JACKSONVILLE — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District and our partners at the South Florida Water Management District have POSTPONED the Open House and Western Everglades Restoration Project (WERP) Project Delivery Team Meeting in Immokalee originally scheduled for Thursday, August 31, due to Hurricane Idalia. The Open House and Hybrid Project Delivery Team meeting will be rescheduled for another date in the future.

“Safety is always our first priority, so we have decided to postpone the Western Everglades Restoration Project Open House and Project Delivery Team Meeting, originally scheduled for August 31, due to Hurricane Idalia,” said WERP Project Manager Steve Baisden. “We want everyone to be able to focus on their family and their safety, before, during and after the storm. There is a lot of interest in this project, and we will let everyone know when we have been able to reschedule it in the future.”

The goals of WERP are to improve the quantity, quality, timing, and distribution of water in the Western Everglades in the effort to re-establish ecological connectivity, reduce the severity and frequency of wildfires, and restore low nutrient conditions.

The Western Everglades Restoration Project is a component of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, which was authorized under the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) 2000. The study area covers approximately 1,200 square miles. If the project is authorized, it will improve the quantity, quality, timing, and distribution of water in the western Everglades.

Additional information is available at: www.saj.usace.army.mil/WERP/