FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  February 10, 2004
CONTACT: Randy Smith, (561) 682-6197

Florida Continues March to Restore America's Everglades

--2004 Everglades Consolidated Report released--

AMERICA’s EVERGLADES -- The South Florida Water Management District and the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) today released the 2004 Everglades Consolidated Report. Sixth in an annual series, the extensive, 400-page report highlights Florida’s science-based plan to improve water quality and restore America’s Everglades.

“We made enormous strides in 2003, not only in improving water quality flowing into the Everglades today but in finalizing important programs that will protect the ecosystem for decades to come,” said District Executive Director Henry Dean.

Highlights of the 2004 report:

• In 2003, Florida adopted a stringent, science-based water quality standard of 10 parts per billion for phosphorus in the Everglades. To achieve the stringent standard, the State is filtering pollution from water entering the marsh through the largest system of man-made wetlands in the world.
• In line with a three-year trend, modified farming practices in the Everglades Agricultural Area reduced phosphorus loads to the Everglades by 57 percent, more than twice the 25 percent reduction required by the Everglades Forever Act. Agricultural programs, together with man-made treatment marshes have removed 1,400 metric tons of phosphorus that otherwise would have entered the River of Grass.
• Mercury concentrations found in fish and wading birds in the Everglades have dropped by at least 60 percent from a decade ago.
• · Remote sensing techniques revealed a slowdown in the spread of cattail in Water Conservation Area 2A, when compared to the 1991-1995 period.
• Biological control is showing promise reducing the spread of the exotic tree, melaleuca. The melaleuca snout beetle reduced flowering in this invasive plant by up to 80 percent, while a second insect, the sap-sucking psyllid, is eliminating melaleuca seedlings.
• Construction of an ecosystem research site for studying the landscape effects of water flow is nearing completion. The Loxahatchee Impoundment Landscape Assessment facility will aid in interpreting complex monitoring data and evaluating the effectiveness of restoration projects before their large-scale implementation.

“Thanks to committed funding, outstanding performance of pollution control programs and science-based plans for further improvements, Florida is saving America’s Everglades,” said DEP Secretary David B. Struhs. “The secret to our success is staying focused on first-rate science, engineering and management. It is a proven formula that has helped us achieve tremendous progress.”