In the mid-20th century, overzealous developers built hundreds of miles of canals and raised roadbeds in an ill-fated scheme to create residential neighborhoods in the Western Everglades. In the process, they drastically altered the natural water levels of the region, destroying habitat for wading birds, fish, and more. Most of the roads and canals in the area formerly known as Southern Golden Gate Estates are in the process of being removed, while three new pump stations are already reducing the flooding risk of nearby communities.

As the first Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Program (CERP) project to begin construction, the Picayune Strand Restoration Project will restore water flows to a portion of Collier County in Southwest Florida.

When complete, the project aims to:

• Restore flows to nearly 70,000 acres of wetlands and uplands in the Picayune Strand as well as nearby public lands such as the Fakahatchee Strand State Preserve and the Collier-Seminole State Park.
• Restore the natural water flow to the Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge and Rookery Bay Reserve.
• Recharge the aquifer.
• Reduce overdrainage.
• Improve salinity balances in tens of thousands of acres of coastal estuaries.
• Improve fire management and habitat for threatened species.

Audubon continues to work with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the South Florida Water Management District to promote cutting-edge restoration science and boots-on-the-ground policy knowledge to improve the health of the Everglades for birds and people.

This article originally appeared in the Fall 2023 State of the Everglades report.