USGS Science for Restoration of South Florida:

The South Florida Ecosystem Program

INTRODUCTION

As land and resource managers see the value of their 

resources diminish, and the public watches the environments 

they knew as children become degraded, there are increasing 

calls to restore what has been lost, or to build productive 

ecosystems that will be healthy and sustainable under the 

conditions of human use. The U.S. Geological Survey’s 

(USGS) Placed-Based Studies Program was established to 

provide sound science for resource managers in critical ecosystems such as South Florida (fig. 1). The program, which 

began in south Florida in 1995, provides relevant information, high-quality data, and models to support decisions for 

ecosystem restoration and management. The program 

applies multi- and interdisciplinary science to address 

regional and subregional environmental resources issues.

ENVIRONMENTAL RESTORATION: 

A PARTNERSHIP

A consensus has emerged among Federal and State 

agencies and environmental groups that south Florida and the 

Everglades (fig. 1) ecosystem should be restored as much as 

possible to its original condition. Following the settlement of 

a lawsuit on Everglades water quality, a Federal task force, 

chaired by the Department of the Interior (DOI), was formed 

in 1993 to oversee restoration efforts (fig. 2). The task force 

was enlarged in 1995 to include 25 representatives of Federal 

and State agencies and Indian tribes. A Science Coordination 

Team (SCT), consisting of representatives of these agencies 

and tribes, advises the task force (fig. 2) on scientific investigations 

needed to support restoration. These investigations include characterizing and comparing the predrainage system with the present system, 

determining key characteristics of the predevelopment ecosystem, 

providing natural science input to and assessment of the redesign of 

Kissimmee River

Caloosahatchee River

E V E R G L A D E S

F l o r i d a B a y

F l o r i d a Ke y s

Lake

Okeechobee

GULF

OF

MEXICO

ATLANTIC OCEAN

Biscayne

Bay

Figure 2. Diagram of science development for the 

restoration of south Florida.

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

USGS Fact Sheet FS-061-99

February 1999

Lawsuit

Settlement

Agreement

Agency

Representatives

DOI Federal Task Force (1993)

Task Force

(Enlarged to Include State

and Indian Tribes, 1995)

South Florida Working Group

Science Coordination Team

Science Plan

Research and Studies

Figure 1. Satellite image of south Florida showing boundary of 

the South Florida Ecosystem Program.
structures and operations of the Central and Southern Florida 

Project Comprehensive Review Study (the Restudy), assessing 

the hydrologic and ecological results of the Restudy modifications 

through pre- and postmodification monitoring and modeling, 

modifying the design of the modifications to make improvements 

based on monitoring and modeling results, and characterizing the 

potential effect of the project on mercury accumulation. Many of 

the scientific activities are carried out by the USGS, which is the 

principal science agency of the DOI. The USGS works and collaborates with researchers in academia, State Government, and 

elsewhere in the Federal Government to bring the right mix of 

expertise needed for the scientific task.

SOUTH FLORIDA ECOSYSTEM PROGRAM

The South Florida Ecosystem Program is one of the Nation’s 

Placed-Based Studies. The program began with a diverse body of 

projects encompassing cartographic, geologic, and hydrologic 

disciplines, and was guided from the start by scientific demands 

of ecosystem restoration. Projects have been selected based on 

the ranking of proposals by agencies involved in restoration, or 

based on the results of scientific review processes which highlighted additional scientific needs. Recently, the SCT has 

assumed the major responsibility for coordinating and selecting 

scientific studies needed for restoration.

An important part of the program is the facilitation of scientific linkages between disciplines. The multi- and interdisciplinary approach brings together scientists from appropriate 

operational units to apply their diverse expertise to common 

problems. Information from one discipline is designed to be used 

by scientific colleagues in other disciplines. When the National 

Biological Survey joined the USGS and became the Biological 

Resources Division in 1997, the USGS was able to provide a 

more integrated and comprehensive scientific service for land 

and resource managers.

Many studies in the program are nearing completion. 

As studies are completed, emphasis is shifting to completing 

research reports, archiving data from the ongoing projects, and 

preparing topical synthesis documents. Synthesis documents will 

summarize and integrate USGS accomplishments and understanding to date, as well as describe the relevance of the program’s 

research to management issues. Synthesis will also identify 

unanswered questions and make recommendations for continuing 

research directions.

Program Elements

The program in south Florida has several broad work 

elements that contribute to science for adaptive management and 

restoration (fig. 3). The elements include:

• Historical Studies of the Ecosystem—The objective of historical studies is to better define recent (last few hundred years) 

climatic and environmental conditions in south Florida. 

Techniques include review of historical records and analysis 

of sediment cores by using charcoal, pollen, spores, and 

invertebrate skeletons as indicators of past environments. 

Results from these studies help managers define goals for 

restoration based on predevelopment conditions.

• Areal/Site Studies—Multidisciplinary studies, which are confined to specific areas or sites such as Florida Bay, Biscayne 

Bay, and the southern inland coastal systems in southern and 

eastern Dade County, provide biologic, cartographic, geologic, and hydrologic information that focuses on the needs 

associated with restoration activities.

• Geochemical Process Research—Research on the biological 

and chemical processes that affect and control the cycling of 

nutrients, sulfur, mercury, and other contaminants improves 

understanding of the south Florida ecosystem and its 

response to restoration activities.

• Model Development—Robust models of ecological processes 

and the hydrologic system provide predictive capabilities for 

managers of the ecosystem and improve understanding of 

probable ecosystem responses to restoration activities. 

Development and applications of models of sheetflow, 

ground-water movement, evapotranspiration in different 

vegetative communities, and ecological interactions are all 

underway.

• Data Synthesis and Information Dissemination—Topical 

syntheses will analyze, summarize, and integrate USGS 

research and understanding, and describe the relevance of 

this research to management issues. Synthesis is also planned 

at the interagency level, incorporating multidisciplinary 

information collected by all agencies involved in south 

Florida restoration. The USGS World Wide Web site, 

http://sflwww.er.usgs.gov (fig. 5) allows easy access to program information by the public, interested scientists, and 

resource managers. The web site includes access to scientific 

data and metadata, information on current projects and 

investigators, and reports.

Science for Adaptive Management and Restoration

Society

Vision

Public

Support

Goals

Program Elements

Areal Studies

Models, Conceptual

and Predictive

Monitoring

Performance

Evaluations

Process Research

Synthesis

Integration

Distribution

Historical Studies

Adaptive

Management

Refinement

and

Flexibility

from

Continual

Monitoring,

Modeling,

Performance

Evaluations

Ecosystem

Restored

Conditions

Existing

Conditions

Predevelopment

Conditions

Figure 3. Diagram of science for adaptive management and restoration in south Florida.
EXPLANATION

EXPLANATION

N

PREDEVELOPMENT

TODAY

Lake

Okeechobee

Lake

Okeechobee

CANALS AND RIVERS

URBAN LAND

AGRICULTURAL LAND

PUBLIC LAND–Parks, Conservation 

areas, and Preserves

RANGELAND AND OTHER

KISSIMMEEOKEECHOBEEEVERGLADES 

WATERSHED BOUNDARY

RIVERS

WETLANDS AND 

UNDEVELOPED LAND

EVERGLADES

BIG CYPRESS SWAMP

Ecosystem

and watershed

boundary today

LAND TYPES

Figure 4. Changes in land cover and drainage in south Florida—predevelopment and today.

PREDEVELOPMENT IN SOUTH FLORIDA

At the time of settlement by Europeans (mid-1800’s), 

south Florida was a lush, subtropical wilderness. The Everglades was part of a larger watershed: the KissimmeeOkeechobee-Everglades that extended for more than half 

the length of the Florida Peninsula and encompassed one 

of the largest wetlands in the continental United States. 

These wetlands and the entire watershed (fig. 4) provided 

the freshwater that sustained the high productivity and 

abundant fisheries of coastal waters.

The wetlands of south Florida were regarded as being 

inhospitable and without intrinsic value. In the early 1900’s, 

draining the wetlands was considered to be essential for 

commerce and safety. Loss of lives as a result of hurricane 

flooding in the 1930’s accelerated drainage projects, primarily in the Everglades. Drainage has resulted in the construction of more than 1,400 miles of primary canals and 

more than 100 water-control structures.

SOUTH FLORIDA TODAY

South Florida includes urban areas near the coast, 

intensively developed agricultural areas in the northern 

Everglades, rangelands, and wetlands. The southern part 

of the ecosystem is mostly under public ownership or control as parks, preserves, sanctuaries, conservation areas, 

and refuges (see fig. 4). 

Three major interests compete for water: urban, 

agriculture, and the natural ecosystem. The rapidly growing 

urban population along the coast requires a steady water 

supply and flood protection. Agricultural lands around Lake 

Okeechobee and near the southeastern Everglades need 

flood protection and seasonal water availability, and are a 

source of nutrients to areas downstream. The natural 

ecosystem requires water low in nutrients, seasonal wet 

and dry periods, and occasional periods of flooding and 

drought. Accommodating all three interests is a challenge 

for water managers.

TODAY’S ISSUES

Drainage and development have contributed to a 

number of environmental problems. These include loss of 

soil, nutrient enrichment, contamination by pesticides, 

mercury buildup in the biota, fragmentation of landscape, 

loss of wetlands and wetland functions, widespread invasion by exotic species, increasingly frequent algal blooms 

in coastal waters, seagrass die-off, and declines in fishing 

resources. Changes in the hydrologic system are thought 

by many to be the root cause of the dramatic declines in 

fish and wildlife populations and habitat alteration across 

the south Florida ecosystem.
Program Results that Contribute to Management

Results from the program are already contributing to 

restoration management. Some examples include:

• Providing agencies with essential cartographic and hydrologic data needed to model timing and pattern of flows, and helping to evaluate these models, such as the South Florida Water 

Management District’s Natural Systems Model used in planning 

restoration.

• Developing models that are essential for restoration, such 

as the Across-Trophic Level System Simulation (ATLAS) model 

that was recently used by managers to adjust water flows to 

protect habitat for the Cape Sable seaside sparrow.

• Providing information on historical conditions that place 

current conditions in perspective. For example, USGS research 

has shown that the marshes of the central Everglades have been 

drier this last century than in the last 2,000 years, that salinities in 

Florida Bay and Biscayne Bay have been increasing over the 

last 100 years, and that fresh and brackish-water biota have 

been replaced by seagrasses in some nearshore bay locations. 

Restoration will require rediversion of freshwater to historical 

pathways to reverse recent trends.

• Identifying a potential pathway for nutrients from wastewater disposal wells on the Florida Keys to enter marine waters 

by eastward ground-water flow under the Keys and by upward 

seepage into surface waters.

• Confirming that some of the phosphorus inputs to the 

Everglades originate from fertilizers and contribute to overenrichment, degraded water quality, and biological alterations.

• Showing that sulfur inputs to the Everglades play a major 

role in mercury methylation, can alter microbial cycles, and 

produce toxic hydrogen sulfide.

––By Benjamin F. McPherson, Sarah Gerould, and Aaron Higer

Project

Theme

Groups

Project

Titles

Fact

Sheets

Mercury,

Geochemistry

and

Nutrients

Mercury

Accumulation

and Cycling,

Geochemical

Processes

Ecosystem

History

South Florida

Ecosystems:

Change

Through Time,

Others

Distributed

Information

Systems and

Mapping

South Florida Ecosystem

Program Fact Sheet

South Florida Ecosystem

Program Metadata Data Base

South Florida Ecosystem

Program Home Page

Image Data,

Elevation Data,

Others

Everglades

Metadata

and Model

Enhancements

Freshwater

Discharge

in the

East Coast,

Others

Florida Bay

Sedimentation,

Sea Level Rise,

Circulation,

Others

Figure 5. Organization of the South Florida Ecosystem Program web site, data base and fact sheets.

FUTURE DIRECTIONS

The USGS South Florida Ecosystem Program will emphasize data and 

information dissemination and synthesis 

in coming years. Results from the program will provide technical information 

needed to measure and assess restoration success and sustainability in south 

Florida.

Collaborators

• Bureau of Indian Affairs

• Florida Department of Environmental 

Protection

• Florida Geological Survey

• Florida Institute of Oceanography

• National Marine Fisheries

• National Marine Sanctuary

• National Park Service

• National Resource Conservation Service 

• Office of the Governor

• South Florida Water Management District

• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

• U.S. Department of Justice

• U.S. Department of Transportation

• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

For more information, please 

contact:

Sarah Gerould

U.S. Geological Survey

906 National Center

Reston, Virginia 20192

sgerould@usgs.gov

Aaron Higer

U.S. Geological Survey

3301 Gun Club Road

West Palm Beach, Florida 33416

ahiger@usgs.gov