Florida Audubon: Development Puts Everglade Birds at Risk
Posted January
25, 2013 10:55 am
Public News
Service
WEST PALM BEACH, FL - Development and human influence in areas around Florida's Everglades continue to put certain bird and fish populations at risk, according to a report from Audubon Florida.
The study shows that changes to water flow - connected to development - are having a large influence on wading birds, such as roseate spoonbills and wood storks. Because they find fewer fish to feed on, they're less inclined to nest. Nesting is down by 17 percent in the Kissimmee chain of lakes, compared to last year
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Wading Bird Nesting in the Everglades
Megan Tinsley, Everglades policy associate with the organization, says changes in water flow mean big changes in habitat.
"What we're left with is these fragment habitats of
the Everglades that are difficult to control water," she
says. "And certainly the water that flows in and out of
those areas isn't done as naturally."
Tinsley says it's not too late to protect the wading
birds of the Everglades. The Audubon Society recommends
the continuation of restoration efforts that would allow
for more efficient and natural freshwater flow through
the Everglades.
The Audubon study also points out there has been
"unprecedented progress toward Everglades restoration,"
in recent years.
Tinsley explains that the health of the bird population
is an indicator of issues in the larger ecosystem of the
Everglades. She says there are connections between the
environment and Florida's economy.
"So not only do you not see wading birds utilizing those
areas," she says, "but you see a reduction in the game
fish that people come to south Florida to fish for."
The Audubon Society says this marks the third year in a
row that nesting is down in the Florida Everglades.
Links and photos added by the Observer
Photo by Charles Lee: Tricolored Heron
