22
undermining the importance of protection for Everglades fish, plant, and wildlife
resources (Light et al. 1995). Between 1950 and 1960, the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers dug over 200 km of canals and improved or built over 450 km of levees
(Light and Dineen 1994). During that construction, the East Coast Protective Levee
was completed, which protected cities on the east coast from flooding while creating water storage in the newly formed WCAs. Work was also completed on a network of canals and levees in the EAA, creating close to 3000 km
2
acres of
nutrient-rich peat and muck soil for farming uses (Snyder and Davidson 1994).
Realizing that south Florida’s natural resources were not being properly managed, the Florida legislature, in 1972, enacted the Water Resources Act that changed
the Flood Control District to the current day South Florida Water Management
District (SFWMD) (Light et al. 1995; Water Resources Development Act 2000).
The enactment of this legislation had drastic effects on the dynamics of water management in the Everglades region and allowed the SFWMD to function as the local
co-operator for the federally authorized C&SF Project. Specifically, SFWMD’s
authority included flood protection, water quality protection, and environmental
protection and enhancement of the Everglades (Light and Dineen 1994).
1.3.2 Kissimmee River Restoration Project
Located in the northern Everglades, the Kissimmee River Basin encompasses more
than two dozen bodies of freshwater in the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes (KCOL),
their tributary streams and associated marshes, and the Kissimmee River and floodplain (Lodge 1994). This basin serves as the driving force behind the hydrologic
activity in south Florida and forms the headwaters of both Lake Okeechobee and the
Everglades. In its pristine state, the Kissimmee River once meandered for over
160 km through central Florida, with a floodplain that reached up to 5 km wide
when inundated by heavy seasonal rains (McVoy et al. 2011). Native wetland plants,
wading birds, and fish thrived there under these conditions. However, prolonged
flooding in 1947 prompted a public outcry for federal assistance to reduce flood
damage to property and in 1948, the U.S. Congress authorized the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers to deepen, straighten, and widen the waterway, which included the
construction of canals and water control structures to achieve flood control in the
Upper and Lower Kissimmee basins (Light and Dineen 1994; Light et al. 1995).
From 1960 to 1971, the Kissimmee River was transformed from a beautiful,
meandering river into a 90 km long ditch, 90 m wide and 10 m deep, known as the
C-38 canal (Chimney and Goforth 2001). In addition, six water control structures
were created to manage flooding within the central Florida basin (Gunderson 2001).
As a result of this ditch-and-drain effort (see Finkl 1995), the wetland-dependent
flora and fauna that once thrived in the Kissimmee River system declined drastically
(Craft et al. 1995). While the project delivered on the promise of flood protection, it
also destroyed much of a floodplain-dependent ecosystem that nurtured threatened
and endangered species, as well as hundreds of other native fish and wetlandC.W. Finkl and C. Makowski
undermining the importance of protection for Everglades fish, plant, and wildlife
resources (Light et al. 1995). Between 1950 and 1960, the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers dug over 200 km of canals and improved or built over 450 km of levees
(Light and Dineen 1994). During that construction, the East Coast Protective Levee
was completed, which protected cities on the east coast from flooding while creating water storage in the newly formed WCAs. Work was also completed on a network of canals and levees in the EAA, creating close to 3000 km
2
acres of
nutrient-rich peat and muck soil for farming uses (Snyder and Davidson 1994).
Realizing that south Florida’s natural resources were not being properly managed, the Florida legislature, in 1972, enacted the Water Resources Act that changed
the Flood Control District to the current day South Florida Water Management
District (SFWMD) (Light et al. 1995; Water Resources Development Act 2000).
The enactment of this legislation had drastic effects on the dynamics of water management in the Everglades region and allowed the SFWMD to function as the local
co-operator for the federally authorized C&SF Project. Specifically, SFWMD’s
authority included flood protection, water quality protection, and environmental
protection and enhancement of the Everglades (Light and Dineen 1994).
1.3.2 Kissimmee River Restoration Project
Located in the northern Everglades, the Kissimmee River Basin encompasses more
than two dozen bodies of freshwater in the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes (KCOL),
their tributary streams and associated marshes, and the Kissimmee River and floodplain (Lodge 1994). This basin serves as the driving force behind the hydrologic
activity in south Florida and forms the headwaters of both Lake Okeechobee and the
Everglades. In its pristine state, the Kissimmee River once meandered for over
160 km through central Florida, with a floodplain that reached up to 5 km wide
when inundated by heavy seasonal rains (McVoy et al. 2011). Native wetland plants,
wading birds, and fish thrived there under these conditions. However, prolonged
flooding in 1947 prompted a public outcry for federal assistance to reduce flood
damage to property and in 1948, the U.S. Congress authorized the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers to deepen, straighten, and widen the waterway, which included the
construction of canals and water control structures to achieve flood control in the
Upper and Lower Kissimmee basins (Light and Dineen 1994; Light et al. 1995).
From 1960 to 1971, the Kissimmee River was transformed from a beautiful,
meandering river into a 90 km long ditch, 90 m wide and 10 m deep, known as the
C-38 canal (Chimney and Goforth 2001). In addition, six water control structures
were created to manage flooding within the central Florida basin (Gunderson 2001).
As a result of this ditch-and-drain effort (see Finkl 1995), the wetland-dependent
flora and fauna that once thrived in the Kissimmee River system declined drastically
(Craft et al. 1995). While the project delivered on the promise of flood protection, it
also destroyed much of a floodplain-dependent ecosystem that nurtured threatened
and endangered species, as well as hundreds of other native fish and wetlandC.W. Finkl and C. Makowski