1980S, AFTER A CENTURY OF ABUSE, A DECADE OF PROTECTION AND RESTORATION OF THE EVERGLADES (FLORIDA)

In the 1980s, confronted by severe problems created by one hundred years of drainage and flood control in Florida, public officials realized a new policy, while continuing to provide flood protection, must protect the environment and wildlife. This involved restoring the natural water flows to wildlife refuges, Everglades National Park, and other wetland areas. New legislation controlling the water supply, water quality, and the wetlands was passed. The Save Our Everglades program proposed to restore the Everglades (the Kissimmee River Basin, Lake Okeechobee and the Everglades) to look and function more as it did in 1900 than in 1983 when the program was initiated. Problems, primarily caused by increasing population and agriculture, continued to thwart restoration efforts.