25 Years of Everglades Restoration Celebrated at DC Summit 

Amidst the challenges facing the Everglades, hundreds of people are championing for its benefits. Among them is Charlette Roman of Marco Island, joining tribes, the Everglades Foundation, and bipartisan people of nearly every sector.  

Though controversies loom over the Everglades, so too are great opportunities and accomplishments, acknowledged Roman, who serves as the South Florida Water Management District’s chair of the Big Cypress Basin.  

Roman was among numerous leaders from nonprofits and government sectors who visited Washington, DC, in June to celebrate Everglades restoration and the Everglades as a $1 trillion asset, according to the Everglades Foundation.  

“There was so much energy about restoring America's Everglades and getting the job done,” said Roman, in an interview following the trip. 

Roman, a retired U.S. Army Colonel with 26 years of service and a former Marco Island City Council member, was enthusiastic about several recent milestones and lauded the huge team effort in Everglades restoration.  

The Everglades Foundation led the week-long Everglades summit in DC with an economic study that revealed the great wealth of the area.  

Beginning June 10, The Everglades Foundation hosted the America’s Everglades Summit at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center.  

“This week, we saw the full force of the Everglades restoration movement — from business leaders and scientists to Tribal representatives, environmental advocates, and bipartisan lawmakers — all united by one clear message: restoring America’s Everglades is not only possible, it’s essential,” said Eric Eikenberg, CEO of The Everglades Foundation, in a prepared statement issued following the event.  

“The breadth of voices and the momentum we’ve built in our nation’s capital reflect the growing recognition that Everglades restoration is delivering results and deserves continued investment,” Eikenberg said. 

The summit commemorated the 25th anniversary of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) and celebrated the momentum behind decades of restoration progress. 

A central focus of the week was the unveiling of the economic study conducted by The Everglades Foundation in partnership with Earth Economics.  

The report, titled “Thriving Everglades, Thriving Economy: Nature’s Value in the Everglades,” is the first comprehensive economic valuation of the ecosystem and conservatively estimates that the Greater Everglades delivers $1 trillion in ecosystem service value over 50 years, the Foundation announced.  

The study noted $31.5 billion annually in real estate, tourism, outdoor recreation, drinking water supply, and extreme weather protection — leaving attendees struck by the amount of money in the Everglades.  

For Roman, though the financial impact was enormous, she works toward the environment and water qualities most of all, she said.  

“Everglades restoration is fundamentally about infrastructure projects, which allow SFWMD to store water, clean water, and move millions of gallons of water to the Everglades,” Roman said. Restoration also includes providing drinking water and flood protections.  

“So we're restoring the ecosystem, but there are other considerations,” Roman said.  

There have been more than 75 groundbreakings on projects in the past 25 years of Everglades Restoration.  

“This truly is the golden era of Everglades restoration,” Roman said.  

The projects require state and federal partnerships with funding from both. Gov. Ron DeSantis asked for $800 million in funding this year.  

Local leaders were still wrapping their heads around what effects and risks the Alligator Alcatraz immigration detention center, located in the center of the Restoration, would have, they said. 

In the meantime, Roman was celebrating a specific recent accomplishment in Everglades Restoration, particularly Western Everglades, in addition to the decades of work.  

In June, the Miller Pump Station began operating in Picayune Strand State Forest, she announced enthusiastically.  

The Picayune Strand is located in Golden Gate Estates and was impacted by a planned development that failed and was canceled, but left environmental destruction in its wake.  

This priority project in eastern Collier County restores 85 square miles, or 55,000 acres, of wetland and upland habitat, bringing incredible benefits for both nature and people, Roman said.  

“I am so honored to be a part of all this progress with Everglades restoration,” she said.  

 View the Everglades Foundation’s economic study at evergladesfoundation.org/itsworthit.