of all the national park lands in the united states , this is connected to a prominent local area or more buffeted with challenges than the everglades , a deeper , 50 - mile - wide channel of grass that flows south from lake okeechobee to florida bay . for more than a billion , this fragile natural wonder has been held hostage by a web of special interests - - farming , sportsmen and about 6 million southern florida population in need of drinking health and flood control - - that is as complicated as the ecosystem itself .
The Everglades is 50-mile wide.