Statement from Audubon’s Julie Hill-Gabriel on Central Everglades Planning Project

"Today’s signing of the Chief of Engineers' Report for the Central Everglades Planning Project (CEPP) is a crucial step in restoring America’s Everglades. CEPP is the most ambitious and complex Everglades restoration project taken on to date. This project will restore the heart of the ecosystem by significantly reconnecting the flow of water south from Lake Okeechobee to Florida Bay. It will greatly improve wildlife habitat for Everglade Snail Kites and wading birds, whose populations have decreased as a result of diverting water flows for flood control and water supply. With the report signed, Congress can now authorize and then fund the project. Those are the last prerequisites to construction."