U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge

Southeast Region
Loxahatchee Impoundment Landscape Assessment (LILA)

LILA: An Everglades Living Laboratory


The science behind Everglades restoration is keeping researchers busy at a unique outdoor laboratory: the Loxahatchee Impoundment Landscape Assessment (LILA), located at the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge in Boynton Beach, Florida.

LILA is a working, 80-acre model of the Everglades ecosystem. This "living laboratory" gives experts an opportunity to research and apply restoration techniques on a small, controlled scale before taking them into the 1.7 million-acre Everglades ecosystem.

The unique facility was built in 2003 as a partnership between the South Florida Water Management District, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

LILA Kiosk

LILA Kiosk

Visitors to the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge will find LILA located on the birding trail. By visiting LILA, you'll be able to spend a morning watching a wide variety of native wading birds and other wildlife -- at the same time scientists are collecting and analyzing data that will ultimately be used to restore Florida's precious Everglades.



Learn more about LILA

SFWMD Teacher Training Workshops/Educational Information