U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS, SOUTHERN FLORIDA AND THE EVERGLADES WATER MANAGEMENT HISTORY

In 2004, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers selected HRA to research and write a history of water management in South Florida and the Everglades. HRA historians traveled to Everglades National Park, state and local archives, and the Corps’ Jacksonville District offices to research the political, economic, and environmental dynamics of this unique story. HRA also conducted more than a dozen oral history interviews to gain an intimate and personal perspective on pertinent issues. The result was a 450-page manuscript detailing the Central and South Florida Flood Control Project and the environmental changes it wrought, as well as subsequent attempts to restore balance to the region’s fragile ecosystem. In 2010, the Corps asked HRA to add an epilogue covering the recent implementation of the Central Everglades Restoration Plan. Publication of River of Interests: Water Management in South Florida and the Everglades, 1948–2010, occurred in 2011.

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