors affecting a park’s ability to protect its resources is the funding Congress allocates to the National Park Ser- vice and individual parks. This fund- EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK ing is not sufficient: The National Park Service faces a $600 million annual operational funding shortfall and a deferred maintenance back- log that is estimated to be between $4.5 billion and $9.7 billion. The annual operational shortfall and back- log translate to dwindling visitor services and resource protection activities, as well as a growing list of maintenance projects such as trail and park facility repairs, invasive species removal, and historic build- ing restoration. At Everglades National Park, the operational budget has increased an average of about 3 percent each year for the past five years. How- ever, these increases have not kept pace with increased costs. Thus, the park faces significant shortages in key areas, including a lack of adequate numbers of research scientists and law enforcement 444,790-acre Florida Bay, with a areas by boats that violate no-motor personnel. total of eight marked Park Service or no-entry restrictions, and damage Populations in nearby Miami- patrol boats and three unmarked to shallow underwater communities Dade County have increased by 45 boats. According to the most recent that occurs from groundings. percent since 1980, and visitation at law enforcement needs assessment, In conjunction with an increase Everglades has nearly doubled in the completed in 2003 by Everglades in law enforcement personnel, Ever- last 20 years. Many of these visitors National Park, there is a 30 percent glades National Park needs to have recreate on boats in Florida Bay. short-fall in the total number of the means to better educate park More people are using the park’s rangers needed to adequately staff visitors about appropriate activities waters, but the number of rangers the park. and safe boating in Florida Bay’s patrolling Florida Bay has not kept Without adequate numbers of law challenging waters. The park recent- pace with this growing use. enforcement personnel, the park is ly produced a new map and guide In 2005, Everglades National unable to effectively prevent illegal for boaters, a useful tool that should Park has a total of 12 full-time law poaching and trespassing on closed help inform boaters and reduce enforcement rangers to patrol the islands, illegal entry into backcountry inadvertent resource damage. SEAGRASSES—SCARRING CAUSES DAMAGE THAT COULD BE PREVENTED The ecological importance of seagrasses cannot be disputed: These commu- EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK nities provide refuge, spawning areas, and a food source for many fish and invertebrate species. Florida Bay con- tains more than 346,000 acres (140,00 hectares) of seagrasses, and the health of these seagrasses is critical to the health of a variety of recreationally and commercially important fish, as well as several federally listed threatened and endangered species. Seagrasses are negatively affected by changes in salinity and sea surface temperatures; damage from boat pro- Boats that run aground damage seagrass beds and mud banks. pellers is also a serious concern. Florida Bay is a subtropical marine also tearing up plants and leaving cific to Florida Bay within Everglades lagoon that is composed of a mosaic of denuded furrows that can take a decade National Park is lacking, there is a great mud banks and shallow basins (averag- or more to recover. deal of evidence (including aerial pho- ing three feet deep or less in many As development in south Florida tos that show numerous whitish scars) areas). Navigating the bay is complicat- continues, the number of people out on that damage does occur within the park ed and requires great care. Inexperi- the water increases, and the likelihood and that it could be significantly affect- enced or careless boaters can easily of seagrass damage grows. Studies have ing the health of seagrass communities. damage seagrasses with their pro- shown that seagrass beds throughout Everglades National Park has pellers, churning up sediment and suf- Florida have experienced scarring from secured private funding to begin sepa- focating plants in the process, while careless boaters. Although research spe- rate projects to determine how many boaters use Florida Bay and when peak Prop scars mar seagrass beds throughout Florida’s waters, and damaged seagrasses usage occurs. The park will also assess can take years to recover. the extent of damaged mud banks and seagrass beds in Florida Bay. Continued funding will be needed to support these and other vital projects. Education is the main tool that can be used to reduce seagrass damage. Teaching park users how to safely navigate shallow waters and illustrating the potential damage could go far in reducing the extent of prop scarring in Florida Bay and other areas. Everglades National Park has recently HAROLD HUDSON/FLORIDA KEYS NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY expanded its public education and outreach campaign and developed a new, innovative brochure that provides a map and guide of Florida Bay drainage period (1974-1989). More food, and quickly snap their bills shut for boaters and other park visitors. recent estimates indicate an even once prey is encountered. Spoonbills To help decrease the incidence of more precipitous population decline must have access to prey in shallow prop scarring, the park should also con- of 90 to 95 percent in south Florida. waters, and spoonbill breeding relies sider requiring boaters to complete a Scientists believe that these changes on the seasonality of hydrology, where boater safety course that deals specifi- in the numbers and distributions of the wet season allows prey to flourish cally with conditions encountered in wading birds were caused by water and the dry season concentrates prey Florida Bay; increasing signs and buoys management activities that altered the into drying wetlands. that warn boaters about areas particu- quantity and timing of freshwater Human-caused changes to water larly difficult to navigate; and increas- flows into Florida Bay and disrupted flow in Florida Bay have altered the ing ranger patrols. Funding is needed to the natural flow of water through the structure and function of the coastal support these and other boater educa- Everglades marshes. These changes in mangroves that served as foraging habi- tion and outreach programs. water flow decreased foraging habitat, tat for spoonbills. Strong evidence also increased the frequency of extreme indicates that these habitat changes ROSEATE SPOONBILLS— drying events, and disrupted nesting. have reduced the number of spoonbills RESTORATION NEEDED TO The roseate spoonbill (Ajaia ajaja) nesting in Florida Bay since the late REVERSE POPULATION DAMAGE is a good indicator species to study 1970s and caused shifts in nesting CAUSED BY WATER PROJECTS because it has a unique feeding behav- areas. If this is the case, then restoring One of the defining characteristics of ior called tactolocation, which re- more natural conditions by reestablish- the Everglades region—before major quires certain hydrological conditions. ing freshwater flows into Florida Bay water drainage and diversion proj- In using tactolocation, roseate spoon- should restore mangrove foraging habi- ects—was the great numbers of wad- bills stand in shallow water, submerge tats and stabilize roseate spoonbill ing birds that occupied the marshes, their partially open bills to search for abundance and distribution. mangroves, and bays. Some early estimates place wading bird populations Roseate spoonbills, once hunted for their beautiful plumage, now face alterations in the millions or hundreds of thou- in their foraging habitat caused by water drainage and diversion projects. sands. Though these estimates might be inflated, it is certain that enormous flocks of wading birds once populated the region. Plume hunters decimated these populations from the last half of the 19th century into the early 20th century. Regulations and prohibitions helped some species begin to recover, RYAN HAGERTY/U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE but implementation of drainage and diversion projects dealt another blow to already suffering populations. An analysis of long-term data for five wading bird species in the central and southern Everglades region indicates that the number of wading birds has declined by about 80 percent, from a high of 180,000-245,000 birds during an early drainage period (1930-1946) to about 50,000 birds in a late ACKNOWLEDGMENT WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP:

NPCA thanks the staff at Everglades • Stay informed about park plans and south Florida restoration National Park who reviewed the fac- plans. The public is invited to provide input on all park plans and stud- tual accuracy of information used in ies. Planning involving Everglades National Park, Florida Bay, and other this report. We also thank peer re- regional efforts includes: viewers for their valuable comments Everglades National Park General Management Plan information is and suggestions. ° available at www.nps.gov/ever/gmp/gmp_index.htm and at A special note of appreciation goes to http://ParkPlanning.nps.gov/parkhome.CFM?ParkID=374. those whose generous grants and dona- tions made the report possible: Ben and ° Tamiami Trail modifications of the Modified Water Deliveries Ruth Hammett, the Efroymson Fund Project information is available at www.saj.usace.army.mil/pao/ of the Central Indiana Community hotTopics/tamiami_trail.htm. Foundation, and anonymous donors. ° CERP and other restoration project documents are available at www.evergladesplan.org/.

° To voice your opinion about all of these restoration projects, visit NPCA’s Action Alert headquarters, at www.npca.org/actioncenter/ ActionAlerts.aspx.

• Support or become a member of groups helping to protect Florida Bay and the park: South Florida National Parks Trust (www.national parks.org/southflorida), Trust for Public Land (www.tpl.org), NPCA (www.npca.org/support_npca/), and other regional organizations.

• Volunteer in the parks. Many parks are looking for dedicated people who can lend a helping hand. To learn about opportunities at Everglades National Park, contact the park at 305-242-7752.

• Become an NPCA activist and learn about legislative initiatives and Since 1919, the National Parks Con- protection projects affecting parks. When you join our activist net- servation Association has been the work, you will receive Park Lines, a biweekly electronic newsletter with leading voice of the American people the latest park news and ways you can help. Join by visiting in protecting and enhancing our www.npca.org/takeaction. You can also contact NPCA’s Sun Coast National Park System. NPCA and its Regional Office at [email protected] for local activism information. 300,000 members and hundreds of partners work together to protect the • Don’t run aground, take the long way around. Many nearshore park system and preserve our nation's waters in south Florida are dotted with shoals and other shallow areas. natural, historical, and cultural her- Boat carefully in Florida Bay—check your charts, look for marked chan- itage for generations to come. nels, and do not cut across flats. Use the National Oceanic and Atmo- spheric Administration’s chart 33E when navigating the bay, pick up a • More than 300,000 members copy of the Florida Bay Map & Guide, and enroll in a boater safety/ • 8 regional offices education course.

• 35,000 activists

COVER PHOTO: EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK National Parks Conservation Association® Protecting Parks for Future Generations®

1300 19th Street, N.W., Suite 300 Washington, DC 20036 p/ 202.223.6722 f/ 202.659.0650 www.npca.org

PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER