OCHOPEE - On July 10, the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) joined the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - Jacksonville District (USACE), Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida, Seminole Tribe of Florida, and many other federal, state, and local partners to celebrate the groundbreaking for the first major feature of the Western Everglades Restoration Project (WERP), the L-28 South Culverts, which will support Everglades restoration.

The culverts are part of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) and will restore and reconnect Water Conservation Area 3A with Big Cypress National Preserve and Lostmans Slough. This project is located in an area of South Florida where Water Conservation Area 3, Big Cypress National Preserve and Everglades National Park as well as the Miccosukee Alligator Alley Reservation all come together.

The goal of installing these culverts is to improve the timing and distribution of water to re-establish ecological connectivity and restore hydrologic conditions in Big Cypress National Preserve and western Everglades National Park.

“Everglades restoration is working, and we are proving that increased investments and historic momentum are restoring America’s Everglades. As we work every day to implement the nation’s most ambitious ecosystem restoration effort, I’m proud to see continued progress to further revitalize this treasure,” said SFWMD Governing Board Chairman Chauncey Goss. “Thanks to the unprecedented support from Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Legislature, a strong working relationship with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and support from the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida and the Seminole Tribe of Florida, and many local, state and federal officials, we are breaking ground on this key restoration effort. Every single Everglades project has a benefit to the environment, and expediting these culverts will provide many early benefits to Big Cypress National Preserve and western Everglades National Park.”

“The Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida is excited to see this project, the first groundbreaking of the Western Everglades Restoration Project and related District activities, moving forward after decades of Tribal advocacy. The State and Federal government are finally listening to the Miccosukee and Seminole Tribes and have committed to cleaning the water and better balancing the flows between the east and the west of the Everglades to create wholistic restoration for the entirety of the watershed,” said Chairman Talbert Cypress, Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida. “We applaud the leadership of Governor DeSantis and Executive Director Bartlett, as well as the South Florida Water Management District Board of Governors, for devoting the State’s resources to this crucial project.”

“This is a momentous first step for the Western Everglades Restoration Plan (WERP) to re-establish ecological connectivity of the southern portion of the C&SF system with the Everglades and improve the ecological resilience of the wetland/upland mosaic,” said Col. James Booth, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District commander. “As I prepare to depart command later this month, I am immensely proud of the momentum USACE and SFWMD have created in our Everglades Restoration efforts.”

“Thanks to the support of Governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida Legislature, we are doing more now to protect and restore Florida’s Everglades than ever before,” said Florida Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Shawn Hamilton. “Florida’s environment is central to our economy and the way of life for our growing population, and I’m excited to celebrate more milestones in the future.”

“This project will bring much needed water flows into Lostmans Slough in Big Cypress National Preserve and Everglades National Park, it also benefits the Tribes, and in doing so, it benefits us all and the lands and marine areas we care so much about,” said Pedro Ramos, Superintendent, Everglades and Dry Tortugas National Parks.

“As a longtime resident of Collier County, I am thrilled to see this first component of the Western Everglades Restoration Project come to life and to celebrate this accomplishment with the Seminole Tribe of Florida and the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida. This project will provide hydration to an area starved of water, which resulted in a shift in plant species from marsh to forest. It will benefit the ecology of our beloved River of Grass and our central and western Everglades communities, all the way to the Gulf Coast,” said Ellin Goetz, Vice-Chair of The Everglades Foundation Board of Directors. “Seeing this project get off the ground, once again, reinforces the importance of working together to pave the way for a resilient and thriving Everglades watershed.”

The goal of WERP is to improve the quantity, quality, timing and distribution of water in the western Everglades in an effort to re-establish ecological connectivity and restore low nutrient conditions. WERP includes a mosaic of habitats where we will restore the flow of water, retain habitats for panthers, take away the impact of over-drainage in the natural areas, and maintain flood protection for the developed areas.

WERP is a partnership between the SFWMD, the USACE and the Tribes. Since 2019, the SFWMD and the USACE have celebrated over 70 ribbon cuttings, ground breakings, and major milestones on Everglades restoration and resiliency projects across Central and Southern Florida.