The day began with smoke, smoke off the sugarcane fields.
Yesterday, Ed and I took a flight from Stuart to Everglades City, passing Chokoloskee and photographing the EAA Reservoir lands along the way. It is huge out there in the “Everglades,” seemingly endless. The easiest way to get one’s bearings is to look for the Miami and New River Canals that run south of Lake Okeechobee. Highway 27 parallels the New River Canal; where the red balloon is located above is the area east of where the EAA Reservoir will be constructed. For more specifics see link (https://jacquithurlowlippisch.com/tag/a-1-aerial/)
For Ed and I the flight, although hazy, was an opportunity to learn to recognize from the air Water Conservation Area 3, just south of the EAA Reservoir Area. The water conservation area lands are not located in Everglades National Park, but water quality is protected.
“To me these are the Everglades,” Ed said looking down.
“They are but they aren’t,” I replied. “They are part of the Central and South Florida Project, they are not natural; they are controlled. When they are too full from EAA water, the water from Lake O is not allowed to go south. If too full, from rain, or otherwise the animals can drown. Trapped on the tree islands raccoon, and deer, and panther together. Terrible.”
“Why can’t the water just flow south,” Ed asked.
“Lot of reasons, people like to say it’s because of an endangered bird, but its bigger than that, mostly because we have chosen to make it that way, and powerful entities keep our legislature from changing it in spite of what the voters say.” (SFWMD Constraints: https://apps.sfwmd.gov/SystemConstraintsDataApp/)
Ed did not reply.
We looked forward to what appeared to be little hills. The cypress domes of Big Cypress National Park reflected in the sunlight, and I could see “end of the earth” Chockoloskee right next to Everglades City in the distance. Pretty…
I can understand why people like to live down there so far away from everything. But they too can not escape our problems ~not with water.
WCAs: https://archive.usgs.gov/archive/sites/sofia.usgs.gov/virtual_tour/controlling/wca.html
Water Conservation Area 3: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_Conservation_Area_3
Big Cypress National Preserve: https://www.nps.gov/bicy/index.htm
Chockoloskee: https://www.florida-everglades.com/chokol/home.htm
Cape Seaside Sparrow:
http://www.wlrn.org/post/controversial-bird-should-everglades-restoration-hinge-single-species
https://sofia.usgs.gov/projects/atlss/sparrows/ibsemabgeer00.html#fig1
https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/seaside-sparrow
I love it that you and Ed share your photos from above. I’m still trying to understand this whole thing…keep educating me! Appreciate this so much. Happy New Year!
Thank you both for the helpful and insightful reporting. And the beautiful photos. Happy n safe 2109
wow so amazing to look via this view!
The WCAs are good habitats and are just as much a part of the Everglades as the Park. In fact, better managed except when they are flooded during rain events. They are flooded because most of the year, even during three months of the wet season, even if there is a rain event, flows are restricted to protect the Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow. Endangered Species. Even
With the “deviation” granted by the U S Dept of Interior, only about 6000 cfs is allowed to flow under the Tamiami Trail from January to mid July. (Some years longer, this year the restrictions began in October). This blockage overfills the WCAs and prevents draining the Lake, forcing the USACE to drain the Lake out the C 43 and C 44, destroying the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee. Anyone telling you otherwise is putting out false information.
I want to learn more about this. Thank you Newton!