>>THIS PROGRAM IS BROUGHT TO YOU IN PART BY THE PAUL B HUNTER AND CONSTANCE D HUNTER CHARITABLE FOUNDATION, A PROUD PARTNER OF WUCF AND THE CENTRAL FLORIDA COMMUNITY.

>>ON THIS EDITION OF FLORIDA ROAD TRIP, WE HEAD TO SOUTH FLORIDA TO AN AREA THAT IS KNOWN AS THE "RIVER OF GRASS."

IT'S ONE OF THE NATION'S ECOLOGICAL WONDERS AND ALSO HOME TO MORE THAN 2000 SPECIES OF PLANTS AND ANIMALS.

JOIN US AS WE UNCOVER THE HISTORY AND THE INTERESTING STORIES ABOUT THE FLORIDA EVERGLADES.

ROAD TRIP IS ON THE ROAD.

[MUSIC] HELLO, EVERYONE, AND WELCOME TO ANOTHER EDITION OF FLORIDA ROAD TRIP.

I'M BUDDY PITMAN.

THANKS FOR BEING WITH US.

YOU KNOW, THE SPANIARDS STARTED SETTLING FLORIDA AROUND 1565 AND FOR THE NEXT 250 PLUS YEARS OR SO, OWNED WHAT WOULD EVENTUALLY BECOME THE STATE OF FLORIDA.

BUT THEY HAD VERY LITTLE USE FOR WHAT THEY CALLED "SWAMP LAND" THAT JUST CONTAINED A BUNCH OF PLANTS AND ANIMALS.

BOY, WERE THEY EVER WRONG.

>>THE EVERGLADES IS ONE OF THE MOST UNIQUE ECOSYSTEMS IN THE WORLD.

IT IS HOME TO THOUSANDS OF SPECIES OF WILDLIFE.

IT IS A PLACE THAT HAS BEEN NATIONALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNIZED AND SET ASIDE BECAUSE OF ITS IMPORTANCE.

>>THE EVERGLADES IS HARD TO DESCRIBE BECAUSE IT IS SOMETHING DIFFERENT TO EVERYONE, BUT IT'S A VAST, CONNECTED ECOSYSTEM THAT IS TRULY UNIQUE ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD.

IN THAT WORLD TODAY, WHERE THINGS ARE DISCONNECTED AND FRAGMENTED, EVERGLADES HAS RETAINED THAT ESSENTIAL CONNECTION THAT MAKES IT STILL FUNCTION AS AN ECOSYSTEM.

>>WHAT'S INTERESTING ABOUT THE EVERGLADES IS WHAT'S IN THE INTERACTIONS BETWEEN THE PLANTS AND ANIMALS AND THE ECOSYSTEM.

ONE OF THE GREAT THINGS ABOUT THE EVERGLADES IS YOU NEVER QUITE KNOW FOR SURE WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO SEE.

SO IT'S A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT EVERY DAY.

>>THE EVERGLADES IN EARLY COLONIAL AND POST-CONTACT HISTORY WAS A PLACE THAT DIDN'T RECEIVE MUCH ATTENTION BY SPANISH SETTLERS BECAUSE MOST OF THEIR ATTENTION WAS FOCUSED ON THE AREAS NORTH OF WHERE EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK IS CURRENTLY LOCATED, BECAUSE THE SOUTHERN PORTION OF THE STATE DIDN'T HAVE THE RESOURCES TO HELP SUPPORT THE NEEDS OF THE EXPEDITION.

SO THE SOUTHERN PORTION OF FLORIDA WAS NOT THE CENTER OF FOCUS FOR THE EARLY SPANISH EXPEDITIONS.

>>WHEN MOST PEOPLE THINK OF THE EVERGLADES, THEY THINK OF SOME MARSHLAND DOWN ON THE SOUTHWEST TIP OF THE STATE THAT IS ACTUALLY EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK.

THE ENTIRE ORIGINAL EVERGLADES ACTUALLY STARTED JUST SOUTH OF ORLANDO AND RAN ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE SOUTHERN PART OF THE STATE.

>>TO PUT THE EVERGLADES, THE HISTORICAL EVERGLADES IN PERSPECTIVE, YOU REALLY HAVE TO START AT THE SOUTHERN RIM OF LAKE OKEECHOBEE.

THAT'S WHERE THE RIVER OF GRASS BEGAN.

AND IT FLOWED MORE THAN 100 MILES DOWN TO THE TIP OF THE FLORIDA PENINSULA AT FLORIDA BAY AND NEAR THE FLORIDA KEYS.

AND IN SOME AREAS, IT WAS OVER 50 MILES WIDE.

SO YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT A VAST, BROAD, FLOWING ECOSYSTEM FROM TOP TO BOTTOM, OVER 100 MILES IN LENGTH.

AND THE REASON WHY IT WAS FLOWING RIVER OF GRASS IS BECAUSE THERE WAS A VERY GENTLE SLOPE, MUCH OF WHICH STILL EXISTS TODAY OF ABOUT TWO INCHES OF DROP FOR EVERY MILE THAT YOU GO SOUTH FROM LAKE OKEECHOBEE.

AND BECAUSE THE TOPOGRAPHY IS SO FLAT, IT WAS SUCH THAT THE WATER FLOWING OUT OF LAKE OKEECHOBEE TO THE SOUTH WOULD FAN OUT AS A VERY THIN SHEET, FLOWING AN INCH OR LESS PER SECOND, JUST GRADUALLY MAKING ITS WAY SOUTH.

BUT THAT OBVIOUSLY IS NO LONGER THE CASE.

THE EVERGLADES WAS ONCE ABOUT 5000 SQUARE MILES SOUTH OF LAKE OKEECHOBEE IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE RIVER OF GRASS.

BUT TODAY, IT'S REALLY A FRACTION OF ITS SIZE AND ESTIMATES ARE ABOUT 50% REMAINS.

>>YES, THE EVERGLADES TODAY ARE ABOUT HALF THE SIZE THAT IT WAS ORIGINALLY THAT AS A RESULT OF EFFORTS LAUNCHED BACK IN THE LATE 1800S TO DRAIN PORTIONS OF THE WETLANDS, TO CREATE MORE USABLE FARMLAND.

>>SOUTH FLORIDA'S INTERIOR REMAINED MOSTLY A MARSHLAND.

THEN IN 1850, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, REALIZING THE LAND'S POTENTIAL, DEEDED THE EVERGLADES TO FLORIDA.

THE STATE ENCOURAGED PRIVATE INDIVIDUALS TO BEGIN EARLY DEVELOPMENT.

DIKES, CANALS, AND DRAINAGE DITCHES WERE CONSTRUCTED.

THE WILDERNESS WAS BEING TRANSFORMED, OPENING THE AREA TO PIONEER FARMERS.

>>THE THOUGHT AT THE TIME WAS, THIS IS POTENTIALLY VALUABLE FOR AGRICULTURE.

THE PROBLEM IS IT'S TOO WET FOR MANY OF THE CROPS THAT WE WANT TO GROW.

ONE OF THE OTHER VALUABLE ASPECTS IS OUR CLIMATE HERE IN SOUTH FLORIDA.

WE HAVE EFFECTIVELY A YEAR ROUND GROWING SEASON, ESPECIALLY SOUTH OF LAKE OKEECHOBEE.

AND SO THAT REALLY CREATED A PUSH TO DRAIN THAT LAND FOR AGRICULTURE AND CERTAINLY FOR THE SUBSEQUENT DEVELOPMENT THAT WAS NEEDED TO SUPPORT AGRICULTURE AT THAT SCALE.

>>THE FIRST MAJOR LAND DEVELOPER WAS HAMILTON DISSTON WHO BASED HIS DREDGING OPERATION AT THE NORTHERNMOST POINT OF THE EVERGLADES JUST SOUTH OF ORLANDO IN KISSIMMEE.

>>HAMILTON DISSTON WAS AN IMPORTANT PLAYER BECAUSE HE MADE A DEAL WITH THE STATE OF FLORIDA TO PURCHASE 4 MILLION ACRES.

MOST OF THAT LAND WAS UNDER WATER, AND HE GOT IT AT THE PRICE OF $0.25 AN ACRE.

HE HAD THE INTENTION THAT HE WAS GOING TO DREDGE THE LAND AND MAKE IT MORE HABITABLE SO THAT HOMES COULD BE BUILT AND FARMS COULD BE BUILT.

AND IN RETURN, THE STATE OF FLORIDA WOULD SHARE 50% OF THAT LAND AND GIVE IT BACK TO HIM TO RESELL.

>>BEING THE ENTREPRENEUR THAT HE WAS, DISSTON USED SOME OF THE FIRST DREDGED LAND TO START HIS OWN SUGARCANE BUSINESS.

HIS INVESTMENT IN THE EVERGLADES LAND HELPED TRIGGER FLORIDA'S FIRST LAND BOOM.

>>HE WAS TRYING TO STRAIGHTEN THE KISSIMMEE RIVER AND DREDGE THE LAND ON EITHER SIDE BECAUSE THAT THEN WOULD BE CONDUCIVE TO INDUSTRY AND THE ECONOMY OF THE AREA.

HE WAS ABOUT MAKING MONEY.

>>BY 1884, DISSTON HAD DRAINED ABOUT 2 MILLION ACRES.

AND ALTHOUGH HIS ENGINEERED CANALS AIDED WATER TRANSPORT AND STEAMBOAT TRAFFIC IN FLORIDA, HE WAS ULTIMATELY UNSUCCESSFUL IN DRAINING THE KISSIMMEE RIVER FLOODPLAIN OR LOWERING THE SURFACE WATER AROUND LAKE OKEECHOBEE AND IN THE EVERGLADES.

>>FORTUNATELY FOR THE STATE OF FLORIDA, HIS EFFORTS WERE PRETTY UNSUCCESSFUL.

AND AS YOU LOOK AT IT, YOU COULD SAY THANK GOODNESS IT WAS NOT SUCCESSFUL BECAUSE YOU COULD ONLY IMAGINE THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT HAD HE SUCCEEDED IN DREDGING, IT WOULD HAVE COMPLETELY CHANGED THE ENVIRONMENT OF THIS PART OF FLORIDA AND THE EVERGLADES PERMANENTLY.

>>PART OF THE RESULTING PROBLEM OF DRAINING THE EVERGLADES AND THE LACK OF WATER MANAGEMENT TOOK CENTER STAGE IN 1926 AND 1928, WITH TWO HUGE HURRICANES.

THE 1928 HURRICANE IS ARGUABLY THE MOST UNDERREPORTED NATURAL DISASTER IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES.

IT KILLED MORE PEOPLE THAN ANY OTHER SINGLE EVENT, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE GREAT 1900 GALVESTON, TEXAS HURRICANE.

>>THE TRACKS OF BOTH OF THOSE STORMS WENT BASICALLY OVER LAKE OKEECHOBEE.

AND SO THOSE COMMUNITIES, THE AGRICULTURAL COMMUNITIES THAT WERE DEVELOPING AROUND THE LAKE, PARTICULARLY SOUTH OF THE LAKE, WERE MOST VULNERABLE.

>>THE REASON WHY THE 1928 HURRICANE WAS SUCH A KILLER WAS LAKE OKEECHOBEE.

LAKE OKEECHOBEE IS SO HUGE.

IT'S THREE QUARTERS THE SIZE OF RHODE ISLAND.

IT'S SO HUGE.

YOU CAN SEE IT FROM SPACE AND IT'S GOT TRILLIONS OF GALLONS OF WATER, BUT IT'S A VERY SHALLOW LAKE.

IF IT DID GET A WIND EVENT, THAT WATER WAS COMING OUT OF THE LAKE.

AND WE'RE TALKING A LOT OF WATER.

NOT TOO LONG AFTER THAT, HERBERT HOOVER CAME DOWN FOR A VISIT AND SO THE STATE TOOK HIM AROUND AND SAID, LOOK, WE THINK WE NEED TO BUILD A DIKE.

WE NEED TO BUILD A BIG DIKE.

AND HOOVER AGREED.

>>PRESIDENT ELECT HERBERT HOOVER MADE A PERSONAL TOUR OF THE DEVASTATED COMMUNITIES OF THE OKEECHOBEE AREA TODAY.

IN A STATEMENT TO NEWSMEN, HE PLEDGED HIS SUPPORT OF FEDERAL LEGISLATION TO PREVENT A RECURRENCE OF SUCH DISASTER.

>>HERBERT HOOVER CONVINCED CONGRESS TO APPROPRIATE ALMOST $10 MILLION TO BUILD THE DIKE THAT YOU SEE TODAY.

IT'S ABOUT 85 MILES AROUND THE LAKE, ABOUT 38 FEET TALL.

IT'S A MASSIVE STRUCTURE, SO MASSIVE THAT PASSERS BY CAN'T EVEN SEE THE LAKE ANYMORE.

>>IT WOULD NOT BE COMPLETELY FINISHED UNTIL 1960, AT WHICH POINT A VERY, VERY OLD HERBERT HOOVER CAME DOWN TO DEDICATE THE HERBERT HOOVER DIKE.

>>THE IMPACT OF THE HURRICANES IN 1926 AND 1928 AND THE LIVES THAT WERE LOST IN THOSE EVENTS REALLY SHIFTED HOW THE STATE OF FLORIDA WAS THINKING ABOUT DRAINAGE IN THE SOUTHERN REGIONS OF FLORIDA.

>>THE DRAINAGE EFFORTS WERE MONUMENTAL AND REQUIRED MASSIVE CANALS CONNECTING LAKE OKEECHOBEE TO THE COAST, EITHER INITIALLY TO THE CALOOSAHATCHEE RIVER ON THE WEST COAST, AND THEN MAJOR CANALS, SOME OF WHICH WE STILL HAVE TODAY, THAT WOULD TAKE WATER FROM LAKE OKEECHOBEE AND DRAIN IT TO THE ATLANTIC COAST.

AND, OF COURSE, THAT SET IN MOTION FURTHER DRAINAGE EFFORTS THAT GAVE US THE EVERGLADES WE HAVE TODAY THAT'S ABOUT 50% OF WHAT IT WAS HISTORICALLY.

>>THE PUSH TO PRESERVE THE EVERGLADES AS A STATE PARK BEGAN SOME 30 YEARS BEFORE THE PARK ACTUALLY BECAME REALITY.

>>IN NOVEMBER OF 1916, UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF MAY MANN JENNINGS, MEMBERS OF THE FLORIDA FEDERATION OF WOMEN'S CLUBS DEDICATED ROYAL PALM STATE PARK, WHICH WAS THE FIRST STATE PARK IN THE STATE OF FLORIDA.

THOSE LANDS WOULD EVENTUALLY BECOME THE CORE PROPERTY OF EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK, AND THE IDEA OF EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK STEMMED FROM THE WORK THAT THESE WOMEN WERE DOING LONG BEFORE WOMEN ACTUALLY HAD THE RIGHT TO VOTE.

SO WHEN WE THINK ABOUT HOW IMPORTANT THEIR MINDSET OF CONSERVATION WAS IN THAT EARLY TIME PERIOD AND WHAT THEIR INFLUENCE AND THEIR HARD WORK HAD IN THE FUTURE, IT'S A REALLY, REALLY AMAZING STORY ABOUT HOW A SMALL GROUP OF PEOPLE WAS ABLE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE FOR GENERATIONS TO COME.

>>THE YEAR 1947 WAS A WATERSHED IN FLORIDA ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY.

THAT WAS THE YEAR THAT EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK WAS DEDICATED IN FLORIDA.

AND ON ITS DEDICATION IN DECEMBER 1947, PRESIDENT HARRY S. TRUMAN CAME DOWN TO THE EVERGLADES WITH A CROWD OF 8,000 PEOPLE THAT WENT OUT TO THE SITE, AND THERE THEY DEDICATED THIS NEW PARK.

>>TODAY WE MARK THE ACHIEVEMENT OF ANOTHER GREAT CONSERVATION VICTORY.

WE HAVE PERMANENTLY SAFEGUARDED AN IRREPLACEABLE PRIMITIVE AREA.

THE EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK.

>>AND IT WAS THE FIRST TIME IN THE NATION THAT A NATIONAL PARK HAD BEEN CREATED SIMPLY FOR ITS BIODIVERSITY, NOT ITS SCENERY.

SAW GRASS AND WATER AREN'T SO PRETTY TO A LOT OF PEOPLE, BUT FOR THE RICH BIOLOGICAL LIFE THAT IT CONTAINED.

IT WAS A GREAT RECOGNITION OF THE VALUE OF THE PARK.

>>THE EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK WAS DEDICATED BACK IN 1947 AND PROTECTS THE SOUTHERNMOST 20% OF THE ORIGINAL FLORIDA EVERGLADES.

>>WHAT MAKES THE EVERGLADES UNIQUE IS REALLY DIFFICULT BECAUSE AGAIN, THERE'S SO MANY DIFFERENT FACETS.

ALLIGATORS AND CROCODILES LIVE TOGETHER IN THE SAME AREA, SOMETIMES THE SAME WATER BODIES.

AND THAT'S A REALLY RARE OCCURRENCE.

IT SUPPORTS BIRDS AND WILDLIFE THAT USE THE LANDSCAPE VARIABLY ACROSS THE YEAR.

NO TWO YEARS ARE THE SAME IN THE EVERGLADES.

IT'S THIS VARIABILITY, YOU KNOW, THAT SHAPES THE EVERGLADES AND MAKES IT WHAT IT IS.

IT'S A WETLAND THAT SUPPORTS NUMEROUS LISTED THREATENED ENDANGERED PLANTS, HAS UP WINDS THAT ARE SOME OF THE LAST REMAINING PINE ROCKLAND COMMUNITIES IN THE STATE OF FLORIDA THAT ARE INTACT IN LARGE SCALE.

SO WERE JUST TIME AND AGAIN.

IT'S AN AMAZING AND UNIQUE ECOSYSTEM IN FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF ALMOST EVERY ORGANISM OR ECOSYSTEM COMPONENT, YOU LOOK AT IT.

>>MANY MAY BE UNAWARE OF THE FACT THAT BACK DURING THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS IN THE 1960S, THE U.S. ARMY BUILT A MISSILE DEFENSE BASE IN THE EVERGLADES.

>>WELL, NIKE HERCULES GUIDED MISSILE SYSTEM IS A POWERFUL COMPONENT OF THE U.S. ARMY'S AIR DEFENSE ARSENAL.

>>PART OF THAT IS GEOLOGY, GEOGRAPHY AND POLITICS, WITH THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE NIKE MISSILE BASE IN EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK AND OF COURSE, BEING SO CLOSE TO CUBA.

AND HEATED POLITICS OF THE TIME ALLOWED FOR A MILITARY BASE TO BE ESTABLISHED THAT COULD PROVIDE SOME DEFENSE FOR SOUTH FLORIDA.

YOU CAN ACTUALLY GO OUT TO THAT AREA OF THE PARK TODAY AND HAVE A RANGER GUIDED TOUR OF THAT NIKE MISSILE BASE WHERE THERE ARE LARGE BUNKERS, CONCRETE BUNKERS THAT STILL EXIST TO THIS DAY AND EVEN AN OLD NIKE MISSILE LAUNCHER THAT YOU CAN SEE AS WELL.

>>NOT ONLY DID THEY BUILD A MISSILE DEFENSE BASE IN THE EVERGLADES, THEY ALSO TRIED TO BUILD AN AIRPORT.

>>THERE WAS A PROJECT THAT HAD BEEN PROPOSED BY THE PORT AUTHORITY IN MIAMI TO BUILD A COMMERCIAL JETPORT IN THE BIG CYPRESS SWAMP, WHICH IS TO THE NORTHWEST OF THE EVERGLADES AND ABUTS THE NATIONAL PARK.

THIS WAS CONSIDERED, AGAIN, A DONE DEAL, AND ULTIMATELY ONE HUGE RUNWAY WAS ACTUALLY BUILT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE BIG CYPRESS.

>>THIS 39 SQUARE MILE JETPORT WAS TO BE THE AIRPORT OF THE FUTURE.

SOUTH FLORIDA WAS A GROWING POPULATION, GROWING ECONOMICALLY, AND THEY SAW A NEED TO PROVIDE A LARGER AIRPORT THAT COULD LINK COMMUNITIES ON FLORIDA'S EAST AND WEST COAST.

AND IT WAS DEVASTATING, REALLY, TO AN AREA OF WETLAND SITUATED BETWEEN THOSE TWO ECOSYSTEMS BIG CYPRESS AND THE EVERGLADES RIVER OF GRASS.

>>MARJORY STONEMAN DOUGLAS, WHO HAD WRITTEN THE BOOK THAT EXPLAINED WHAT THE EVERGLADES WERE BECOMES AN ACTIVIST AT AGE 79 IN ORDER TO FIGHT THE JETPORT.

>>THEY CONSTRUCTED PART OF THAT PROJECT.

AND THEN WITH MARJORIE'S EFFORTS AND THOSE OF OTHERS CREATED A COALITION.

AND REALLY THESE GROUPS CAME TOGETHER IN RESPONSE TO THE CONSTRUCTION OF THAT JETPORT AND STOPPED THE PROJECT FROM BEING WHAT IT WAS ORIGINALLY CONCEIVED TO BE.

>>BUT THEIR INTERNAL WORKINGS, IT BECAME CLEAR THAT THIS WAS A BAD IDEA, A BAD PROJECT.

IN JANUARY 1970, COUNTY, FEDERAL AND STATE AUTHORITIES AGREED TO OFFICIALLY HALT THE JETPORT PROJECT.

>>JETPORT GETS MINIMAL USE.

IT'S BASICALLY A TRAINING FACILITY AND A BACKUP RUNWAY.

I BELIEVE IT WAS EVEN A BACKUP RUNWAY FOR THE SPACE SHUTTLE PROGRAM.

AND IT ALSO LED TO THE AGREEMENT THAT ESTABLISHED BIG CYPRESS NATIONAL PRESERVE AND WHAT WE HAVE TODAY AS A FEDERALLY PROTECTED AREA.

YOU KNOW, AT SOME POINT DOWN THE ROAD, WE MIGHT SEE THAT AREA RESTORED BACK TO ITS NATIVE STATE.

>>MOST PEOPLE ARE FAMILIAR WITH AUTHOR MARJORY STONEMAN DOUGLAS.

AND WHEN IT COMES TO THE PRESERVATION OF THE EVERGLADES, SHE WAS ONE OF THE EFFORTS LOUDEST VOICES.

>>FRIENDS OF THE EVERGLADES WAS ACTUALLY FOUNDED BY MARJORY STONEMAN DOUGLAS IN 1969 AND MARJORY REALLY IS WHO HELPED ESTABLISH WHAT THE REAL IDEA OF THE EVERGLADES IS TODAY.

>>WHAT I'VE DONE IS TO BE PART OF THE WORK TO RESTORE THE EVERGLADES, KEEP THEM UP.

SO IT'S MORE THAN WRITING.

IT'S BEEN A LIFE WORK, REALLY.

I HAD NO IDEA WHEN I WROTE THE EVERGLADES, THAT I'D STILL, IN ANOTHER FOUR YEARS BE WORKING IN THE EVERGLADES STILL FOR RESTORATION AND MAINTENANCE.

>>IT WAS 1947 WHEN SHE PUBLISHED HER SEMINAL BOOK, "THE EVERGLADES: RIVER OF GRASS," AND IT WAS THROUGH HER PROSE THAT SHE REALLY HELPED TO DEVELOP THIS KIND OF PUBLIC SHIFT IN PERCEPTION OF WHAT THE EVERGLADES WAS FROM THIS VAST, SWAMPY WASTELAND TO NATIONAL TREASURE.

IT WAS A REGION THAT WAS MEANT TO BE PRESERVED RATHER THAN JUST DRAINED AND CONQUERED FOR THE SAKE OF PROGRESS.

>>I CAME TO FLORIDA AND HERE WAS A NEW COUNTRY.

NOBODY HAD WRITTEN VERY MUCH ABOUT IT WHEN I CAME DOWN IN 1915 AND I REALLY.

DISCOVERED THE EVERGLADES.

SO I DISCOVERED A PIECE OF GEOGRAPHY FOR MYSELF TO THINK HOW LUCKY I WAS TO HAVE FOUND IT.

>>PRESERVATION OF THE EVERGLADES IS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT.

IT'S SOMETHING THAT MARJORIE HELPED US UNDERSTAND.

YOU KNOW, SHE SAW SOMETHING IN THE EVERGLADES THAT HAD NOT PREVIOUSLY BEEN SEEN.

LIKE I SAID, SHE HELPED TO CHANGE THAT PUBLIC PERCEPTION FROM SOMETHING THAT WAS JUST SORT OF IN THE WAY TO SOMETHING THAT SHOULD BE TREASURED AND PROTECTED.

THERE'S A QUOTE THAT WE OFTEN LEAN ON IN THE ENVIRONMENTAL WORLD AND CERTAINLY HERE AT FRIENDS OF THE EVERGLADES THAT SHE SAID AND IT WAS "BE A NUISANCE WHERE IT COUNTS."

AND THAT QUOTE OF HERS REALLY SPEAKS TO THE IDEA THAT NO MATTER WHAT WE'RE FACING, WE JUST CAN'T GIVE UP.

MARJORIE RECOGNIZED MORE THAN ANYBODY THAT THE REAL POWER WAS IN THE PEOPLE THAT WERE DRIVING THE MISSION.

>>WITH SO MUCH WATER AND MARSHLANDS IN THE EVERGLADES, IT MAY SOUND UNUSUAL TO TALK ABOUT FIRE, BUT FIRE IS A KEY INGREDIENT TO PRESERVING AND MAINTAINING THE ENVIRONMENT.

>>JUST AS WE'RE RESTORING THE NATURAL FLOW OF WATER THROUGH EVERGLADES, WE'VE COME TO REALIZE THAT RESTORING THAT NATURAL FLOW OF FIRE THROUGH EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK IS CRITICAL TO MAINTAINING THE BIODIVERSITY WITHIN THIS ECOSYSTEM.

FIRE HAS A VERY NATURAL ROLE HERE IN THE PARK, AND IT'S USED TO HELP REDUCE HAZARDOUS FUELS.

WHEN YOU TAKE FIRE OUT OF AN ECOSYSTEM, YOU'LL START SEEING A GRASS AND A SHRUB COMPONENT BUILD UP OVER TIME, AND THAT CREATES MORE HAZARDOUS FUELS.

AND THE MORE THAT BUILDS UP THE WILDFIRE, RISK BECOMES WORSE AND WORSE.

AND WE START SEEING, YOU KNOW, LARGER AND MORE DEVASTATING WILDFIRES WHEN YOU SEE THAT NATURAL RETURN OF FIRE ON A REGULAR BASIS, WE SEE A REDUCTION IN THOSE FUELS AND IT HELPS MANAGE THE ECOSYSTEM IN MORE OF ITS NATURAL STATE AND MAINTAIN THAT BIODIVERSITY WITHIN THE ECOSYSTEM.

>>THIS LONG RANGE PLANNING AND PATIENCE IS A KEY IN THIS PROCESS BECAUSE THE DESIRED END RESULTS MAY NOT BE EVIDENT FOR AS MUCH AS 8 TO 10 YEARS.

>>WHAT YOU'RE DOING TODAY AFFECTS THAT CHAIN REACTION AND THAT CYCLE BETWEEN WATER AND FIRE AND THE IMPORTANCE OF ALLOWING THAT NATURAL ROTATION TO OCCUR WITHIN THE ECOSYSTEM.

IT'S A CONTINUAL PROCESS YEAR ROUND, BUT THAT REGULAR ROTATION OF FIRE ROUTINELY IN THE ECOSYSTEM IS VERY CRITICAL.

>>WE HAVE HEARD ABOUT THE INVASION OF THE BURMESE PYTHONS IN THE EVERGLADES, BUT THIS IS NOT THE ONLY INVASIVE ELEMENT TRYING TO ATTACK WHAT IS THE LARGEST SUBTROPICAL WETLAND IN NORTH AMERICA.

>>THE BURMESE PYTHONS, I THINK, JUST CAPTURE PEOPLE'S IMAGINATIONS AND FEARS.

THESE GIANT SNAKES ROAMING WILD THROUGH THE LANDSCAPE.

THEY ARE AFFECTING THE FAUNA AND THE SPECIES DIVERSITY IN EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK, THE SIZE OF THESE THING IS WHAT OFTEN PEOPLE RECOGNIZE.

AND SO IT'S A SNAKE THAT'S ABOUT 18 FEET LONG AND WEIGHS ABOUT AS MUCH AS I DO.

>>YOU'RE HAVING TO USE ALL YOUR MUSCLE, AREN'T YOU?

>>YEAH.

>>TO HOLD HER.

>>YEAH.

SHE'S STILL STRONGER THAN ME >>SOMETIMES, WE STILL DON'T HAVE A FULL ANSWER OF HOW WE'RE GOING TO GET RID OF THEM IN THE END.

AND THE PYTHON IS ONE OF THOSE.

WE'RE WORKING ON IT, BUT AT THIS TIME WE DON'T KNOW HOW WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO REMOVE IT FROM THE EVERGLADES.

BUT REALLY, THE PYTHONS ARE ONLY ONE OF MANY INVASIVE SPECIES, AND SO INVASIVE SPECIES AS A WHOLE ARE ONE OF THE THREATS THAT WE NEED TO ADDRESS.

IN ADDITION TO PYTHONS, THERE'S INVASIVE PLANTS, FISH, INSECTS, A WHOLE RANGE.

AND SO WITH ALL OF THE DIFFERENT INVASIVE SPECIES THAT ARE OUT THERE, IT'S ONE WHERE WE NEVER KNOW WHAT'S COMING NEXT.

I'LL NOTE THAT THE CHANGES IN THE ENVIRONMENT ARE ALSO PART OF WHAT SHAPED THE EVERGLADES SO THAT THE WET YEARS, THE FLOOD YEARS, THE STORM YEARS, THE DROUGHT YEARS, THOSE ALL SHAKES THE EVERGLADES AS WE KNOW IT TODAY.

AND SO WITH THINGS LIKE CLIMATE CHANGE COMING ON IN THE FUTURE, IT'S ANOTHER SET OF FACTORS THAT ARE GOING TO CHANGE SOME OF THESE SYSTEMS AND PATTERNS THAT WE'VE SEEN THAT HAVE SHAPED THE EVERGLADES.

AND IT'S GOING TO CONTINUE TO EVOLVE AND CHANGE AS WE'VE WATCHED IT DO FOR MANY YEARS.

>>IT'S OFTEN BEEN SAID THAT YOU CANNOT PRESERVE WHAT YOU DON'T HAVE.

THAT IS WHY THE PRESERVATION EFFORTS IN THE EVERGLADES ARE SO VITAL TO PROTECT THIS PRECIOUS RESOURCE BEFORE IT'S LOST.

>>EVERGLADES RESTORATION WAS REALLY CONCEIVED BEGINNING IN THE 1980S, AND THEY SAW THAT DISCONNECTING THIS ECOSYSTEM FROM LAKE OKEECHOBEE, ITS HISTORIC HEAD, WATER SUPPLY, WAS REALLY DISASTROUS FOR ITS FUTURE.

SO WHAT EVERGLADES RESTORATION WAS DESIGNED TO DO WAS ABOUT RECONNECTING LAKE OKEECHOBEE BACK TO THE SOUTH.

AND IT DID THAT THROUGH LARGE INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS LIKE A RESERVOIR BACKFILLING SOME CANALS THAT WERE CAUSING HARM, REMOVING SOME LEVEES THAT WERE CAUSING WATER TO BE TOO DEEP, OR TOO PANDIT BRIDGING OF ROADS LIKE TAMIAMI TRAIL.

THE IDEA BEING THAT RECONNECTING THE LAKE THROUGH THESE PROSTHESES REALLY LIKE STORAGE RESERVOIRS, CLEANING IT THROUGH TREATMENT WETLANDS AND THEN SENDING THAT WATER SOUTH AND ALLOWING IT TO FLOW IN AS NATURAL A WAY IS POSSIBLE WAS ESSENTIAL TO PROTECTING WHAT REMAINED OF THE EVERGLADES.

>>FIRST THE RESTORATION PROTECTS THE INTEGRITY OF THE EVERGLADES AND THE ECOSYSTEM, AND MAINTAINS THOSE ECOSYSTEM FUNCTIONS.

THOSE FUNCTIONS ARE WHAT ALLOW SOME OF THE RARE SPECIES AND UNIQUE COMMUNITIES TO PERSIST.

AND SO RESTORING SOME OF THAT PREVIOUS CONDITIONS ARE GOING TO HELP TO IMPROVE AND MAINTAIN THOSE UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS.

EVERGLADES RESTORATION IS ALSO GOING TO BE CRITICAL FOR THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT IN SOUTH FLORIDA AND THE DEVELOPED AREAS BECAUSE EVERGLADES RESTORATION IS ALL ABOUT THE WATER AND THE EVERGLADES IS RESPONSIBLE LARGELY FOR RECHARGING THE AQUIFER AND PROVIDING THE DRINKING WATER THAT ALL SOUTH FLORIDIANS RELY ON OR ALMOST ALL RELY ON.

AND SO AS WE RESTORE THE EVERGLADES, WE'RE GOING TO TAKE MEASURES TO PROTECT BOTH OF THE NATIVE ECOSYSTEMS, BUT ALSO TO PROVIDE MORE RESILIENCE FOR THE COMMUNITIES THAT ARE THERE.

AND SO FINDING THAT BALANCE IS GOING TO BE A REALLY IMPORTANT AND CHALLENGING THING AS WE AS WE PROCEED.

>>WE'VE GOT THIS MASSIVE WETLAND ECOSYSTEM.

THIS ECOSYSTEM SUPPORTS A VARIETY OF SPECIES AND COMMUNITIES OF PLANTS AND ANIMALS THAT YOU DON'T FIND ANYWHERE ELSE.

THE QUALITY OF THE WATER THAT THIS ECOSYSTEM PROVIDES AND CONNECTS WITH OUR COASTAL HABITATS, IT REALLY BECOMES ESSENTIAL TO RESTORING AND PROTECTING FOR OUR FUTURE.

>>EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK PROTECTS AN UNPARALLELED LANDSCAPE THAT PROVIDES AN IMPORTANT HABITAT FOR NUMEROUS RARE AND ENDANGERED SPECIES THE ONLY PLACE WHERE ALLIGATORS AND CROCODILES LIVE IN THE SAME ENVIRONMENT, AND A HOME TO PLANTS AND ANIMALS NOT FOUND ANYWHERE ELSE ON THE PLANET.

TO THIS DAY, THE EVERGLADES STILL PLAYS A VITAL ROLE IN OUR STATE, OUR NATION AND OUR WORLD.

>>WHEN PEOPLE COME TO EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK, GENERALLY, PEOPLE DO EXPECT ALLIGATORS, AND THERE'S USUALLY A GOOD OPPORTUNITY TO SEE ALLIGATORS IN THE EVERGLADES.

AND IT'S NICE BECAUSE THEY'RE IN THEIR NATURAL HABITAT.

PEOPLE CAN SEE NOT ONLY ALLIGATORS, BUT THEY CAN SEE ALL SORTS OF WILDLIFE.

IT'S A REALLY GREAT PLACE TO SEE LARGE WADING BIRDS, TURTLES AND SNAKES.

WHAT'S INTERESTING ABOUT THE EVERGLADES IS WHAT'S IN THE THE INTERACTIONS BETWEEN THE PLANTS AND ANIMALS AND THE ECOSYSTEM.

AND IT'S JUST ALL THERE'S THAT INTERCONNECTEDNESS AND HOW ONE THING LEADS TO ANOTHER OR ONE THING SUPPORTS ANOTHER.

>>I HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK TOWARD PRESERVING THE HISTORY OF THIS PLACE AND OF THE PEOPLE AND THE VOICES THAT HAVE BEEN INTEGRAL IN ENSURING ITS LONG TERM PRESERVATION FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS.

>>THE EVERGLADES, TO ME, I GUESS I WOULD DESCRIBE IT AS ONE OF THE MOST WILD AND UNIQUE ECOSYSTEMS ON THE PLANET.

IT'S SO UNIQUE BECAUSE YOU GET TO SEE RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU THAT CONNECTIVITY.

YOU KNOW, IT'S ONE OF THE BEST PLACES IN THE WORLD TO WATCH THAT CYCLE OCCUR.

>>I'VE BEEN WORKING IN AND AROUND THE EVERGLADES FOR OVER 20 YEARS NOW AND IT KEEPS DRAWING ME BACK IN BECAUSE EVERY DAY IN THE EVERGLADES YOU LEARN SOMETHING NEW.

YOU SEE SOMETHING DIFFERENT, AND YOU KEEP SORT OF TESTING AND LEARNING ABOUT THIS WHOLE ECOSYSTEM AND HOW IT WORKS.

AND SO JUST TO BE A PART OF THIS PLACE AND HELPING TO PROTECT THESE NATURAL RESOURCES, BUT ALSO TO WORK WITH THE OTHER GREAT PEOPLE WITH A SIMILAR VISION AND GOALS AND LEARN FROM THEM AND PUT ALL OF OUR HEADS TOGETHER TO TRY TO MAKE IT A BETTER PLACE.

IT'S REALLY REWARDING.

>>MARJORY STONEMAN DOUGLAS PRETTY MUCH SUMMED IT UP BEST WHEN SHE SAID "THERE ARE NO OTHER EVERGLADES IN THE WORLD."

THAT WRAPS UP THIS EDITION OF FLORIDA ROAD TRIP.

I'M BUDDY PITMAN.

THANKS FOR BEING WITH US.

JOIN US NEXT TIME AS WE CONTINUE TO EXPLORE THE RICH HISTORY THAT SURROUNDS US ALL EACH AND EVERY DAY.

[MUSIC] [MUSIC] >>THIS PROGRAM IS BROUGHT TO YOU IN PART BY THE PAUL B HUNTER AND CONSTANCE D HUNTER CHARITABLE FOUNDATION, A PROUD PARTNER OF WUCF AND THE CENTRAL FLORIDA COMMUNITY.