Audubon of Florida today released a call for bold action on Everglades restoration in light of scientific consideration that this unique ecosystem is reaching an ecological tipping point beyond which environmental degradation becomes irreversible.

“As the National Research Council found, to do nothing is to do harm,” Executive Director David Anderson said. “That is simply unacceptable. We need to prioritize and act quickly to avoid a major ecological collapse.”

Amongst the solutions to heal the Everglades, Audubon calls for prioritizing key restoration projects and bundling other inter-dependent projects in the core areas of the southern Everglades.

Audubon’s call to action, titled, Tipping Point for the Everglades: Bold Restoration Action Needed, cites several key indicators of a declining Everglades ecosystem, including the loss of major wading bird nesting colonies, almost two-thirds of the snail kite population, recurrent algal blooms in Florida Bay, and the lowest number of roseate spoonbills nesting in northeastern Florida Bay last year since 1963.

“Our understanding of the ecosystem has improved over the more than a century that Audubon has been protecting birds and the ecological health of the Everglades. We need focused action now to restore the ecology of the system and recover the magnificent birds and wildlife that call it home. Everglades restoration needs to prioritize implementation and re-organize critical projects for immediate ecological and hydrological benefits.” Anderson said. ”Our call is to take a look at the projects that are realistically doable and absolutely necessary to bring the Everglades back from the brink.”  

Audubon calls for bold action on:

 • Science Building Blocks: Adaptive Management (an iterative process of optimal decision making used in restoration) and collaborative planning have proven successful in restoring the Kissimmee River and should be more aggressively incorporated into the Everglades Restoration program. The large body of new science that has accumulated since the completion of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) plan needs to be effectively integrated into the Everglades program.

• Florida Bay: The state and federal components of the C-111 projects must be implemented in a manner that delivers sufficient freshwater flows to Florida Bay to reverse ecological decline.

• Core Freshwater Everglades: The opportunity exists to be more efficient with restoration planning by bundling key, inter-dependent projects in the core areas of the southern Everglades. Multi-project planning provides opportunities to streamline government processes and increases the probability that the total amount of clean water available to the Everglades will be distributed in the most ecologically smart patterns. Bundling of interrelated projects will result in the most successful and comprehensive regional-scaled planning, and would reduce costs by combining resources, administration, and planning.

• Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA): Prioritize completion of land acquisition, and use the newly acquired land in a manner that will provide the earliest ecological benefits. Land in the EAA is essential for increased storage, treatment and conveyance of water from Lake Okeechobee south through the EAA in order to provide enough clean water to restore the downstream core and southern Everglades ecosystems.

• Lake Okeechobee and the Northern Estuaries: Greatly increased water storage capacity and pollution control efforts are critical to achieving system-wide ecological benefits, and must remain a priority.

To download the report directly, go to:  http://audubonoffloridanews.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/final-audubon-call-for-everglades-prioritization-dec1008.pdf