On Jan. 26, SCCF Environmental Policy Director Matt DePaolis traveled to Everglades National Park for the groundbreaking ceremony of the Taylor Slough Flow Improvement Project.  

“This project helps support Everglades restoration goals by allowing additional clean freshwater through Everglades National Park and into Florida Bay,” said DePaolis. “It’s certainly no small feat to build a project, but navigating the red tape, garnering support, completing necessary environmental evaluations, and finding the funding to get a project to the point where you can put a shovel in the ground is an immense task that many people don’t see.”

South Florida Water Management Governing Board Chairman Chauncey Goss, Environmental Policy Director Matt DePaolis, and SFWMD Board Member Charlette Roman at the Taylor Slough groundbreaking.

The project will include the installation of 18 culverts to allow water to pass underneath 3.2 miles of the Old Ingraham Highway, as well as move spoil materials from north of the highway to plug canals that could result in freshwater diversion away from Taylor Slough. 

The event was well attended with Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Fish and Wildlife and Parks Shannon Estenoz and Florida Chief Resilience Officer Wes Brooks lauding the project, among others that are furthering the progress of Everglades Restoration.  

“This week has been a flurry of activity, and while the ribbon cuttings are exciting, the groundbreakings represent the massive effort it takes to get a project to this stage,” said DePaolis.  “It’s great to be able to celebrate these wins surrounded by the people who have been working so tirelessly to get us here.”

Officials ‘break ground’ with ceremonial golden shovels in front of Everglades National Park.