Everglades

"The Everglades is a test. If we pass it, we get to keep the planet."

- Joe Podger, Environmentalist

Everglades Information

IN BRIEF
Spanning the southern tip of the Florida peninsula and most of Florida Bay, Everglades National Park is the only subtropical preserve in North America. It contains both temperate and tropical plant communities, including sawgrass prairies, mangrove and cypress swamps, pinelands, and hardwood hammocks, as well as marine and estuarine environments. The park is known for its rich bird life, particularly large wading birds, such as the roseate spoonbill, wood stork, great blue heron and a variety of egrets. It is also the only place in the world where alligators and crocodiles exist side by side. Everglades National Park has been designated a World Heritage Site, an International Biosphere Reserve, and a Wetland of International Importance.

I have had the amazing opportunity to travel through this magical land for most of my life. The first trip I remember into the Everglades was with my family on a "boat safari" in about 1959. These ranger led motorboat safaris looped from Flamingo and Everglades City to Lostman's River. Most of the trip was full throttle running past endless mangroves, but we stopped many times to explore. Cape Sable