PRESS
RELEASE: July 9, 2015
EVERGLADES PROJECT CLEARS ANOTHER HURDLE
~Restoration project to improve water quality in the
Everglades’ Western Basins region ~
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Florida
Department of Environmental Protection has authorized the South
Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) to begin the C-139 Annex Restoration
Project (also known as the Sam Jones/Abiaki Prairie) in Hendry County. The
project will provide benefits to groundwater, surface water and water
supply as well as complement other efforts to improve water quality for the
Everglades’ Western Basins region.
“The
department is committed to working closely with the South Florida Water
Management District to restore the Everglades and the larger South Florida
ecosystem," said DEP Deputy Secretary for Ecosystem Restoration Drew
Bartlett. “This project will provide numerous benefits and significantly improves water flows to the Everglades’ Western Basins region.”
The
project’s goals include restoring 17,904 acres of former citrus groves;
restoring natural wet prairie habitat; expanding habitat area for native plant
and animal species; promoting the restoration of a self-sustaining ecosystem;
and maintaining the current level of flood protection for surrounding properties
while contributing to the improvement of water quality in the Everglades.
Historically, environmental features on the site included an Everglades mosaic
of wet prairie, sloughs, depression marshes and tree islands, as well as a
drier prairie, wet flatwoods, oak hammocks and cypress swamp.
To restore the site, which is located north
of the Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation in the Western Basins region,
work will encompass removing citrus trees and other agricultural features,
backfilling of Lateral Canal L-15, controlling exotic/invasive vegetation and
making drainage refinements. This will be followed by large-scale planting of
native vegetation that was historically present on the C-139 Annex Restoration
Project site.
The
restoration will occur in two major phases, with the completion of the first
smaller phase supplying the native plant material for the much larger second
phase. It is anticipated that the major restoration work will begin in 2015 and
be completed by 2020. Once restoration is completed, the site will be
evaluated for recreational opportunities compatible with permitting
requirements and the purposes of the project.
| 
