America’s Everglades is a unique landscape with both incredible biodiversity and economic value. The 644,000-acre Western Everglades Restoration Project (WERP) is essential to restoring the quality, quantity, timing, and distribution of water in Southwest Florida. This December, Congress authorized this project under the Water Resources Development Act of 2024 and Audubon celebrates this important milestone. 

Due to development, pollution, and water flow changes, this area has suffered from habitat loss, overdrainage, poor water quality, and catastrophic wildfires for decades. WERP is a priority for both the Seminole and Miccosukee Tribes of Florida and the only Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan project with documented benefits for their lands.

“We are thrilled to see authorization of this project—a crucial step toward restoring water flow, improving habitats, and protecting imperiled species including Wood Storks and Florida panthers in the Western Everglades,” says Southwest Florida Policy Associate Brad Cornell.

First published in the Fall 2024 State of the Everglades report.