Wikipedia:Today's featured article/September 22, 2008

The history of draining and development of the Everglades goes back to the 19th century, before Florida became a state. A national push for expansion and progress toward the latter part of the 19th century stimulated interest in draining the Everglades for agricultural use. According to historians, "From the middle of the nineteenth century to the middle of the twentieth century, the United States went through a period in which wetland removal was not questioned. Indeed, it was considered the proper thing to do." A pattern of political and financial motivation, and a lack of understanding of the geography and ecology of the Everglades has plagued the history of drainage projects. The first attempt to drain the region was made by real estate developer Hamilton Disston in 1881. During his 1904 campaign to be elected governor, Napoleon Bonaparte Broward promised to drain the Everglades, and his later projects were more effective than Disston's. Severe hurricanes in 1926 and 1928 caused catastrophic damage and flooding from Lake Okeechobee that prompted the Army Corps of Engineers to build a dike around the lake. Further floods in 1947 prompted an unprecedented construction of canals throughout southern Florida. Following another population boom after World War II, the Everglades was divided into sections separated by canals and water control devices. However, in the late 1960s, following a proposal to construct a massive jetport next to Everglades National Park, national attention turned from developing the land to restoring the Everglades. (more...)

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