An Assessment of Research Program Needs and Priorities for Everglades National Park
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Material Information

Title:
An Assessment of Research Program Needs and Priorities for Everglades National Park
Creator:
Gardner, George
Lugo, Ariel
Publication Date:
Language:
English

Notes

Summary:
The report identifies three issues considered to be the most significant justifications for an expanded research program within the Park: 1. No matter what the Park Service does inside the Park, the health and future of the n a t ural ecosystems within the Park cannot be assured unless outside rates, quantities and schedules of water deliveries to the Park can be managed in greater accord with the r e q u i r e ments of the Park's ecosystems once these requirements are determined. 2. The Park is competing not only for water in south Florida but also for land. At least four "hot spot" land areas adjacent to Park boundaries and ecologically linked to Park ecosystems are singled out in the proposed research program as locations constituting important issues to the Park's survival and for which increased research information is needed. These external areas provide i mp o r tant drainage of water into the Park. If m is m a na g e d, vital sheet flow can be lost (or already has been lost in one case), water quality can decline and the areas can serve as focal points for exotic species e x p a n sions into the Park. Examples of these problem areas include the headwaters of Taylor Slough and the Northeast Shark River Slough drainage. 3. Altered environmental conditions within the Park are leading to intensification of m a n agement actions within the Park. Important questions concerning the impacts of m a n a g e ment programs on the Park's ecosystems exist. How much intervention with the natural p r o c esses of the Park is needed, possible or even desirable? Research is necessary to answer these pressing questions. The degree to which the Service may be called upon to intervene in the management of a natural wilderness surrounded by lands undergoing intensive development is a p r o b lem certain to intensify with time and one for which information to guide our d e c i sions must be obtained through further r e s e a r c h . ( English )
General Note:
Submitted to the Hon. Nathaniel P. Reed, Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks U.S. Department of the Interior and to Gary Everhardt, Director, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior Washington, D.C.
Ownership:
Special Collections and University Archives, Green Library, Florida International University

Record Information

Source Institution:
Florida International University
Holding Location:
Special Collections and Univesrity Archives, Green Library, Florida International University
Rights Management:
Please contact the owning institution for licensing and permissions. It is the user's responsibility to ensure use does not violate any third party rights.
Resource Identifier:
FI44440006