River of Grass Canoe Expedition 2014: Lake Okeechobee – Miami River Canal – Biscayne Bay

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River of Grass Canoe Expedition 2014

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“Follow the water”

From Lake Okeechobee to Biscayne Bay via the Miami River Canal

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River of Grass Canoe Expedition 2014
Lake Okeechobee – Miami River Canal – Biscayne Bay

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Most people in South Florida today don’t think of themselves as living in the ‘Everglades’. For many the Everglades seems a distant place full of alligators and bugs. A place removed from everyday thoughts and polite conversation. Yet the fact is that even though there are about 5 million people in the (sub) urban jungle of South Florida, each one of us is still a part of this hydrology that is the Kissimmee-Okeechobee-Everglades (K-O-E) system – commonly just called the ‘Everglades’. The water is still flowing, however what has changed permanently is the plumbing and distribution of the available fresh water as it slowly flows through the system.

Starting about a hundred years ago South Florida has seen system-wide changes to it’s natural watershed. These human alterations were meant to better serve agricultural, commercial and the ever growing residential water needs in addition to much needed flood control. The historic natural, but unpredictable sheet flow has been replaced with an impressive network of canals and levees that is artificially managed. The result of all this re-plumbing has been devastating to the Everglades ecosystem, with some species experiencing a 90% reduction  in population. This is a serious problem that is now being addressed with the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP). In keeping with the spirit of Everglades restoration, this expedition has been organized as an educational outreach program designed to bring Everglades awareness directly to students in local South Florida classrooms. With live interactive webcasts from the field, students can “follow the water” along with the expedition team!

Less than half of the historic Everglades remains today, but in a fragmented state. Whereas the northern Water Conservation Areas are kept nearly permanently flooded, in contrast, Everglades National Park itself has been starving for water for over 50 years. Thus a big part of the current Everglades restoration plans is to alter and tie together this fragmented canal system so that it’s function will more closely resemble the natural sheet flow of the original Everglades.

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Press Release: Area Schools Participate in Arthur R. Marshall Foundation’s
River of Grass Canoe Expedition

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Follow along with the 2014 River of Grass expedition team!

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Day I

Expedition team paddles and broadcast from Lake Okeechobee to the “headwaters” of the Miami River Canal:

(click pic)

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Day II

Team broadcasts from the “edge” of the Everglades in Water Conservation Area 3B (WCA 3B) on the Miami River Canal:

(click pic)

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Day III

The expedition paddles into town and webcasts from under the Florida’s Turnpike along the Miami River Canal:

(click pic)

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Day IV

The final day of the expedition finds the team transitioning from the fresh water Miami River Canal to a tidal salt water  inlet and out into Biscayne Bay:

(click pic)

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Enjoy!

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© 2014 Flex Maslan / kayakfari.com / digital029art.com. All original photographs, artworks and music in this portfolio are copyrighted and owned by the artist, Flex Maslan, unless otherwise noted. Any reproduction, modification, publication, transmission, transfer, or exploitation of any of the content, for personal or commercial use, whether in whole or in part, without written permission from the artist is strictly prohibited.

All rights reserved.

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DISCLAIMER:: The maps and images on this site are not intended for navigation, I am not a guide; use any and all information at your own risk! Your mileage may vary .. so use good judgement before venturing out!

With that said..
Blessings friends!

🙂