Limiting factors of Everglade recovery

    The Everglades is far from its former glory and may never see that form again, especially if we don’t help. The Everglades are in South Florida and span over 50 miles creating what is known as the river of grass. Sadly this is shrinking and is only half the size of the pre-colonization Everglades, accelerating the decline each year for residential and commercial buildings. Due to a recent supreme court decision, the Clean Water act is being reversed on 29 percent of all Florida streams. The fish have become contaminated as they have the highest mercury concentrations of any Florida fish causing disruption in the ecosystem. Runoff from nearby sugar fields has caused 3 and a half times more phosphate concentrations than what is safe leading to algae blooms in the gulf. Furthermore, the lake has seen a drastic decline in water level and is overrun with invasive species such as the Burmese Python.