What DeSantis’ Environmental Plan Has Done
Bottom Line: Four years, $3.3 billion, 50+ projects. That’s a view of the big picture perspective of what Governor DeSantis’ first term as governor saw happen from an environmental perspective. But what about what’s beyond the mangroves? What actually changed? What does it mean to the environment? What does it mean to you? On one hand, when you hear about the Everglades Restoration Plan, you might think that it’s nice that we’re doing something to help preserve the Everglades but that it might not necessarily be connected to you. And given how complicated it has been to make progress with the Everglades Restoration Plan as federal, state and local governments have all had to turn their keys at the same time to make key decisions and to obtain meaningful progress, it’s easy to tune out of the process. But as Governor DeSantis articulated through Tuesday’s Executive order, pledging an additional $3.5 billion to continue these efforts over the next four years, there's been far more to the story than just throwing a bunch of money into the swamp and having feel good headlines to show for it.
Some of the progress over the past four years, as the state made a fully credible environmental effort, has been more visible than that of others. Perhaps the most visible has been the raising of Tamiami Trail. But then again if you’ve not traveled along Tamiami Trail over the past one and a half years, that hasn’t been all that visible to you, and even if you had you might wonder what the big deal about that project was. That project serves as a good example of the bigger picture of what’s really been happening. The raising of Tamiami Trail has allowed for more water to be discharged south out of Lake Okeechobee, which is the natural flow of runoff water from the lake. That has helped stabilize water levels in previously parched areas of the Everglades, fostering a healthier environment for wildlife, while also reducing the need for east-west discharges from Lake Okeechobee. The reducing of east-west discharges from Lake O’ has had meaningful impact on something else that’s been highly visible throughout our communities. Fewer algal blooms in our canals, which are as unhealthy for humans and our pets as they are for wildlife and much clearer water in the intracoastal with visibly higher populations of fish already as well.
The change has become so significant that in many parts of the intracoastal, spanning the Lake Worth Lagoon, one need not look up whether there have recently been discharges from Lake O’, you need only look at the water. What used to be always in a varied state of brown high in sentiment, is often mostly clear – only becoming murky around the discharges. It’s great for what lives in the water, it’s great for those who enjoy the water. And going forward, because of the progress made with the Everglades Restoration Plan, the Army Corps of Engineers was able to rewrite their operations manual allowing for fewer east-west discharges permanently upon the soon-to-be completion of the Lake O’ Dike restoration. So, the point from that one prominent example is that what happens in the Everglades most certainly doesn’t stay there. Restoration improvements have already had a profound impact on all of counties from the Treasure Coast south to Monroe. And another four years of progress at the same pace, would promise to have equally profound implications. For example, if the southern reservoir for runoff water is completed, imagine potentially never having a need for east-west discharges again creating clean canals and a clear intracoastal throughout the Palm Beaches. What DeSantis’ environmental plan has done has been impactful. What the next four years of it have the potential to do is truly profound.