Cattails and sawgrass sway as fishermen slice across the still
waters of Lake Okeechobee recently. Decades of managing the lake
for water supply and flood control, without regard for fisheries
and bird habitat, have left the water body in dismal
environmental condition. Hurricanes in 2004 and 2005 sent water
rushing down the Kissimmee River, pouring record amounts of
algae-causing nitrogen and phosphorous into the lake. The liquid
heart of Florida sits in the center of the largest ecosystem
restoration project in the world. Its health dictates the health
of the Everglades, and the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie
estuaries.