Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


To Save Everglades, Guardians Fight Time - and Climate

Associated Press

   FLAMINGO, FLORIDA - Grabbing a clump of vegetation to steady herself,
   Tiffany Troxler gingerly slides her feet along the makeshift boardwalk
   as she ventures out into the marsh. The boards sag, dipping her up to
   her knees in the tea-colored water.

   "This is the treacherous part," the Florida International University
   researcher says. "The water levels are up."

   To a layman, this patch of brown-green sawgrass and button mangrove
   deep inside Everglades National Park looks healthy enough, but Troxler
   knows trouble lurks just beneath the murky surface. She points to a
   clump of grass: Beneath the water line, the soil has retreated about a
   foot, leaving the pale root mass exposed. It is evidence that the thick
   mat of peat supporting this ecosystem is collapsing -- and research
   suggests encroaching sea water is to blame.

   "You can think about these soils as your bank account," says Troxler,
   associate director of FIU's Sea Level Solutions Center. "In the
   condition that this marsh is right now, the outlook is not good."

.