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The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is restoring the hydrology and habitat within the Picayune Strand Restoration Project (PSRP), located in Collier County, Florida. The PSRP is a component of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP). The PSRP will restore over 55,000 acres of native Florida wetlands and is expected to result in improved flows of water into Collier Seminole State Park (CSSP), Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge and the Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, thereby restoring natural sheet flow of water and improving habitat for fish and wildlife resources, including threatened and endangered species such as the Florida Panther. This restoration will help with the connectivity of the ecosystem and assist with aquifer recharge to help prevent saltwater intrusion.

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Earthology was awarded the contract for the environmental monitoring and assessment of the Southwest Protection Features (SWPF) component of the PSRP.  This monitoring will include surface water and sediment quality, flow, stage, fish tissue, groundwater level, vegetation transects, and periphyton to support adaptive management and monitoring while the SWPF are being constructed. This monitoring will take place in and around CSSP, where we expect a return to historical freshwater water levels which will, in turn, assist with fire and natural resource management. The period of monitoring services started in 2022 and will last up to 5 years. This monitoring will also provide data in compliance with the PSRP Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan Regulation Act permit (No. 0288313-014).

 

For more information, you can read more about the USACE's efforts here.