Joseph Koebel has devoted his entire career to the restoration of the Kissimmee River.

“The goal of this project is to restore fish and wildlife values in the Kissimmee River Valley and that is exactly what we are doing,” Koebel, a senior environmental scientist at the South Florida Water Management District said.

By restoring the closed-off oxbows, water flow washes away decades of decayed vegetation- muck and uncovers the natural sandy shore. First, the tiniest of creatures reappeared

Scientists use core samples to check for bugs.  They sort through the materials in all the samples, and when they get enough of them, they can use the data to show evidence that the restoration is working.

After all, if the bottom of the food chain is present, then the top isn’t far behind.

“As we travel down the river, we see these sandbars on every turn and those are those are the perfect habitat for alligators and turtles to bask, and shore birds,” Koebel said.

It’s something the expedition crew took note of.

“It seemed like everything tripled the alligators and birds,” said Doug Alderson of Florida Greenways and Trails, Department of Environmental Protection. “It was really great to be on a real river. Nature doesn’t make straight rivers.”

By the end of Day 11 the team made it to the Kissimmee River Fish Camp. They’ve got one more day to go. On day 12, they head to the Okee-Tantie.