Battleground Everglades

Charles J. Kropke speaks with scientists, environmentalists, and legislators on all sides of the issue of the 2016 toxic algae outbreak in the Everglades, an unprecedented local disaster with international implications.

Go behind the scenes of the fight against devastation caused by non-native plants and animals, including the relentless Old World Climbing Fern and efforts by retrained military veterans who capture Burmese Pythons.

Enormous challenges face the liquid heart of the Everglades's, Lake Okeechobee. New restoration efforts to reverse the damage done from harnessing nature in the name of progress may save the wetlands yet.

Sea level rise has been a world-wide threat, with South Florida at the epicenter. The effects on the delicate Everglades ecosystems include an impact on drinking water supplies and the physical coastline itself.

Florida’s next generation of environmental stewards trek through a cypress swamp. Updates on environmental issues reveal how Everglades restoration has become a “classroom to the world” on saving complex wetlands.

Unique perspective on the Everglades including a "Gladesman;" a Miccosukee Indian preserving ancestral traditions and the ecosystem; the leader of Guardians of the Glades; a longtime government advisor and advocate for restoration.