Operation Everglades

THE US Army is not all about Stingermissiles and guerrilla warfare. Its Corpsof Engineers are about to embark onwhat has been labelled as the 'the largestenvironmental restoration project ever'- to spend some us $7.8 billion torestore the Florida Everglades to theirlost glory.

Their plan to dismantle a system ofcanals and levees built earlier to drainthe marshes and make these suitable foragriculture and building would cost aformidable portion of the money, theysay. Ironically, these levees and canalswere built by the Army engineers themselves over the last 50 years. The restoration plan covers some 28,000 sq kin,from Orlando to the Florida Keys,including Lake Okeechobee - the US'sthird largest freshwater lake - and theKissimmee River. "Nothing of this scalehas ever been attempted," said RonTipton of the Worldwide Fund forNature, Washington, USA (Earth News,Vol 12, No 123).

Over the last 50 years, theKissimmee River has been convertedfrom a meandering river which fedthousands of hectares (ha) of wetlandsinto a straight canal that drains waterfrom land rapidly. Lake Okeechobee hasbeen connected by drainage canals tothe Atlantic Ocean to the east and theGulf of Mexico to the west. Further, asystem of canals and levees has channelled water away from wetlands, disrupting the natural hydrological cycle.

This has halved the wetland habitatwithin the Everglades, put 68 species onthe threatened or endangered list anddecreased populations of wading birdsby as much as 90 per cent. It has alsobegun to mean water shortages for thesix million people living in Florida. TheArmy plan will try to restore a more natural water cycle. To accomplish this, 800 kin of canals will be closed and 68,000ha of agricultural land will be turnedinto reservoirs and wetlands.

The final plan will be submitted tothe US Congress in July 1999 after publiccomment. Then Congress will have toauthorise funding and may even pass alaw empowering the Army to buy land.