Writer: Ryan Gandolfo
2 min read January 2023 — Florida’s future is closely aligned with how the Everglades, which provides drinking water to 8 million people, is protected. A new executive order by Gov. Ron DeSantis provides $3.5 billion in funding over four years for Everglades restoration and protection of water resources. The governor’s office said the investment marks the highest level of funding for the Everglades in Florida’s history.
“This order directs funding and strategic action that will continue our momentum and enhance our ongoing efforts to expedite critical Everglades restoration projects, employ sound science to protect and restore our waterways, and fund infrastructure projects to improve water quality and safeguard Florida’s water supply,” said Desantis in an official press release.
The executive order lists out four key priorities, including investing in water quality and supply to combat the severity of algal blooms as well as restoring the Indian River Lagoon — a 156-mile-long estuary along the east coast of Florida. The order also places a priority on completing vulnerability assessments for all Florida counties and municipalities by 2026, which should help in creating more effective restoration projects going forward.
The subtropical wetlands that stretch more than 3 million acres from Orlando to the Florida Keys are a significant contributor to the state’s economy. According to the National Wildlife Federation, the Everglades supports Florida’s $1.2 billion fishing industry and the Everglades National Park generates $150 million in annual direct spending.
While legislation and investment in recent years have highlighted a heightened concern for the Everglades and the resources it provides animals and people, the unique ecosystem was damaged throughout much of the 20th century. According to the Florida Center for Instructional Technology, 50% of South Florida’s wetland areas no longer exist in their original form, as canals, roads and buildings were built on top of native habitats. The federal government even looked into developing an international airport in the Everglades in the 1960s but decided against it following a strong pushback from the community.
The path to restoring the Everglades has proven long and costly — and requires a combination of state and federal funding. In 2002, President George Bush and Florida Gov. Jeb Bush signed an $8 billion, 30-year federal plan to restore the wetlands and the natural flow of water. The grand plan trailed off years later as funding dried up and thousands of acres of wildlife habitats continued to disappear as a result of a growing construction industry, according to the New York Times.
Twenty years later, the Biden administration allocated $1.5 billion toward South Florida’s world-famous Everglades for long-term resilience projects and initiatives. “It is the largest federal investment in our River of Grass restoration effort ever,” said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz in a press release following the announcement in July 2022.
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