Shark River Slough

The new study suggests restoration efforts may need to better accommodate the endangered Cape Sable seaside sparrow as sea rise could wipe out their Everglades habitat in just 50 years.

“Are we there yet? No. We are not fully restored. But, we are trending in the right direction,” says Melodie Naja, National Park Service scientist.

The historic rise of South Florida sugarcane farming turned the giant Lake Okeechobee into a toilet for polluted waters draining from as far as Central Florida and flushing ruinously via canals to coastal estuaries at Fort Myers and Stuart.