Jewell Visiting Everglades National Park for Earth Day 2016
She will be joined by federal, state, and conservation partners to celebrate one of the largest conservation projects ever undertaken by the Park Service. Through a collaborative effort between it and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, infrastructure improvements began in 2009 to restore flow by replacing sections of the Tamiami Trail roadway with bridges.
U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell will spend part of April 22, Earth Day 2016, taking part in a celebration to kick off the next phase of bridging the Tamiami Trail to provide ecological restoration benefits to Everglades National Park in Florida. The project is a milestone in the Obama administration's and the state of Florida's efforts to conserve the Everglades through a focus on restoring historic water flows and wildlife habitat, according to the department.
Jewell will be joined by U.S. Reps. Carlos Curbelo and Patrick Murphy; Florida Department of Transportation District Secretary Gus Pego; Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Jo-Ellen Darcy; National Park Service Deputy Director Peggy O'Dell; and other federal, state, and conservation partners to celebrate one of the largest conservation projects ever undertaken by the Park Service. Through a collaborative effort between it and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, infrastructure improvements began in 2009 to restore flow by replacing sections of the Tamiami Trail roadway with bridges.
The first mile of bridging was completed in 2013, and the next 2.5-mile bridge is made possible by a collaborative funding partnership among NPS, the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Lands Highway Program, and Florida's Department of Transportation.