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Last updated: October 11, 2002
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The Southwest Florida Project Coordination Team:
How are we expanding the science needed for effective resource management?
Big Cypress
National Preserve
Everglades
National Park
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Restoration
of the Turner River
By Bob Sobczak,
Hydrologist, Big Cypress National Preserve
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| Canoests and kayakers typically
access Turner River off the Tamiami Trail, about 5 miles east of Barron
River Road (CR29). |
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Turner River is a meandering stream that
originates in the mixed cypress swamp of Big Cypress National Preserve
and empties into Chokoloskee Estuary of Everglades National Park.
Maintaining the river's health is important because it meanders through
many of the reasons behind the establishment of the Preserve.
| Turner River meanders for
9 miles from its headwater pools in Big Cypress National Preserve to its
estuarine tailwaters in Everglades National Park. |
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(Click on image above
for larger version.)
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Importance of the river
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It is part of the upstream watershed that
delivers freshwater discharge to the shallow coastal waters of Everglades
National Park. |
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Its corridor provides a continuity between
the range of freshwater and saltwater habitats of the region. Its headwaters
form in mixed cypress swamp and its tail-waters meander through mangrove
tunnels. |
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Its channel provides canoe and kayak access
for visitors to explore the diversity and solitude of the swamp away from
roadways and without the assistance of a motorized off-road vehicle. |
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The river has been restored by the efforts
of the National Park Service in cooperation with state and county officials.
It is a true success story of how a resource can be recovered from the
brink of extinction. |
How the river dried up
(Click on image above
for larger version.)
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Seemingly minor alterations
to the landscape can have drastic consequences to natural hydrologic and
vegetation patterns in south Florida. As shown in the figure to the
left, elevated roadbeds block sheetflow movement and canals redirect water
away from its natural drainages. |
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note:
colored asterisks *
in the text and figures
below correspond with colored asterisks in the timeline at the end of this
page
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| *Before
it was disturbed, water levels and flows in Turner River naturally fluctuated
in concert with its upstream watershed. During the summer rainy season,
water levels would rise until a shallow "sheetflow" covered the landscape.
This sheetflow then fed into the headwaters of the river and flowed to
sea.
As shown in the above figure, *construction
of Turner River Road cut the river off from its contributing watershed.
The elevated roadbed blocked sheetflow from the river and the roadside
canal drained most of the water away from the headwater pools of the river.
This drastically altered the ecology of
the river corridor; including: (1) reduced water levels and flows,
(2) altered timing of flow to its estuarine tailwaters, (3) unnatural vegetation
growth in the channel and river corridor, (4) displacement of wildlife,
and (5) displacement of canoests and kayakers to the canal because of lack
of flow and too much vegetation in the river. |
How the river was restored
| Establishment of Big Cypress National
Preserve in 1974 brought the Turner River and its watershed under the single
jurisdication of the National Park Service.
In 1980, a restoration plan was devised
for getting water back into the river's headwaters. The plan called
for (1) a series of earthen dams (or plugs) to prevent water from draining
down the canal and (2) a series of culverts to re-route water under the
elevated roadbed. Plugs are coded red and culverts are coded green on the
lower left map. The plan was implemented in 1988.
In 1996, the southernmost mile and a half
of the Turner River Canal was filled in by pushing the adjacent berm back
into the canal. This is shown in the zoom view below. This action
was needed because water was continuing to flow around the plugs and down
the canal. Results were (1) increased flow in the river and (2) discontinuation
of canoe and kayaking in the canal.
Additional actions are still necessary.
Water continues to bypass around plugs in some locations as shown below
and to the right. Actions are also needed to improve recreational
opportunities such as marking and clearing parts of the channel. |
| *This
map shows the 1980 plan for getting water back into the river. The basic
idea was to put culverts under the roadbeds and plugs in the canals. |
(Click on image above
for larger version.)
| *In
1996, the southernmost stretch of the canal was filled in. This action
redirected both water and canoests back to the river. |
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| *Water
continues to sneak around the plugs during high water conditions, as shown
in the figure to the right. Additional actions to improve instream
flow and recreational use of the river are being considered in a Turner
River Management Plan. |
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Click on image below for a full-sized version.
Disclaimer for non-USGS materials
Back to "Part 4: Land, Water and Wildlife
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