Army Corps Streamlining Initiative Sparks Concern Over Unintended Risks

In 2026, efforts by the U.S. Military Corps of Engineers to streamline initiatives nationwide via its “Constructing Infrastructure Not Paperwork” initiative have introduced new urgency and new threat to Everglades restoration. Whereas the hassle is meant to speed up timelines by lowering procedural delays and expediting opinions, it additionally makes clear that federal priorities are shifting: Initiatives that ship the best nationwide financial return and group security advantages will come first, typically forward of these centered totally on ecological restoration. For the Everglades, that tradeoff raises actual considerations.

The initiative directs the Corps to prioritize and speed up initiatives tied to infrastructure resilience and public security, whereas rating — and probably deauthorizing — lower-priority efforts. It shortens examine and building timelines, tightens value and schedule limits, expands reliance on mitigation banking and non-federal funding, and streamlines allowing, together with Part 408 opinions to approve modifications to infrastructure initiatives. Elevated oversight from the assistant secretary of the Military is meant to make sure initiatives align with these nationwide priorities. Taken collectively, these modifications are designed to ship infrastructure initiatives quicker — however not essentially to advance ecosystem restoration on the similar tempo or precedence.

Everglades restoration doesn’t lend itself to shortcuts. It is dependent upon cautious planning, rigorous modeling, and science-based safeguards to make sure that water is moved, saved, and handled in ways in which really restore the system. These steps are usually not bureaucratic hurdles, they’re what forestall pricey errors and unintended ecological hurt. As streamlining strikes ahead, the important thing query isn’t just how shortly initiatives could be delivered, however which initiatives rise to the highest and whether or not vital restoration efforts are sidelined in favor of these with extra speedy financial or security returns.

This article originally appeared in the Spring 2026 State of the Everglades Report.