The Everglades Handbook: Understanding the Ecosystem

Completely revised, updated, and now with color photographs and illustrations in every chapter, The Everglades Handbook provides a breadth and depth of information on the entire ecosystem of the Everglades that cannot be found anywhere else. Written by Thomas Lodge, one of the most respected authorities on the Everglades and one of its most ardent protectors, the book is an updated, expanded, and comprehensive explanation of what the Everglades is, how it has been changed, and the restoration needed to bring back ecological functions and safeguard sustainable future uses of the region by people.

Expanded and updated coverage in the third edition includes:

• Caloosahatchee/Charlotte Harbor ecosystem
• Kissimmee headwaters, including the chain of lakes near Orlando
• St. Lucie/Indian River estuary
• Impact of invasive species on various south Florida ecosystems
• Sustainable agriculture relative to the Everglades ecosystem and other south Florida areas
• Progress and impacts of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan
• New chapter entitled Peripheral Ecosystems of the Everglades

This edition maintains Lodge's trademark style, making the book appealing to students, the general public, scientists, and managers. A bestseller in each edition since its publication in 1994, this is quite possibly the most attractive, readable science book available on the Everglades.

Thomas Lodge was interviewed by the Florida International University student media regarding his appearance at the Miami Book Fair International. He is also featured in a Miami Herald article highlighting Florida authors and their participation in the event.

Thomas E Lodge, Ph.D., is a self-employed ecologist. He has led numerous environmental projects directly relating to the Everglades, including the development of methodology for evaluating the ecological functions and values of historic Everglades wetlands for the purpose of providing "no net loss" of wetlands. Dr. Lodge has served on the Board of Directors of the Tropical Audubon Society and was an appointed member of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s "Multi-Species Ecosystem Restoration Team," which assisted in Everglades restoration strategies dealing with listed species. He has also occupied an invited faculty position to teach South Florida Ecology at Florida International University, where the all editions of The Everglades Handbook: Understanding the Ecosystem have been used as course texts.

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Dr. Lodge has a B.A. with a major and departmental honors in zoology from Ohio Wesleyan University (1966) and a Ph.D. in biology from the University of Miami in Florida (1974). In graduate school, he became fascinated with the Everglades, both academically and personally. In addition to publishing magazine articles on the Everglades, he wrote and directed an educational film ("The Everglades Region, An Ecological Study", John Wiley and Sons, 1973), and published on the fishes of the region. After receiving his Ph.D., he became an environmental consultant, specializing in wetlands and aquatic ecosystems. Dr. Lodge still works as a consultant, with two recent examples being a reassessment of Everglades restoration options in a team effort with The Everglades Foundation and protection of Grassy Waters Preserve, part of the historic Loxahatchee Slough. His professional interest in the Everglades is mirrored in his personal interests. For more than 40 years he has been a regular observer and photographer of Everglades wildlife, his ultimate relaxation.