The mission of "Greater Everglades Restoration - 2050" requires that Planning, Policy and Science lead to Advancing the Science to Achieve Success. The purpose of the GEER 2008 is to provide a forum for restoration practitioners – including private, public and tribal decision makers, engineers, planners, resource managers, scientists – to share their knowledge and challenges concerning restoration of this national treasure – the Greater Everglades. So, what is this vast and wonderful system we call the Greater Everglades?

The Greater Everglades is an interlinked complex of natural and human ecosystems from the Kissimmee River at the top through Lake Okeechobee, the Loxahatchee and St. Lucie estuaries to the east and the Caloosahatchee Estuary to the west, southward to the Everglades and Florida Bay with the Keys at the bottom; and, from Biscayne Bay and other coastal systems on the east to Big Cypress, Ten Thousand Islands and other coastal systems on the west.