FLORIDA EVERGLADES, Alligators and Florida eco system

Everglades Chamber Of Commerce Looking out over the water and sawgrass that stretches for miles in every direction, William Buffalo Tiger recalled one of the first signs that pollution was slowly killing the Everglades: batches of dead snakes.

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Everglades Airboat Rides ``That's how we found out how bad it's going to be,'' said the 83-year-old Tiger, former chief of the 500-member Miccosukee Indian tribe. ``Everything seems to be dying.''

The Everglades, which were formed by the constant overflow of nearby Lake Okeechobee, are home to flamingos and alligators, among others.

Everglades Crocodiles The tribe says a significant source of pollution comes from a pump in southwest Broward County that dumps as much as 423,000 gallons a minute of polluted runoff from suburban lawns, farms and industrial yards into the Everglades -- including 189,000 acres of land the state leased to the tribe and promised to keep in its natural state.

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Everglades Crocodile On Wednesday, the tribe and the South Florida Water Management District, which operates the pump, will argue before the U.S. Supreme Court whether that pump is illegally dumping pollutants into the Everglades.

Spanning the southern tip of the Florida peninsula and most of Florida Bay, Everglades National Park is the only subtropical preserve in North America. It contains both temperate and tropical plant communities, including sawgrass prairies, mangrove and cypress swamps, pinelands, and hardwood hammocks, as well as marine and estuarine environments. The park is known for its rich bird life, particularly large wading birds, such as the roseate spoonbill, wood stork, great blue heron and a variety of egrets. It is also the only place in the world where alligators and crocodiles exist side by side.

Tampa Everglades The water management district doesn't dispute the water it's pumping is polluted, but says it has no other place to put it. The pump, which has operated since 1957, prevents water from flooding a large swath of the suburbs that have pushed into the eastern edge of the Everglades.

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Florida Alligator The case is being watched closely by the nation's water managers.

Florida Python Western states, where the problem isn't too much water but not enough of it, are concerned that if the Supreme Court rules in favor of the Miccosukees, regional water diversion efforts might become subject to expensive federal pollution requirements.

Florida Airboat Rides While some Eastern states support the Miccosukees and argue a decision against the tribe would undermine existing pollution regulations, the Bush administration says it supports the water district.

Everglades County The Miccosukees and an environmental group, Friends of the Everglades, sued the water management district in 1998 under the Clean Water Act. They argued that water managers need a federal permit to pump polluted water into the Everglades, where it would not otherwise flow.

Yellow Pages Florida Two levels of federal courts have ruled in favor of the tribe. But Nicolas Gutierrez, chairman of the water district's governing board, said the high court's decision to hear the case makes him optimistic for a favorable ruling.

Everglades Orlando The court battle comes as the state and federal governments embark on a 30-year, $8.4 billion project to restore the natural water flow through the Everglades.

Python Everglades At the center of the dispute is a pump located about 27 miles west of Fort Lauderdale, next to the Holiday Park campground that offers air boat rides for a close-up view of alligators and water birds.

Everglades Palm Beach The pump sits on a more than 90-mile long levy system that serves as the border between the Everglades and suburbs stretching from West Palm Beach to Miami-Dade County. To the south is the 666-acre reservation where many tribal members live.

Ft Lauderdale Everglades Runoff from yards, agricultural and industrial areas contains fertilizers that have high levels of phosphates. The pollution changes the water chemistry, killing some native plants and allowing other nonnative plants -- such as cattails -- to thrive.

Everglades Tours ``When that changes, it changes the entire composition of the Everglades,'' said Ret. Col. Terry Rice, former director of the Army Corps of Engineers in Florida.

Airboat Everglades But water managers argue that federal permits are not the answer, and they plan to address the pump as part of the long-term restoration plan. Obtaining permits for the pump could cost billions of dollars, particularly if the water district is required to clean the water, Gutierrez said.

Flordia Everglades ``If we had someplace else to put it, we would,'' he said.

Everglades Miami ------

Florida Aligators On the Net:

Alligator Everglades Friends of the Everglades: http://www.everglades.org

Naples Fl Everglades South Florida Water Management District: http://www.sfwmd.gov

Everglades Aligators Associated Press - 1/13/2004

Topic: Water Pollution

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