TREX 2000 IAP Trip to the Everglades

This course was offered to familiarize students with North America's most extensive wetland and with the largest watershed reclamation project in this country and possibly the world, the Everglades.

Agricultural runoff from sugar cane plantations has presented a huge problem for the waters of the Everglades. Naturally ologotrophic, the waters have become eutrophied due to unnaturally high levels of phosphorous, 200-300 ppb. The Everglades wetland construction project is composed of 12 interrelated contruction projects. Central to these projects is the construction of six large wetlands totaling over 47,000 acres. These Stormwater Treatment Areas (STAs) will use naturally occurring biological processes to reduce the levels of phosphorous to interim values of 50 ppb.

We visited these areas to study the problems of agricultural runoff and made measurements in select areas to study the efficacy of these restoration projects. An airboat trip took us into the heart of the Everglades. We also made visits to some of the areas in the southern end of the Everglades and to Key Largo in South Florida Bay, where we viewed coral reef ecosystems from a glass bottom boat.

Map of the Everglades
The Everglades, known as the "River of Grass".
The National Park overs 1,506,529 acres, and is one the world's most unique wetlands.

Dr. Michael Chimney lectures to students, Sheila Frankel, and Heidi Nepf on a tower overlooking acres of one of six constructed wetlands. Dr. Chimney is in charge of the phosphate reduction for the South Florida Water Management District.

An alligator, not part of our group, looking for lunch at the Shark Valley entrance to Everglades National Park.

Instructor Don Frankel stands in front of a tour bus at Shark Valley in the northern entrance to the Everglades. We climbed a tower and looked our over miles of sawgrass, saw many alligators, and learned about hardwood hammocks and the small changes of elevation that define the Everglades plant and animal communities. The quality, quantity, and timing of the water that enters the park are critical to the Everlades and its wildlife.

Air boat excursion through the Everglades. We viewed the nesting area of the Snail kite, endangered species found only in the Everglades.
	View of the saw grass in the Everglades
Lyle Thomas, our airboat guide, pointing out areas of invading species of marsh vegetation.

Professor Harry Hemond and students listening to Professor Ron Jones, aquatic biologist, from Florida International University. Professor Jones was one of the architects of the Everglades Forever Act.
	Professor Ron Jones speaking to the students.

Anhingas nesting near Royal Palm Southern Entrance to Everlades National park. They are endangered and found only on the Everglades. Of 265,000 wading birds found nesting in the 1930s, only 18,500 remain.

Undergraduates waiting for glass bottom boat to view the coral reef off Key Largo, South Florida Bay.

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