A Mather Economics study commissioned by the Everglades Foundation reveals that financial investment in the restoration of America’s Everglades will pay off four-fold. That is, for every dollar invested in restoring the Everglades, approximately four dollars of economic benefits will be generated. The report cites that the benefits from restoration will come in many forms, ranging from increased employment to avoided costs of removing salt from drinking water supplies.

The study reports that restoring the Everglades will result in increased employment across Florida's most important areas, such as commercial and recreational fishing, real estate services and state tourism.  The South Florida Business Journal writes:

Projections in the study indicated a possible additional 442,644 jobs over 50 years. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers also estimates there will be 22,966 new short- to mid-term jobs created as a result of actual restoration projects.

Since the re-establishment of more natural freshwater flows throughout the Everglades will push back on intruding saltwater that threatens our freshwater drinking supplies, benefits such as groundwater purification and aquifer recharge will result in avoiding the high-cost alternative: desalinization.

Improvements in water quality—leading to fewer algal blooms—from a restored Everglades will lead to higher real estate values for waterfront properties.  The list of benefits from investing to restore the Everglades goes on and on, including an increase of water-reliant bird populations and thus bird watching opportunities.

Clearly, a restored Everglades is an investment we cannot afford not to make.  Click here to read the summary of the economic report or read more at South Florida Business Journal.