METHODOLOGY

The present and future challenges facing the Everglades region are studied using an analytical framework that has been applied in several prior studies. In this framework, various future scenarios are generated, each of which produces a different alternative future. The objective of the study is to understand the consequences across a range of possible futures.

Rather than seeking to create a single vision for the future of the region, the study models a range of choices that decision-makers face today in order to better understand the implications of potential future trajectories. The approach utilizes available quantitative and qualitative information to represent a broad spectrum of values and opinions regarding the future of the Everglades region, with stakeholders guiding the development of the study to ensure that it reflects local values.

A computer-based geographic information system (GIS) is used to organize the data spatially and to model complex processes at work. Computer models assess key processes such as economic and ecological systems.

Interviews and discussions with relevant groups and individuals play a critical role in the study, both to help determine the types and extent of conservation and development strategies to be studied, and to help define the economic, visual, and ecological assessment models.