The National Research Council Committee for Independent Review of Everglades Restoration is learning more about the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science-sponsoredMarine and Estuarine Goal Setting for South Florida(MARES) project. The Committee has invited MARES project leader, Dr. Peter Ortner, Director, Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies, to speak about the project at its August 22-24, 2011, meeting in Miami.
Following more than a decade of NCCOS studies on the effects of Everglades restoration on the South Florida coastal and marine environment, MARES is establishing a consensus on quantifiable restoration goals for South Florida’s coastal marine ecosystem.
Incorporating both natural and social science, MARES is a collaboration of academic scientists, federal and state agency experts and non-governmental environmental organizations working in conjunction with agency managers, private industry stakeholders and interested members of the public.
Federal restoration of the Everglades is conducted through the interagency Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP). CERP progress is monitored by the Congressionally-mandated review Committee.