Spotlight On: Stormwater Treatment Areas

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iAQdfAEZi4 What's an STA anyway? On the fringes of the Everglades Agricultural Area, south of Lake Okeechobee, sit tens of thousands of acres of man-made wetlands called stormwater treatment areas, or STAs. These marshes, managed by the South Florida Water Management District, were designed to use native and non-native aquatic vegetation to clean water of damaging fertilizer runoff from surrounding agricultural land and the polluted Lake Okeechobee, before the clean, fresh water flows south to nourish the River of Grass. They are a crucial tool for Everglades restoration and for protecting coastal estuaries. The STAs are arguably the most effective Everglades-restoration projects ever built by man — because they emulate Mother Nature. That said, their full strength will be [...]

2023-01-31T08:44:44-05:00January 31st, 2023|Science-driven solutions, Spotlight On|

Honoring Tom Van Lent: 2022 recipient of our Outstanding Scientific Achievement in Everglades Restoration award

The Marjory Stoneman Douglas Outstanding Scientific Achievement in Everglades Restoration award acknowledges contributions to science-based solutions that drive forward the central mission of Friends of the Everglades: to preserve, protect and restore the only Everglades in the world.  No person has brought about more recent advancements in Everglades-restoration science than Dr. Thomas Van Lent. Tom built a science program that provides a credible basis for advocacy — one that the entire Everglades community has leaned on as guidance for action — and has been directly involved in nearly every major Everglades issue for the past two decades, from water-quality litigation to Everglades restoration projects. Friends of the Everglades board member Alan Farago said it best when presenting Tom [...]

2022-12-08T15:30:09-05:00December 8th, 2022|Marjory Stoneman Douglas, Science-driven solutions|