An informed observer writes, "Most of the East Everglades is chronically drier than it was under historical conditions, thus exacerbating the severity and extent of fires. The canals on the eastern border of the Park serve to keep groundwater levels artificially low. This is done for stormwater drainage, as well as protection of root zones for growers. The Park and Everglades advocates have trying for literally decades to return more natural water levels to this area, but it hasn’t happened yet. For example, the problem with the Cape Sable seaside sparrow habitat that is burning is exactly that, according to multiple USFWS biological opinions published since 1999. The habitat is unnaturally dry, which makes it inhospitable to Sparrows by increasing the encroachment of woody vegetation … and increasing the risk of so-called catastrophic events, i.e., fires."
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