DEP and SFWMD Celebrate Two Years of Construction Progress at Picayune Strand

“While most of the other Acceler8 projects focus on the building of massive reservoirs to store water and stormwater treatment areas to cleanse the water, the Picayune Strand Restoration Project is one of only three projects restoring the natural water flow through demolition,” said DEP South District Office Director Jon Iglehart. “The unwavering commitment by local and state leaders to restore and stabilize the Everglades is vital to maintaining the quality of life that makes South Florida so unique.”

Among the milestones achieved to date, nearly half of the more than 160 existing structures on the Picayune Strand have been demolished as part of the restoration. In addition, more than 400 industrial truck loads totaling 7,200 tons of milled asphalt have been removed from nearly 70 miles of roads that are currently being degraded to restore blocked flowways. In addition, the Florida Division of Forestry is stockpiling the milled asphalt for future road maintenance, and used tires, concrete rubble and steel from abandoned vehicles have been set aside for recycling.

“One of the great benefits of this project will be the creation of new, prime habitat for various threatened or endangered species,” said Alice J. Carlson, ex-officio chair of the Big Cypress Basin Board and member of the South Florida Water Management District Governing Board. “In particular, the Florida panther needs large tracts of land to survive, and this project will restore more than 50,000 acres of pristine panther habitat adjacent to the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge. The expanded range should have a very favorable impact on Florida’s panther population.”

Project managers anticipate that more than 40 miles of canals will be plugged by the end of 2007 to allow back-flooding into adjacent wetlands and restore the natural habitat of numerous protected species. Demolition of all manmade structures also is projected to be completed by next year, and altogether, more than 260 miles of roads are expected to be removed or regraded by 2009, completing the restoration effort.

“The Picayune Strand Restoration Project is setting the pace for all of the more than 60 planned projects within the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, and the importance of achieving these milestones cannot be understated,” added Carol Ann Wehle, executive director of the South Florida Water Management District. “This collaborative effort has brought together a very talented, dedicated team of scientists and engineers, who have been on the ground daily, addressing numerous challenges successfully and breaking new ground in environmental restoration.”

Announced by Governor Jeb Bush in October 2004, Acceler8 is stepping up the pace of funding, design and construction to complete eight Everglades restoration projects over seven years. The projects will restore 100,000 acres of wetlands, expand water treatment areas by close to 29,000 acres and provide 428,000 acre-feet of additional water storage for Everglades restoration a decade ahead of schedule. Six of the eight Acceler8 projects are already underway. Since February 2006, the State has expanded three Everglades Agricultural Area treatment wetlands and launched construction on the C-43 Caloosahatchee West Storage Reservoir, the C-44 St. Lucie Canal Reservoir/Stormwater Treatment Area, the Acme Basin B Discharge Project and the Everglades Agricultural Area Reservoir.

Under the leadership of Governor Bush, Florida has forged ahead to implement the $10.9 billion, state-federal Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan. Since 2000, Florida has invested more than $2 billion of the committed $3.3 billion through the end of the decade to clean up and restore the famed River of Grass.

For more information on Acceler8, visit www.evergladesnow.org.