by Houston R. Cypress,
Coordination Circle, Love The Everglades Movement
Coordination Circle, Love The Everglades Movement
The Everglades Caucus recently issued a letter to the US Department of the Interior, the US Department of the Army for the Army Corp of Engineers, and the US Environmental Protection Agency, bringing attention to an on-going and immediate environmental threat to the Everglades: the L-28 Interceptor Canal -- a canal that brings "dirty water" with high levels of phosphorus onto Federal Reservation Lands.
The Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida maintain traditional villages -- which they use for a number of cultural practices -- in the area that is directly and negatively impacted by this farm runoff. In fact, their access to sacred sites become impeded by the proliferation of flora spurred by the fertilizer runoff.
The image at the top of this document illustrates the impact of high and unnatural levels of Phosphorus on the Everglades terrain. The green areas are the dense overgrowth of cattails and other plants.
The Miccosukee concerns surrounding the L-28 Interceptor Canal are coinciding with a broader discussion on Everglades Restoration, especially as it relates to current events surrounding the Central Everglades Planning Project (CEPP).
CEPP is concerned with delivering "New Water" through a series of projects that would bring water from Lake Okeechobee south to Everglades National Park. As these projects come online over the next decade, there is still the glaring refusal to address the 40% of the total waters coming into the system brought by the L-28 Interceptor Canal.
Today, Miccosukee homelands are being sacrificed for the benefit of Everglades National Park -- as if the Everglades eco-system is limited to the boundaries of the National Park. As the waters coming into Water Conservation Area 3A make their slow journey south, the high Phosphorus levels are filtered out significantly -- and what this means is that Miccosukee homelands are functioning as a de facto Stormwater Treatment Area.
The Everglades Caucus are not only honoring their Trust Responsibility to the Indigenous Sovereingty, but they are also honoring their commitment to the American Public by speaking up to protect these vital natural resources.
Signatories for the Everglades Caucus include:
Read the letter in its entirety:
The Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida maintain traditional villages -- which they use for a number of cultural practices -- in the area that is directly and negatively impacted by this farm runoff. In fact, their access to sacred sites become impeded by the proliferation of flora spurred by the fertilizer runoff.
The image at the top of this document illustrates the impact of high and unnatural levels of Phosphorus on the Everglades terrain. The green areas are the dense overgrowth of cattails and other plants.
The Miccosukee concerns surrounding the L-28 Interceptor Canal are coinciding with a broader discussion on Everglades Restoration, especially as it relates to current events surrounding the Central Everglades Planning Project (CEPP).
CEPP is concerned with delivering "New Water" through a series of projects that would bring water from Lake Okeechobee south to Everglades National Park. As these projects come online over the next decade, there is still the glaring refusal to address the 40% of the total waters coming into the system brought by the L-28 Interceptor Canal.
Today, Miccosukee homelands are being sacrificed for the benefit of Everglades National Park -- as if the Everglades eco-system is limited to the boundaries of the National Park. As the waters coming into Water Conservation Area 3A make their slow journey south, the high Phosphorus levels are filtered out significantly -- and what this means is that Miccosukee homelands are functioning as a de facto Stormwater Treatment Area.
The Everglades Caucus are not only honoring their Trust Responsibility to the Indigenous Sovereingty, but they are also honoring their commitment to the American Public by speaking up to protect these vital natural resources.
Signatories for the Everglades Caucus include:
- Mario Diaz-Balart
- Alcee Hastings
- Debbie Wasserman Schultz
- Patrick Murphy
- Ted Deutch
- Joe Garcia
- Lois Frankel
- Frederica Wilson
Read the letter in its entirety:
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