Chart showing the South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Efforts Organization. (Click on image for full-sized version.)

The forum is sponsored by members of the South Floridia Ectosystem Restoration Task Forces and its Working Group through the efforts of its Science Coordination Team.

In 1993 a federal ecosystem restoration Task Force was established through an interagency agreement. The Task Force was created "to coordinate the development of consistent policies, strategies, plans, programs, and priorities for addressing the environmental concerns of the South Florida ecosystem."

The Task Force was later formalized and expanded to include tribal, state, and local governments by the 1996 Water Resources Development Act. The purpose of the expanded Task Force is to facilitate implementation of the South Florida restoration effort. In this capacity it serves as an information clearinghouse and coordinating entity that helps guide the restoration effort, keep it on track, and ensure fiscal accountability.

The passage of the 1996 Water Resources Development Act represents an ambitous milestone in the goal of restoring a sustainable South Florida. The act charged the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) to develop a comprehensive plan for restoring the hydrology of South Florida (the Central and Southern Florida Project Restudy), and it established a 50% federal cast-share for implementing the plan. The act also authorized the Corps to appropriate $75 million to begn immediate implementation of restoration projects deemed critical for restoring the South Florida ecosystem. The act formally established a South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Task Force with a membership that includes tribal, federal, state, regional, and local governments, and defined the Task Force's mission.

The act specifies that the Task Force shall establish a Florida-based working group (Working Group) which shall include representatives of the agencies and entities represented on the Task Force as well as other governmental entities as appropriate for the purpose of formulating, recommending, coordinating, and implementing the policies, strategies, plans, programs, projects, activities, and priorities of the Task Force.

A Science Coordination Team (SCT) was established by the Working Group to assist both the Working Group and Task Force in meeting their obligations under the Water Resources Development Act of 1996 by ensuring the highest level of communication, coordination, and cooperation in the application of the various scientific disciplines to the ecological and socioeconomic problems of South Florida. The SCT will work under and report to the Working Group. The SCT serves as the senior science advisory group to the Working Group and the Task Force. The SCT is responsible for recommending research plans and priorities; and facilitating the integration, synthesis, and application of the best scientific information (including the Social Sciences) available for the South Florida Ecosystem Restoration effort. (View the "Science Strategy for Sustainable Restoration of the Greater Everglades and Coastal Ecosystems" publication from SCT. You will need Adobe Reader to view this document. If you don't have Adobe Reader, you can download it here.)

Governmental Agencies, Indian Tribes, and Organizations Involved In The Everglades Ecosystem Restoration

(* participating in the Restoration Science Forum)

• Agriculture Research Service (ARS) *
• Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) *

• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) *
  • Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML)*
  • National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) *
  • National Ocean Services (NOS)
    • Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS)*

• U.S. Army, Civil Works
  • Corps of Engineers (USACE) *

• Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), Eastern Regional Office
• Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)*
  • Ecological Services, South Florida Field Office *
  • National Wildlife Refuges (NWR) *
    • Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee *
    • Crocodile Lake
    • Great White Heron
    • Hobe Sound
    • J.N. "Ding" Darling
    • Florida Panther
    • National Key Deer
    • Ten Thousand Islands
• Geological Survey (USGS)*
  • Biological Resources Division (BSD) *
  • Geologic Division (GD) *
  • National Mapping Division (NM) *
  • Water Resources Division (WRD) *
• National Park Service (NPS) *
  • Big Cypress National Preserve (BICY) *
  • Biscayne National Park (BNP) *
  • Everglades National Park (ENP) *
  • Dry Tortugas
• Department of Justice (DOJ)
  • U.S. Attorney's Office, Civil Division
  • Environment and Natural Resources Division
• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) *
  • South Florida Field Office

• Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida *
  
• Seminole Tribe of Florida *

• Office of the Governor *
  • Governor's Commission for a Sustainable South Florida (GCSSC)*
• Department of Agriculture and Consumer Affairs
  • Strategic Planning and Coordination Unit
• Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) *
• Department of Transportation (FLDOT)
• Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission (GFC) *
  • Office of Environmental Services *
• State Universities
  • Florida Center for Environmental Studies (CES)*
  • Florida Atlantic University (FAU)
  • Florida International University (FIU)
    • Southeast Research Program (SERP)*
  • Miami University
  • University of Florida
    • Everglades Research and Education Center
  • University of Miami
    • Rosen Stiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science

• South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) *
  • Executive Office (EXO) *
  • Ecosystem Restoration (ERD) *
  • Planning (PLD) *
  • Water Resource Evaluation (WRE) *
• Southeast Florida Regional Planning Council *
• Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council
• Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council

• Broward County *
  • Department of Natural Resources (DNR) *
• Dade County *
  • Department of Environmental Resources Management
  • (Dade DERM) *
• Palm Beach County *
  • Planning Department *
  • Water Utilities Department *

• University of Georgia
  • Center for Remote Sensing and Mapping
• University of Tennessee
  • Institute for Environmental Modeling

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