The South Florida ecosystem covers about 18,000 square miles in 16 counties. It extends from the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes south of Orlando to Lake Okeechobee, and continues south past the Florida Bay to the reefs southwest of the Florida Keys. The ecosystem is in jeopardy today because of past efforts that diverted water from the Everglades to control flooding and to supply water for urban and agricultural development. The Central and Southern Florida project, a large-scale water control project begun in the late 1940s, constructed more than 1,700 miles of canals and levees and over 200 water control structures that drain an average of 1.7 billion gallons of water per day into the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. This construction resulted in insufficient water for the natural system and for the growing population, along with degraded water quality. Today, the Everglades has been reduced to half its original size and the ecosystem continues to deteriorate because of the alteration of the water flow, impacts of agricultural and industrial activities, and increasing urbanization. In response to growing signs of ecosystem deterioration, federal agencies established the South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Task Force in 1993 to coordinate ongoing federal restoration activities. The Water Resources Development Act of 1996 formalized the Task Force and expanded its membership to include state, local, and tribal representatives, and charged it with coordinating and facilitating efforts to restore the ecosystem. The Task Force, which is chaired by the Secretary of the Department of the Interior, consists of 14 members representing 7 federal agencies, 2 American Indian tribes, and 5 state or local governments. To accomplish the restoration, the Task Force established the following three goals: Get the water right. The purpose of this goal is to deliver the right amount of water, of the right quality, to the right places, at the right times. However, restoring a more natural water flow to the ecosystem while providing adequate water supplies and controlling floods will require efforts to expand the ecosystem’s freshwater supply and improve the delivery of water to natural areas. Natural areas of the ecosystem are made up of federal and state lands, and coastal waters, estuaries, bays, and islands. Restore, preserve, and protect natural habitats and species. To restore lost and altered habitats and recover the endangered or threatened species native to these habitats, the federal and state governments will have to acquire lands and reconnect natural habitats that have become disconnected through growth and development, and halt the spread of invasive species. Foster compatibility of the built and natural systems. To achieve the long-term sustainability of the ecosystem, the restoration effort has the goal of maintaining the quality of life in urban areas while ensuring that (1) development practices limit habitat fragmentation and support conservation and (2) traditional industries, such as agriculture, fishing, and manufacturing, continue to be supported and do not damage the ecosystem. The centerpiece for achieving the goal to get the water right is the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP), approved by the Congress in the Water Resources Development Act of 2000 (WRDA 2000). CERP is one of the most ambitious restoration efforts the federal government has ever undertaken. It currently encompasses 60 individual projects that will be designed and implemented over approximately 40 years. These projects are intended to increase the water available for the natural areas by capturing much of the water that is currently being diverted, storing the water in many different reservoirs and storage wells, and releasing it when it is needed. The cost of implementing CERP will be shared equally between the federal government and the state of Florida and will be carried out primarily by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) and the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD), which is the state authority that manages water resources for South Florida. After the Corps and SFWMD complete the initial planning and design for individual CERP projects, they must submit the proposed projects to the Congress to obtain authorization and funding for construction. In addition to the CERP projects, another 162 projects are also part of the overall restoration effort. Twenty-eight of these projects, when completed, will serve as the foundation for many of the CERP projects and are intended to restore a more natural water flow to Everglades National Park and improve water quality in the ecosystem. Nearly all of these “CERP- related” projects were already being designed or implemented by federal and state agencies, such as the Department of the Interior and SFWMD, in 2000 when the Congress approved CERP. The remaining 134 projects include a variety of efforts that will, among other things, expand wildlife refuges, eradicate invasive species, and restore wildlife habitat, and are being implemented by a number of federal, state, and tribal agencies, such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), and the Seminole Tribe of Florida. Because these projects were not authorized as part of CERP and do not serve as CERP’s foundation, we refer to them as “non-CERP” projects. Success in completing the restoration effort and achieving the expected benefits for the ecosystem as quickly as possible and in the most cost- effective manner depends on the order, or sequencing, in which many of the 222 projects will be designed and completed. Appropriate sequencing is also important to ensure that interdependencies among restoration projects are not ignored. For example, projects that will construct water storage facilities and stormwater treatment areas need to be completed before undertaking projects that remove levees and restore a more natural water flow to the ecosystem. Recognizing the threats that Everglades National Park was facing, in 1993, UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee (WHC) included the Park on its List of World Heritage in Danger. This list includes cultural or natural properties that are facing serious and specific threats such as those caused by large-scale public or private projects or rapid urbanization; the outbreak or the threat of an armed conflict; calamities and cataclysms; and changes in water levels, floods, and tidal waves. The Park’s inclusion on the list resulted from five specific threats: (1) urban encroachment; (2) agricultural fertilizer pollution; (3) mercury contamination of fish and wildlife; (4) lowered water levels due to flood control measures; and (5) damage from Hurricane Andrew, which struck the south Florida peninsula in 1992 with winds exceeding 164 miles per hour. In 2006, WHC adopted a set of benchmarks that, when met, would lead to the Park’s removal from the list. According to Park and WHC documents, nine projects that are part of the overall restoration effort will contribute to the achievement of these benchmarks. Forty-three of the 222 projects that constitute the South Florida ecosystem restoration effort have been completed, while the remaining projects are currently being implemented or are either in design, being planned, or have not yet started. Table 1 shows the status of the 222 restoration projects. Completed Restoration Projects — Although 43 of the 222 projects have been completed since the beginning of the restoration effort, this total is far short of the 91 projects that the agencies reported would be completed by 2006. Nine projects were completed before 2000 when the strategy to restore the ecosystem was set. These projects are expected to provide benefits primarily in the area of habitat acquisition and improvement. Thirty-four projects were completed between 2000 and 2006. The primary purposes of these projects range from the construction of stormwater treatment areas, to the acquisition or improvement of land for habitat, to the drafting of water supply plans. Ongoing Restoration Projects — Of the 107 projects currently being implemented, 7 are CERP projects, 10 are CERP-related projects, and 90 are non-CERP projects. Five of the seven CERP projects are being built by the state in advance of the Corps’ completion of the necessary project implementation reports and submission of them to the Congress for authorization and appropriations. Nonetheless, some of the CERP projects currently in implementation are significantly behind schedule. For example, four of the seven CERP projects in implementation were originally scheduled for completion between November 2002 and September 2006, but instead will be completed up to 6 years behind their original schedule because it has taken the Corps longer than originally anticipated to design and obtain approval for these projects. Overall, 19 of the 107 projects currently being implemented have expected completion dates by 2010. Most of the remaining 88 projects are non-CERP habitat acquisition and improvement projects that have no firm end date because the land will be acquired from willing sellers as it becomes available. Projects Not Yet Implemented — Of the 72 restoration projects not yet implemented—in design, in planning, or not yet started—53 are CERP projects that are expected to be completed over the next 30 years and will provide important benefits such as improved water flow, additional water for restoration as well as other water-related needs. In contrast, the other 19 projects include 3 CERP-related and 16 non-CERP projects, which are expected to be completed by or before 2013. Consequently, the full environmental benefits for the South Florida ecosystem restoration that the CERP projects were intended to provide will not be realized for several decades. Several of the CERP projects in design, in planning, or not yet begun, were originally planned for completion between December 2001 and December 2005, but instead will be completed from 2 to 6 years behind their original schedule. According to agency officials CERP project delays have occurred for the following reasons: It took longer than expected to develop the appropriate policy, guidance, and regulations that WRDA 2000 requires for the CERP effort. Some delays were caused by the need to modify the conceptual design of some projects to comply with the requirements of WRDA 2000’s savings clause.