Home Introduction Physical Setting Urbanization Natural Hazards Mineral Resources Water System Environmental Quality Outdoor Recreation Everglades N.P. Coastal Zone Fish & Wildlife Miccosukee Indians Conclusion References

South Dade County, at the southeast corner of Florida, exemplifies many of the environmental concerns that have developed throughout the United States. Considerable environmental information has recently been assembled from this region, and some of it is presented in this experimental report in folio form. We are aware that south Dade County does not constitute a viable planning unit--it is only a fraction of the south Florida environmental system that includes not only Metropolitan Miami but extends throughout the Everglades. But we are not prepared to report on the larger planning unit at this time.

South Dade County’s spectacularly rapid urban growth during the last decade has been generated by its pleasant subtropical climate, its outstanding recreational opportunities, and the presence of a remarkably attractive hinterland, the Everglades. These attractions and its favorable geographic situation have also spurred development of the area as a center of international marketing and commercial activities.

The area covered by this report includes about 1800 square mile in the southern part of Dade County, Florida. [larger image]

Builders and businessmen, tourists, and residents compete for land and water. Today, the resources that have provided habitat for a unique assemblage of plants and animals and have drawn so many people are diminishing in amount and in quality. The central problem is how to accommodate growth and maintain environmental quality at the same time.

Solving this problem is extraordinarily difficult because of the intricate interdependence of all parts of the environmental system. Thus, clearing, dredging and building affect air, water, land, plants, animals, and man. Management decisions involving the environment are likely to be successful only if based on complete information and thorough understanding of the probable consequences--social, physical, economic, biologic, and aesthetic--of a given course of action.

This report does not offer all the information or interpretation needed as a comprehensive basis for regional decision making. It does, however, provide a sampling of the information required to develop alternative solutions for some representative problems, and weighs the pros and cons of some selected alternatives.

Led by the Geological Survey under the direction of Thomas J. Buchanan, six Interior Department Bureaus and several other organizations, cited on the title page, have contributed to this report. Other groups that have made invaluable additions include the Metropolitan Dade County Planning Department, the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Authority, the Center for Urban Studies of the University of Miami, and the Florida Department of Transportation.

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