FLAMINGO, Fla. — Dr. Jerry Lorenz is retiring as the research director of Audubon Florida, but he will continue to live near his beloved Florida Bay along the southern tip of the peninsula. This area of the state has been his life's work.
"(Florida Bay) has been wounded, but it has plenty of life left in it," Lorenz recently told WPTV anchor Michael Williams. "Getting it restored, Everglades restoration, will make this bay as healthy as it can be."
WATCH BELOW: Environmentalist sounds off on Florida Bay's health and importance of this beloved estuary
About 90% of Florida Bay is located inside of Everglades National Park. Lorenz has seen all of it over his 36 years of work here.
"When I started, Florida Bay was essentially dead," Lorenz said. "We had fish kills, all the seagrasses had died off, we had anoxic episodes where there is no oxygen in the water because salt content in Florida Bay was too high."
Florida Bay needs just the right mix of freshwater and saltwater — a brackish mix for birds, manatees, sea turtles, seagrass and more to thrive.
Lorenz and other environmentalists pleaded that case to water managers for years.
"Compared to the state of the bay when I arrived in 1989, water management, water management practices, the powers that be, Everglades National Park, there's been a concerted effort both federally and state to get water into this bay and it has really helped," Lorenz said.
More consistent water flow from the Everglades south into Florida Bay marks the ongoing attempt to recreate a natural water flow. It's one that was drastically altered by the need for flood control and an exploding population.
"I watched things get worse for the first decade I was here, and for the last two and a half decades, I've watched it slowly improve," Lorenz recalled.
He quickly adds there is a long way to go, and Florida Bay still faces big challenges on many fronts.
"I have documented this in the last 20 years the water level in the bay has come up at least 5-6 inches," Lorenz said.
Lorenz warned that this sea level rise means saltwater intrusion, which can harm the freshwater resources all of us need.
"The biggest long-term peril is our drinking water," he said. "Our drinking water comes from the Everglades and if the Everglades is not healthy, or if it goes under saltwater, if the sea level comes up and we don't have that pushback from freshwater ... we will not have drinking water."
Lorenz peered across Florida Bay on the day WPTV visited. It was nothing but blue skies. Storm warnings, though, are not far from his mind.
"We don't want to go someplace that is not going to look nice or where we can't fish," Lorenz concluded. "Restoring the Everglades is our economy. This is what we sell. I think that what we do to this planet is very important, and I think it is unethical and immoral not to protect these kinds of places."
READ MORE OF WPTV ANCHOR MICHAEL WILLIAMS' STORIES ON EVERGLADES RESTORATION:
Protecting Paradise
Why Florida Bay's health is important for all of South Florida
Protecting Paradise
How Lake Okeechobee discharges have impacted St. Lucie Estuary
Protecting Paradise
How restoring aquatic vegetation is key to cleaner water
Protecting Paradise
