In the Florida Bay, which has salty water, a different ecosystem is present. That is dominated by seagrass, as shown in this photo:
As one would expect, detailed vegetation maps of the Everglades have been produced. This one used ground observations, aerial photography, and space imagery. The use of satellites has become a chief means of updating vegetation distribution and health in the Everglades.
Not shown on the map are exotic foreign plants and trees that are invasive and very detrimental to the floral health of the Everglades. Some of these were purposedly imported because their establishment "seemed" to be beneficial. But they have flourished and spread over much of the region at the expense of native vegetation which is being crowded out. In the plans to recover the Everglades, they are targets for control or even eradication. Two of the most damaging culprits are the Melaleuca trees (also called "punk" or "paperbark tea" trees) brought from Australia where these are beneficial (source of Cajuput oil used in medicine) and the Brazilian Pepper from South America which is so easily spread as to choke off most other vegetation.
The faunal life of the Everglades is varied but leans towards animals that can function well in a water-dominated ecology. An adaptable exception is the now rare (about 50 left) Florida Panther, which is mostly like to be encountered in the Big Cypress. This cat can reach lengths over 6 feet.
Another endangered mammal is the aquatic Manatee (an animal related to Elephants that evolved as an aquatic dweller), found over much of the Everglades.
The Everglades is the only habitat on Earth where both alligators and crocodiles coexist. Here are photos of each
Among the reptilian population are snakes. Three of the four poisonous types - Water Moccasin (Cottonmouth), Rattlesnake, and Coral Snake - occur in the Everglades. The most common and threatening is the Moccasin, since it can be agressive, and does climb small trees whose branches overhang water - leading to the rare but real possibility of dropping into one's boat.
The subtropical Everglades is a very popular region for those who study birds. An interesting avian population is characteristic. This is what attracted the writer (NMS) - an avid birder - to Florida in the summer of 1990. I set a goal of 25 life birds (birds new to my list) and returned home with exactly 25 of these. These scenes are typical of bird life in the Everglades:
Two key life birds I had missed as I neared the end of my 7 day birding trip were the Wood Stork and the famed Everglades Snail Kite. With but a few hours before air departure, I decided to stop along the Sawgrass Expressway west of Fort Lauderdale. The picture below is close to my stopping point - it illustrates how abruptly the urban coastal stretch abuts against the eastern edge of the Everglades (on the left):
I left the highway, climbed an embankment, and looked west over marshes. In no time, I'd seen more than 20 Wood Storks, flying and perched:
Then, the luck of the trip was granted me. At the base of the embankment was a drainage canal (black band in the Expressway picture, near white line). As I almost decided to leave, a hawk flew along the canal about 10 feet above its surface. This was a Snail Kite seeking food. What a climax! Here is a picture of this bird - a male adult, I think I saw an immature or female.
With our "Get Acquainted" Tour behind us, lets now look at some specialized satellite images. The first is an unusual color rendition of Landsat TM bands..
Here is a pseudo-natural color image made by the Landsat7-ETM+ sensor.
This next image appears frequently on the Internet as a prime example of space art. It is produced again from Landsat7-ETM+ bands and covers the area around the center of the above image:
Next is a classified subscene using Landsat image data to separate vegetation types (unfortunately the legend is missing).
This MISR sensor on the Terra spacecraft has produced this scene of the Everglades, in which the darker areas near the southwest shorelines are mangrove swamps (these appear in purple in the above classified image).
On the ground, mangroves appear as dense leafy trees:
This SPOT image highlights, in bright red, part of this mangrove habitat along the coast.
Water in the mangroves tends to be brackish (mixture of salt and fresh waters). The root systems of mangroves are effective in trapping sediments, so in time some mangrove clusters can convert themselves into small islands.
The Everglades when examined by satellite radar reveal some remarkable features including the submerged keys that extend through Florida Bay. We show now a Seasat image, to be soon again in Section 8:
The radar image below shows some of the elongate hammocks in the central Everglades whose shapes are controlled by the directional flow (streamlining) of Everglades water over the centuries:
To cap off this satellite extravaganaza, we show two extremes: first, another mosaic of the southern half of Florida, this time in winter in contrast to the mosaic at the beginning of the page; second, several of the individual cays (pronounced "keys") imaged by an unknown satellite sensor (MODIS or ASTER?).
IKONOS has sent back many Everglades images. The first one shows the coral islands in Florida Bay; the second the Keys themselves; then an aerial photo zeroes in on one of the islands, and beneath that is a view from a sandy beach:
So, before we summarize the past efforts and present dilemmas in trying to 'Save the Everglades', we will show three more pictures that suggest how satellite imagery will help. The first is a Landsat7-ETM+ view of part of the northern Everglades, with the Everglades Agricultural Area (just south of Lake Okeechobee) on the left, marshland in the center, and residential development southwest of West Palm Beach on the right. Updates over time of various parts of the region will aid in specifying change detection.
A prime task using both ground and aerial data and satellite data will be to periodically redo the vegetation distribution. Hyperspectral data (presently from aircraft overflights) can yield distinct signatures.
The four vegetation types shown are: 1) Typha = Cattails; 2) Cladium = Sawgrass; 3) Nymphaea = Water Lilies; 4) Sorphus = Rushes.
Here is a classified scene that used satellite data.
Lest one gains the impression that people alone are the prime cause of ecological damage and habitat degeneration, we should remark that hurricanes that pass over the Everglades can impose much destruction, mainly on the vegetation (fauna generally can "ride out the storm"). This effect was especially serious after direct hits by Hurricane Donna in 1960 and Hurricane Andrew in 1992. This picture below shows the tree and brush conditions in a hammock after Andrew passed overhead:
Despite the ravages of nature, if the Everglades degeneration accountable to humans' relentless lust for land is to be stopped and, more hopefully, reversed, many drastic decisions and well-funded implementations must be made. The next two examples are part of the mix needed. See their captions
In recent years, there has been a groundswell of interest is restoring and preserving the Everglades. This wholesome attitude can be traced to a now famous book "The Everglades: River of Grass" written in 1947 by Marjory Stoneman Douglas - to whom this page is dedicated - who tirelessly pursued her life's mission of "Saving the Everglades" until she died at age 108 in 2003.
The effort will require a huge budget, cooperation between Federal, Florida State, regional and local agencies, and individuals. More importantly, it will take a real committment by American citizens to wish to keep this great national treasure. Modest improvements began in the 1980s and seemingly accelerated with passage in Congress of the Everglades Forever Act of 1994. But appropriations were slow and implementation lagged. In 2000 Congress took a giant step in passing (89 to 1 in the Senate) the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP), budget then at $7.8 billion dollars (now, with inflation $10 billion). Some 68 agencies and organizations are to participate, of which the Army Corp of Engineers and the South Florida Water Management District have lead roles.
Although there are many goals and projects, the primary objective is to bring back most of the natural drainage system extant when Florida was sparsely inhabited. This illustration summarizes the water flow plan, which will involve piping much more water from Lake Okeechobee through the Agricultural area (to be retained but reallocated) into both the Shark River and Taylor Sloughs, with less removed via the canals:
A good overview of CERP is found at this CERP Fact Sheet site.
With regret, the writer must report that CERP efforts have been largely stalled. Only a fraction of the funding earmarked by Congress and the Administration has been appropriated - far too little after 5 years to start the turnaround. No single major project has been brought along. Budgetary problems with the Iraq war, hurricane relief, and Social Security and Medicare refinancing are part of the reason. Ironically, the Federal Bush Administration is hedging on its willingness to push on even as the President's brother, then-Governor Jeb Bush, has seized the initiative by spending more that a $billion dollars of state monies to start up or shore up some critical tasks.
One senses the same lack of understanding, forward thinking, and steely resolve in the shunting aside of the Everglades program that has a close parallel with the failed hurricane protection programs that led to the 2005 Katrina/Rita and especially Wilma disasters (see page 14-10). Let's hope that the lessons learned from inadequate protection of wetlands along the Gulf Coast can awaken those responsible for a meaningful "Save the Everglades" program.
