Railroads constructed by entrepreneurs like Henry B. What started happening with the Everglades in the 1880’s? Answer. Credits  |  Today the lake supports sportfishing and has been called the “Bass Fishing Capital of the World.” After the fishing industry died, farming took its place. Census records from that year reveal that many of the African Americans living in Flamingo were born in the Bahamas and Jamaica. World War ll  |  How is the Everglades the same and different from places you have visited or know about? Why is the Everglades important to American alligators and crocodiles? Meanwhile, they can keep proclaiming themselves pro-environment because they support restoring the Everglades, even as they keep approving roads and other development-related projects that will cause additional environmental damage — damage that will, just like the Everglades, need to be fixed at taxpayer expense sometime in the future. Communities  |  In the early 1900's people started trying to drain the Everglades so they could build homes and communities on the land. The restoration of the Everglades is an ongoing effort to remedy damage inflicted on the environment of southern Florida during the 20th century. They were seen as having no utility to humans B. It became the trade center for homesteaders who occupied the deserted Calusa sites scattered throughout the Ten Thousand Islands region. Who doesn't love being #1? According to historians, From the middle of the ninetee Everglades Destruction Over the past hundred years, the Everglades has been suffering from pollution, water loss, loss of habitat, and loss of wildlife. These places are—because of their nature of being on the fringe—full of all kinds of wildlife, and they’re actually very peaceful and serene places. As far back as 1847, promoters of south Florida real estate proposed “reclaiming” the Everglades – making it usable, salable, and profitable – by dredging a few canals to drain off excess water. Expanded dredging efforts between 1905 and 1910 transformed large tracts from wetland to agricultural land. The hurricane of 1928 was an even better reason. The degradation of the Everglades became an issue in the United States in the early 1970s after a proposal to construct an airport in the Big Cypress Swamp. In the 1800s, speculators started dredging and draining the Everglades, but it wasnt until the early 20th century that the harmful side effects were apparent. Rainfall varies spatially across southern Florida so that the inland marshes and Lake Okeechobee only receive about 60 percent of the rainfall levels recorded in the coastal areas (Gunderson and Loftus 1993). Land Boom & Bust  |  A fter heavy rains in May drove up water levels in Lake Okeechobee, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began discharging water into rivers to the west and east of the lake.. Now, Gov. 1870-1960 How much time passes between the hurricane and the onset of Tea Cake's illness? 2. mail: P.O. Between 1905 and 1910, large tracts of land were converted to agriculture. Why is it Important to Restore the Everglades? Throughout a wetland you will find swamps and marshes that are full of shrubs, grassy plants, and really cool animals. visit: 300 N. Dixie Hwy, W.P.B., FL 33401, © 2009 Historical Society of Palm Beach County  |  all photos courtesy HSPBC unless otherwise noted. Plant and Henry M. Flagler made the region more accessible and attractive to tourists. Census records from that year reveal that many of the African Americans living in Flamingo were born in the Bahamas and Jamaica. This abundance of "new" land stimulated the first of several south Florida land booms. The phrase drain the swamp was originally popularized to reference the literal removal of water from marshy areas. Home  |  The Everglades is internationally known for its extraordinary wildlife. Each Everglades boat is built with patented features and quality craftsmanship you simply won’t find in other brands. While the project still provides many of the intended benefits, the alteration of regional wetland areas, estuaries, and bays — combined with increasing population pressures and changing land uses — has significantly degraded the natural system. In 1845, when Florida first became a state, the legislature took the first steps to drain the Everglades. Draining and development dates back to the early 1900’s and many projects designed to alter the Everglades went unquestioned. Beyond gaining cash from farming or charcoal sales, people depended on hunting small game and fishing for food. In 1906, Gov. The drainage of the Everglades began in 1906 with the hope that at least 500,000 acres of wetlands would be converted to fertile soil for farming. Many inhabitants of the outlying islands were forced to abandon their homesteads. The Everglades National Park is the largest surviving subtropical wilderness in the US. It is the most expensive and comprehensive environmental repair attempt in history. Be the first to answer! Only the highest ground of the old Calusa shell mound remained above water. 7. As Florida became part of the Union and also more settled, businessman and government officials looked to Florida's swamplands, the Everglades in particular, to drain for use as agricultural land, according to the University of Florida. Draining the swamps created rich farmland, but also left the area prone to flooding. This purchase started wheels turning that did not stop through lawsuits, government resolutions, land grants, studies, and contracts made and cancelled. Attempts were underway to drain and farm large parts of The Everglades (a huge expanse of wetlands in southern Florida). A. It also permanently severed the natural connection be-tween the Everglades proper and its headwaters. The year 1948 marked an even greater change when Congress authorized the Central and South Florida Project. Copyright  |  The collapse of the frontier Seminole economy in the 1920s threatened the Florida Indians with assimilation and extinction. Dredging the Everglades, 1924 An even greater danger threatened to destroy the entire Everglades: proposals to drain the marshes and turn the vast wetland into a developer's dream. Huge expanse of wetlands in southern Florida ) 360 bird species can be found in Everglades could bring hurricanes. An effort to remedy damage inflicted on the water for houses County: `` the Everglades and miles... Of these exotics are successful because they take advantage of unnatural alterations to the early 1900 s... 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