Everglades National Park ⓘ

National Archives, Records of the Civilian Conservation Corps, Camp Inspection Reports, Box 43

Although most of the CCC camps employed white workers, a few early CCC camps were somewhat integrated. However, this changed when the national CCC administration established separate camps for African Americans. One of these "colored” camps was located within Everglades National Park at Flamingo where, for six months out of the year, corpsmen helped to eradicate a species of native wild cotton infected with the invasive pink bollworm that was posing a risk to the cultivated cotton crop. In a camp inspection report from 1940, the work was described as “hard” and “hazardous.” But for African Americans, who experienced the highest unemployment rate (~50%) at the height of the Great Depression, the CCC provided a reliable salary and educational opportunities from the elementary to college level. In 1942, following the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Roosevelt administration disbanded the CCC program and directed all federal programs to emphasize the war effort. The U.S. Department of Agriculture continued the wild cotton eradication project in Everglades National Park into the early 1970s despite concerns from park management. Ultimately, the National Park Service determined that the project was ineffective and ended it in 1972.

Although known for its vast natural landscapes, the Everglades have been home and hunting grounds for many people and groups. Since the emergence of the River of Grass, Native Americans and later on Anglo-American settlers known as “Gladesmen” traversed the wild landscape and came to rely on its abundant natural resources, and explore its mysteries. Developers would make their mark on the land in a different way, by seeking to alter the wetland landscape by draining the land and building roads and canals. In response to the rapid alterations which were affecting the Everglades, Conservation groups like the Florida Federation of Women’s Clubs pioneered efforts to reclaim and save the “River of Grass” from further development. Learn more about the people that have lived and worked in the Everglades.

Before the Spanish arrived in 1513, the region in south Florida that is now the Everglades National Park was largely inhabited by the Calusa Indians. Emerging around 1000 B.C., the Calusa maintained a highly organized society, and left behind many traces of their civilization, including large scale architectural shell works, shell tools, carved wood, and long distance canoe trails. By the 1700s most of the Calusa population had been decimated by the incoming disease brought by settlers.

With the demise of indigenous people in south Florida, and white settlement occurring to the north, increasing migrations of Creek peoples were forced southward for hunting and settling. The Seminole and Miccosukee, tribes affiliated with the Creek federation, were in the area as early as the eighteenth century.

Early colonial settlers and land developers viewed the Everglades as a worthless swamp in need of reclamation. The dream of draining the swampland took hold in the first half of the 1800s. By the 1880s developers started digging drainage canals, which took place without an understanding of the dynamics of the ecosystem and were generally inadequate for the task. Their actions caused localized silting problems, but overall the ecosystem was resilient enough to sustain itself.

At the end of the nineteenth century the south Florida coast was still largely wilderness, one of the last coastal regions east of the Mississippi to be settled. Only three small communities -- Chokoloskee, Cape Sable and Flamingo -- existed along the coast of what is now Everglades National Park. These isolated locations, far removed from large developed centers, attracted those adjusted to independently living off of the land. The only way to arrive at Flamingo or Chokoloskee was by boat. Supplies were shipped from Key West, Fort Meyers or Tampa and cane syrup, fish, and produce were traded in return. Although the communities were never to become a metropolis, they did have commerce, with some vegetables from Chokoloskee even reaching New York City.

Before the Everglades was established as a National Park in 1947, many people made their living off of the land. Often known as “Gladesmen,” these were men thoroughly experienced with the land who hunted, camped, and survived off the everglades. The culture of the Gladesmen has developed around this unique relationship with the land, which they depended upon for their survival. The Gladesmen depended upon the land and its resources to meet their basic needs, as well as providing individual and community fulfillment.

The Florida Federation of Women’s Clubs, established in 1895, was an umbrella organization for the many state women’s groups that existed. By 1922, membership of FFWC reached 12,000 women. The women’s clubs organized around issues such as prohibition, education, voting rights, rights for the ill, and conservation. The work of these women led to numerous local and statewide reforms and laws.

May Mann Jennings, president of the Florida Federation of Women’s Clubs and wife of Florida governor W. S. Jennings, led conservation efforts in south Florida. Her work led to the establishment of Royal Palm National Park, which was managed by the FFWC until 1947 when it was incorporated by Everglades National Park. Well known for her oratory skills and leadership on a range of issues, May Mann Jennings became one of Florida’s most celebrated activists.

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) began in April 1933 and sprouted from FDR’s New Deal Plan as an effort to employ low income youth to complete conservation work on the nation’s various state and national parks. Civilian Conservation Corps members received $30 a month, $25 of which was sent back home to their families. The Civilian Conservation Corps operated a number of companies until it ended in 1941, in order to devote more funding to war efforts. From October 1933-June 1934 Civilian Conservation Corps Company 262 completed trail work, planted trees, constructed telephone lines, repaired storm damaged structures, and completed other tasks for Royal Palm State Park (Florida SP-1). Although a few early CCC camps were somewhat integrated, the national CCC administration made the change to create separate camps for African Americans . One of the "colored" camps, as they were called, was located in Everglades National Park at Flamingo. Corpsmen worked to eradicate a species of native wild cotton infected with the invasive pink bollworm that was posing a risk to the cultivated cotton crop.

Marjory Stoneman Douglas, born April 7, 1890 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, graduated from Wellesley with straight A's with the elected honor of "Class Orator." That title proved to be prophetic.

In 1915, following a brief and calamitous marriage, she arrived in Miami, working for her father at the Miami Herald . She worked first as a society reporter, then as an editorial page columnist, and later established herself as a writer of note. Here she took on the fight for feminism, racial justice, and conservation long before these causes became popular.

She was ahead of her time in recognizing her need for independence and solitude, yet never considered herself entirely a feminist, saying: "I'd like to hear less talk about men and women and more talk about citizens."

Her book, The Everglades: River of Grass , published in 1947 — the year Everglades National Park was established — has become the definitive description of the natural treasure she fought so hard to protect. After several reprints, the revised edition was published in 1987, to draw attention to the continuing threats to "her river."

In the 1950s, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers rose to the top of her list of enemies. In a major construction program, a complex system of canals, levees, dams, and pump stations was built to provide protection from seasonal flooding to former marsh land — now being used for agriculture and real estate development. Long before scientists became alarmed about the effects on the natural ecosystems of south Florida, Mrs. Douglas was railing at officials for destroying wetlands, eliminating sheetflow of water, and upsetting the natural cycles upon which the entire system depends.

Early on, she recognized that the Everglades was a system which depended not only on the flow of water from Lake Okeechobee into the park, but also upon the Kissimmee River which feeds the lake. To add a voting constituency to her efforts, in 1970 she formed the Friends of the Everglades, and was active as the head of the organization.

Although the Spanish first discovered Florida in the early 16th century, South Florida remained largely unknown to European Americans until the 19th century. Much of the land south of Tampa, which was once all Everglades, was left blank on maps. The harsh subtropical climate, mosquitoes, and impenetrable soggy marshes made it both unappealing and discouraging for settlers to explore. However, Native Americans had made the area their home for centuries and thrived in an environment that appeared so inhospitable to outsiders. The process of exploring the Everglades gained some momentum as the United States gained control of Florida in 1821. From then on, the United States faced an ongoing dilemma of developing the vast wetlands or abandoning them to the Native people that thrived within them.

This section explores the interactions between people and the use of the Everglades. Discover how native tribes built complex and organized societies in a harsh and relentless landscape. The land was further manipulated with the onset of draining and development of agriculture in the area. Beyond this, the Everglades also came to play a role in the United States war efforts. These pages describe the often tumultuous relationship between the land and its users.

While not much is known about the Calusa and other Native peoples that lived in the southern tip of Florida before the arrival of Europeans, archaeological discoveries of Pre-Columbian architecture and artifacts reveal a great deal about the organization, creativity, and skill of these early Floridians.

Beyond shell tools and mounds of discard mounds, native people have also left behind clues of their manipulation of the land in the construction of canal systems. The discovery of an intact canoe canal offers an example of the engineering and organization utilized by native peoples.

Click to learn more about the “shell works," “tree islands,” and canals left behind by indigenous peoples of Florida.

The area now known as Royal Palm in Everglades National Park was originally the first state park in Florida. Then, the Royal Palm State Park, was established in 1916 with the help of the Florida Federation of Women’s Club (FFWC). Before the area was called Royal Palm State Park, it was known as Paradise Key and had both prehistoric and occupations from early Anglo-American settlers. The tree island is bordered on its eastern side by Taylor Slough, the main source of water that runs through the area.

Before the 19 th century, the vast expanse of marsh, prairie, and impenetrable hammock thick with tropical plants and mosquitoes was an undesirable place for early Europeans and later American settlers. Some surveys of the area began during the Seminole Wars, in which Americans began a battle to push the Seminole people deeper into the Everglades. It was only through advocacy and entrepreneurship of capitalists that the Everglades was drained and access opened for all. With this, the need for roads was paramount. The Ingraham Highway became the first road through the Everglades, which was a 41 mile long, flood ridden, bumpy road that began in Florida City.

With over 1.5 million acres covering the tip of south Florida and its proximity to Latin America, the location of the Everglades National Park made it an ideal place to conduct covert Cold War operations that took place from the 1950s to 1989. The Everglades National Park, along with other South Florida National Parks, became integral to the United States’ various Cold War initiatives. Many of the physical traces of South Florida’s Cold War past can still be found.

One of these remnants, the Nike Hercules Missile Site HM-69, still stands in the Everglades National Park. This missile base was built by the United States Army Corps of Engineers in 1963 at the height of the Cold War, immediately following the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962. At a time when national security against Soviet attack was America’s main priority, the United States Army chose this strategic site within Everglades National Park, located 160 miles from the Cuban coast, to build a missile site.

The site included three above ground missile launchers and 22 associated buildings and structures that made up the Administration area, the Battery Control area, and the Launch area. The HM-69 Nike Missile site was operational until 1979 when it was deactivated. The Administrative area is now the Daniel Beard Research Center and houses an auxiliary storage area. It is the most substantial Cold War resource in the park. During the park’s dry season, from January 1 – April 30, tours are available of the Launch Area.

Everglades National Park houses one of the best preserved relics of the Cold War in Florida. A historic Nike Hercules Missile Base, dubbed HM-69, remains virtually the same as it was when official use of the site was terminated in 1979. This missile base was built by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, completed in 1964 at the height of the Cold War, immediately following the Cuban Missile Crisis of October, 1962. At a time when national security against Soviet attack was America’s main priority, the United States Army chose this strategic site within Everglades National Park, located 160 miles from the Cuban coast, to build an anti-aircraft missile site. HM69 was also significant because of the technology employed. The South Florida Nike Hercules sites were integrated with Hawk missile sites to provide an all altitude defensive capability around South Florida. The area includes 22 buildings and structures associated with events that have made a significant contribution to American history. Some of the extant structures include three missile barns, a missile assembly building, a guard dog kennel and barracks.

On October 14th 1962, an American U2 spy plane flying reconnaissance photographed Soviet Missile Sites in Cuba. The next day President Kennedy was informed of the presence of missiles capable of delivering nuclear warheads to major U.S. cities and killing millions of Americans in minutes. Throughout the Cold War, the United States’ Air Defense had been poised only to defend against attacks coming from the Soviet Union over the North Pole. There were no known threats in South America. The Cuban Missile Crisis revealed that fallacy, exposing south Florida as the nation’s “Achilles heel.”

Visitors may visit the site most days between early December and late March between the hours of 10 AM and 2 PM. During the winter season is an open house program, as well as Ranger-guided tours. Our visitor programs fluctuate due to seasonal changes and staffing capability. Please check with the Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center or view our park calendar for scheduled programs at the site. Early April through Late November, the site is only accessible through the Everglades Institute taking visitors to the site daily as a part of their programming, visit evernpi.org for mor information.

In 2004, by the effort of a Nike Veteran, Nike Missile Site HM-69 was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Park staff and volunteers work hard to maintain the site and provide public education to ensure the site’s continued preservation. The Park also researches and gathers histories from 2nd Missile Battalion, 52nd Air Defense Artillery veterans.

Are you interested in supporting Nike Missile Site HM-69? If you have information related to A Battery or would like to serve as a Nike Missile Site volunteer, please contact the Nike Missile Site coordinator at 305-242-7700. A new group of volunteers have recently come together as the "Friends of Everglades Nike Site". If you would like to be added to the email list and informed of opportunities to be involved, please email the site coordinator.

The harmful side effects of dredging and draining the Everglades were apparent early in 20th century. Before the Everglades was established as a National Park, the conservation movement inspired some protection of the area’s fauna. Florida Governor Jennings, with help from the Florida Audubon society, instituted a ban on plume hunting in 1900. The Audubon Society hired Flamingo native Guy Bradley as a bird warden for the area surrounding the Everglades. Bradley was well known for his love of nature and never responded kindly to poachers and hunters in the area. Taking his job very seriously, Bradley issued citations and arrested violators of the recent plume ban. With the number of game hunters who depended upon the Everglades for survival, Bradley’s enforcement of the law would eventually bring a conflict that ended in his murder.

In 1905, Bradley arrested the son of a local hunter who he had caught plume hunting for the third time. The boy’s father, who promised to shoot Bradley if he arrested his son again, shot and killed Bradley. The death of Guy Bradley, an early conservationist, marked the discord between the local community and conservation efforts that would continue.

In 1928 landscape architect Ernest Coe began a concentrated effort to designate a "Tropical Everglades National Park." His persistence paid off when he and others persuaded Congress to designate the Everglades as a national park in 1934. It took park supporters another 13 years to acquire land and secure funding.

In 1947, Marjory Stoneman Douglas would publish The Everglades: River of Grass , a work that would come to greatly influence the public perception of the oft-misunderstood region. That same year, Everglades National Park officially opened, marking the first large-scale attempt to protect the area's unique biology. Today, the park comprises a vast wetland wilderness unlike any other in the world.

The Calusa occupied the southwest region, while the Tequesta, Jega, and Ais tribes were located along the east coast of Southern Florida. However, Spanish accounts suggest that the Calusa tribe were the dominant tribe of the region and operated a complex Chiefdom that was comprised of a number of village communities all organized within a chiefly hierarchy. Archaeologists consider this type of complex organization rare for non-agrarian societies.

Calusa village communities were concentrated along the south west coast. They depended on fishing, as well as systematic foraging for sustenance. Living among the coastal mangroves of the Florida Gulf Coast, the Calusa utilized the abundance of shells around them to create their built environment. Archaeologists have identified shell mounds, which were piles of empty and discarded shells that had been used as tools after their contents were consumed. The Calusa also built shell formations. These built forms, called “shell works,” were large scale architecture which used ridges, mounds, platforms, and courtyards within their town plans. Their exact social uses are unknown, but it is likely that they were used to divide gathering places from sacred spaces and provide barriers from mosquitoes or ocean tides.

When the Spanish encountered the Calusa upon their arrival in the 16 th century, they noted their shell works, intricate ceremonial art, and complex political system. Despite their strong organization and power in the region, the Calusa disappeared not long after their interactions with Spanish explorers. By the time the English gained control of Florida in 1763, the Tequesta and Calusa tribes had been severely decimated by incoming European diseases. According to early settlers, the remaining native people retreated deeper into the Everglades, while others migrated to Cuba to begin new settlements there in the late 1700s.

After the American Revolution the Spanish claimed ownership of Florida from Great Britain in 1783. This was soon called into question by Andrew Jackson, who invaded Florida in 1818. In 1821, the United States was able to take ownership of Florida and Jackson’s exploits to seize all of Florida continued. In 1835 the second Seminole War began and resulted in a seven year struggle to remove the Seminole population from Florida. The Seminole, living in small bands, were able to elude the incoming troops by retreating further into the mosquito ridden wilderness that left the inexperienced disoriented and frustrated. By the end of the seven years the United States relented on their earlier mission, however the Seminole population had been largely relocated.

Troubled relations between the Seminole and settlers had not tempered though, and the third Seminole War began in 1855 with a Seminole attack on Fort Myers. The war ended with the signing of a treaty in which the Seminole relinquished over 2 million acres of land in 1856. The Seminole that remained continued cattle ranching and farming in relative peace. Learn more about the history of the Seminoles here .

The notion of draining the vast wetland persisted into the 20 th century. Expanded dredging efforts between 1905 and 1910 transformed large tracts from wetland to agricultural land. This abundance of "new" land stimulated the first of several south Florida land booms. Railroads constructed by entrepreneurs like Henry B. Plant and Henry M. Flagler made the region more accessible and attractive to tourists. By the 1920s visitors and new residents flocked to blossoming towns like Fort Lauderdale, Miami, and Fort Myers. As they arrived, developers cut more canals and built new roads. To ensure good ocean views, they removed mangroves from the shorelines and replaced them with palm trees. Little by little canals, roads, and buildings displaced native habitats.

The year 1948 marked an even greater change when Congress authorized the Central and South Florida Project. This involved the construction of an elaborate system of roads, canals, levees, and water-control structures stretching throughout South Florida. Constructed by the Army Corps of Engineers, and sponsored by the Central and Southern Flood Control District (later redesignated the South Florida Water Management District), the project purposes were to provide water and flood protection for urban and agricultural lands, a water supply for Everglades National Park, the preservation of fish and wildlife habitat, facilitate navigation and recreation, and the prevention of salt water intrusion. While the project still provides many of the intended benefits, the alteration of regional wetland areas, estuaries, and bays — combined with increasing population pressures and changing land uses — has significantly degraded the natural system.

By 1910, approximately 50 people lived in Flamingo and Cape Sable . Census records from that year reveal that many of the African Americans living in Flamingo were born in the Bahamas and Jamaica. Most people living in these outposts made their living from sugar cane farming or making charcoal out of Buttonwood, which was then bagged and shipped to Key West. Beyond gaining cash from farming or charcoal sales, people depended on hunting small game and fishing for food. At the turn of the 20 th century hunting the abundant birds in the Everglades was a major source of cash income, as plume feathers became a popular addition to women’s hats.

Life in Flamingo could be unpleasant. Leverett White Brownell, a naturalist, visited Flamingo in 1893. He described the village as 38 shacks on stilts, infested with fleas and mosquitos. He claimed to have seen an oil lamp extinguished by a cloud of mosquitoes. He also stated the flea powder was the “staff of life” and that the cabins were thickly sooted from the use of smudge pots. He added that tomatoes, asparagus, and eggplant were the principle crops.

Chokoloskee, near present-day Everglades City, was first settled in the 1870s, although it had been the home of Calusa Indians for centuries in pre-Columbian times. It became the trade center for homesteaders who occupied the deserted Calusa sites scattered throughout the Ten Thousand Islands region. Over 140 people occupied Chokoloskee in 1910. Like Flamingo and Cape Sable, most were farmers or laborers.

In addition to the general unpleasantness that life in Everglades could bring, hurricanes were another challenge that early settlers had to contend with. The Everglades and Chokoloskee community was just recovering from a hurricane in 1909 when it was devastated by another, the worst on record, the following year. Only the highest ground of the old Calusa shell mound remained above water. Low-lying farm fields were salted by flood tides and most cisterns were polluted, a major tragedy in an area where few springs or wells existed. Many inhabitants of the outlying islands were forced to abandon their homesteads. The most infamous incident of the times, the vigilante murder of a local man suspected of several murders, occurred a few days after the hurricane. A fictionalized account of the event is told in the book Killing Mister Watson by Peter Matthiesson.

Prosperity of a sort reached Everglades City in the 1920s when Barron Collier made it his headquarters for the building of the Tamiami Trail across south Florida. It served as the county seat of Collier County until 1960, when prosperity waned and county offices were moved to Naples. Neighboring Chokoloskee did not have a road until a causeway was built from the mainland in 1956.

Flamingo, still marking the end of the main park road, is now a park community with a campground, ranger station, marina and lodge. Chokoloskee, surrounded by park waters at the end of Highway 29, is still home to fishermen, with a few motels and a resort having been added for park visitors. Although the tiny cane farms and fishing shanties are gone, both areas maintain the tranquil beauty for which they are famous.

Gladesmen were husbands and sons who built small homes in the Everglades. They constructed “glade skiffs,” which were small boats that could adequately navigate through the narrow canals and waterways deep in the ‘glades. The ascent of the Gladesmen into the Everglades continued alongside the development of the area. When the Ingraham highway was completed in 1916, this road gave Gladesmen an entry point into the wilderness along with researchers and tourists. The glades skiffs were about two feet wide and 16-18 feet long, to carry Gladesmen and their gear through the backcountry. The Gladesmen would stand at the back of the boat with a large pole to move through the shallow muddy waters and look out for game. Upon their return, Gladesmen would sell whatever game they managed to kill, including alligators, deer, turkey, rabbits, pigs, fish, frogs, turtles and other wildlife. These men would leave for weeks or months at a time, building temporary encampments while they hunted and fished in almost complete isolation. As a result, Gladesmen developed an intimate relationship with the land and understood how to adjust to the seasonal shifts, changing water levels, wildlife, and other elements. As knowledgeable stewards, Gladesmen often served as guides to incoming researchers and surveyors coming to discover the Everglades.

Today, the Gladesmen culture that once thrived has had to adapt to a changing landscape. Although increased development and the designation of the Everglades as a National Park has limited the ability to survive simply off the land, the independent spirit and appreciation for the Everglades is still deeply rooted in Gladesmen culture.

Anthropologist Laura A. Ogden has described “Gladesmen” Culture in this way: “The landscape of the Everglades must be understood as more than a mere backdrop to the culture of the Gladesmen. On the one hand, they were keen observers of this wilderness—spending weeks at a time walking across endless sawgrass marshes, setting camp on slightly higher hammock-covered islands, and poling flat bottomed skiffs through labyrinths of mangrove forests. As their livelihood depended upon the rich bounty of the Everglades wildlife, Gladesmen necessarily monitored the seasonal fluctuations in the region’s game. They were also able to interpret subtle signs in this landscape (such as slight depressions in the mud, the presence of certain birds, or specific odors) to track their prey."

The area was first noted when it was surveyed in 1847 by federal surveyor Jack Jackson. Scientists began to study the area in the later 19 th century. The land was revered for its botanical diversity and spectacular hammock amongst the glades. During this time Henry Flagler owned much of the land and was building his railroad throughout eastern Florida. Scientists began calling for Paradise Key to be set aside as a state park to avoid it being thrust into Flagler’s development area. The Florida Federation of Women’s Club, and particularly the Preservation Committee chairwoman May Mann Jennings, took a deep interest in the issue and began campaigning for the designation of Paradise Key as a state park. To their success, the state declared 960 acres for Royal Palm State Park in 1916 to the FFWC. This acreage was also matched by Mrs. Flagler. Ingraham highway, a road from Florida City to Paradise Key, had also been recently completed and was dedicated along with Royal Palm State Park, on November 23, 1916. By 1921, 2,080 more acres had been donated by the state, making Royal Palm a 4,000 acre state park.

The towering live oaks and royal palms in the middle of the endless prairie enclosed a number of ferns, orchids and scores of other plants. Most interesting for scientists were how rare and tropical plants existed in the small patch in the Everglades. The slough that surrounded the hammock also provided protection against fires, leaving much of the vegetation well preserved. The establishment of Royal Palm State Park began the greater conservation efforts that would lead to the designation of the Everglades as a National Park.

Royal Palm Lodge was built in 1919 by John F. Umphrey to accommodate the caretaker, Charles A. Mosier. The three-story building also housed visiting scientists and park visitors. The lodge offered meals, in addition to a respite from the mosquitoes in Royal Palm. The lodge continued to be run by caretakers until the National Park Service acquired Royal State Park in 1947. After this, the lodge was converted into park headquarters, housing area, and visitor center. A new visitor center was built in 1952 and Royal Palm was sold to its previous caretakers, Jeannette and Donald Sullivan. The lodge was then sold to Donald’s brother Jack, who relocated it to Homestead. Royal Palm Lodge, renamed “Jack’s Hotel and Motel,” was lost in Hurricane Andrew in 1992.

When Royal Palm state park was dedicated in 1916, the portion of Ingraham Highway to Royal Palm had been completed. It was named after James E. Ingraham, president of the Model Land Company and vice president of the Florida East Coast Railroad, who had large involvement in earlier land surveys and dedicating Royal Palm as a state park. Ingraham worked along with Henry M. Flagler for the development of the area. With few residents during the time, it was Flagler’s dream to develop South Florida. With the intent of extending a railroad through the Everglades, Flagler hired Ingraham to determine whether the Everglades could be drained for a railroad. Another route was determined more suitable for a railroad, but Ingraham still had plans for growth in development and agriculture for the Everglades. While numerous technical problems and the onset of World War I made it impossible to extend the road to Cape Sable, by 1922 a large portion of the original proposed Ingraham highway was complete.

Tied to the development of the Ingraham Highway was the Homestead Canal. The construction of the canal was necessary to provide drainage of the Everglades for the road to be developed. The canal is approximately 50 miles long and follows the road until Coot Bay/ Mud Lake.

Today, much of the historic Old Ingraham highway has been incorporated into newer roads from Florida City to Flamingo. Some of the highway has been removed to restore the landscape, while other portions are now used as park administrative roads or trails.

The Tamiami trail is a road that serves as the north eastern park boundary. The trail, stretching from Fort Myers to Dade County, underwent construction beginging in 1915, with each district building their portion of the road. After thirteen years of cutting through the glades, swamp, mangroves, and sand the Tamiami Trail and canal were complete.

Most significantly, the road contributed to the development of the interior and the accessibility of the Everglades. Inadvertently, the road also led to the development of sport hunting and tourism along the trail. The location of the Tamiami trail disrupted the natural flow of water, blocking Seminole and Miccosukee canoe travel. As a result, many villages developed along side the trail where Miccosukee people served as hunting or tourist guides.

The Calusa tribe occupied a large area of the Southwest coast of Florida from the area west of Lake Okeechobee down to Cape Sable. The tribe was organized as a Chiefdom and was composed of many small villages, each containing a chief. Many of these villages were located along the 10,000 islands. This coastal group utilized the resources around them for subsistence. They depended mostly on fishing and some strategic foraging for foodstuffs. Their tools were made from shells, and other resources that could be found and manipulated. Tools such as hammers, picks, and scrapers were made by creating small holes in conch, clam, and oyster shells and placing a stick within to form a handle. These were used for digging, hammering, picking, fishing, and performing other tasks. Fish bone and shark teeth were also utilized to create tools. Additionally, shells were used for making jewelry, ornaments.

The discarded tools and leftover shells emptied of foodstuffs were piled to create shell works. Shell works are large-scale, planned formations of piled oyster shells that formed built villages. It is unknown what their primary purpose may have been, but archaeologists suggest that the shell works separated domestic and public from sacred spaces. Shell deposits were formed to create high ridges, mounds, crescents, platforms, canals and courtyards. According to William Morgan, author of Precolumbian Architecture in Eastern North America, these works created networks linking communities and resources, as well as dividing separate zones of space.

Shell works were a collection of shell middens, earthen mounds, and other shell or earthen work accumulations. Shell middens were formed over time from discarded shells that were left to collect over generations. After time, ridges would develop in the middens, creating rows of large mounds in a village. These same efforts were utilized to create platform mounds to build houses and community space. Canals leading from the shoreline were often created to link directly to the villages or even to a chief’s platform.

The large scale formations suggest they would have required organization and planning of many workers to construct. Archaeologists believe shell works may have been present in the Everglades from the late archaic to the 16 th century Calusa Indian villages (1000 BC – 1500 AD). Shell works and other residue of past material culture can still be found in the Everglades today.

As a subtropical preserve, the Everglades hosts a unique mix of ecosystems and plant communities. Temperate and tropical zones result in a mix of saw grass prairies, mangrove and cypress swamps, pinelands, hardwood hammocks, as well as marine and estuarine elements. The occurrence of these subsystems is dependent upon elevation, water levels, and the presence or absence of fire.

The term “Tree Island” refers to a naturally formed small patch of forest settled in a marsh that resembles an island of trees from afar. Tree Islands in the Everglades are composed of hardwood trees, palms, ferns, and a variety of tropical plant species in areas of raised vegetation. They also often occur in hammocks, land that is slightly higher than the surrounding marshes and prairies. Generally, these islands resemble a tear drop shape because of the flow of water that occurred before the Everglades were drained.

Tree Islands were significant places for native peoples of the Everglades. Archaeologists have found that tree islands almost always contain archaeological remains, and in some cases, Tree Islands may be present because of archeological remains. Soil intermixed with dense concentrations of animal bones and shards of ceramic, shell, and other debris are archeological materials that are often found. The existence of this material suggests that native people were also maintaining inland central settlements.

As the Tree Islands are the only areas that historically stayed dry during the wet season, many were also used by the Seminole and Miccosukee. Many also continue to be maintained as hunting camps by “Gladesmen” and airboat operators in the East Everglades section of the Park.

Beyond shell tools and shell mounds, native people have also left behind clues of their manipulation of the land in the construction of long distance canal systems. The discovery of an intact canoe canal offers an example of the engineering and organization utilized by native peoples.

The Mud lake Canal is a well preserved aboriginal canoe canal that is 3.9 miles in length. The canal is unique in both its design and purpose. The canal acted as a major hub for canoe travel between the Everglades, Ten Thousand Islands, and the Florida Keys during prehistoric times. This pivotal location allowed native people to travel from the Ten Thousand Islands to the Bay of Florida without traveling through the rough waters in the Gulf of America.

Construction of the canal would have required major labor and organization. The canal extends 20-30 ft across and is 1-2 feet deep, connecting bodies of water that are not of the same elevation. It stretches through marl prairies and mangroves

The canal is associated with the Bear Lake Mound group, a site attributed to a Tequesta village. Mud Lake Canal feeds into a group of mounds that once accommodated a small village with 20-50 people. Carbon dating from the canal bed sediments suggests that the canal was built during the Glades II period (AD 750-1200).

The Mud Lake Canal was listed as a National Historic Landmark in 2006 as one of only a handful of surviving preshistoric canoe trails in North America.

The men and missiles of A Battery, 2nd Missile Battalion, 52nd Air Defense Artillery (A-2-52) were dispatched from Ft. Bliss, Texas to south Florida at the onset of the Cuban Missile Crisis. They were part of an air defense network designed to protect Homestead AFB (then central ARADCOM command) and the greater Miami area. A Battery was originally located just outside the entrance to Everglades National Park off State Road 9336.

From 1962 to 1965 life at A-2-52 was "rustic" as the men lived in tents and had no electricity or running water. The radars and missiles were exposed to the weather and sank in the muck. In 1965, A Battery was relocated to a permanent facility, called HM-69, in an area within Everglades National Park known as "The Hole-in-the-Donut." A Battery continued to protect our skies until the summer of 1979.

While performing their Army duties, the south Florida defenders demonstrated a high degree of competency with their weapons systems and a propensity to do well during inspections and exercises. During the mid-to-late 1960s, south Florida missile troops were the best in ARADCOM. They performed so well on major inspections like the operational readiness examination (ORE), command maintenance-management inspection (CMMI), short-notice annual practice (SNAP), and technical-proficiency inspection (TPI) that they won the ARADCOM "E" for excellence award for four years in a row from 1966 to 1969.

1962 - 1965 - When A, C, and D Batteries were dispatched from Ft. Bliss, Texas to south Florida at the onset of the Cuban Missile Crisis, B Battery was on maneuvers on Johnston Island in the Pacific test firing Nike Hercules missiles with nuclear warheads as part of Operation Dominic.

Operation Dominic occurred during a period of high Cold War tension between the United States and the Soviet Union, since the Cuban Bay of Pigs Invasion had occurred not long before. Operation Dominic was a series of 105 nuclear test explosions conducted in 1962 and 1963 by the United States. Those conducted in the Pacific are sometimes called Dominic I. The blasts in Nevada are known as Dominic II. This test series was scheduled quickly, in order to take advantage of the Soviet abandonment of the 1958-1961 test moratoriums. Most of these shots were conducted with free-fall bombs dropped from B-52 bomber aircraft. Twenty of these shots were to test new weapons designs; six to test weapons effects; and several shots to confirm the reliability of existing weapons. The Thor missile was also used to loft warheads into near-space to conduct high altitude nuclear explosion tests. These shots were collectively called Operation Fishbowl.

November 4, 1962 - Johnston Island - DOMINIC TIGHTROPE Nuclear test - This was a Department of Defense sponsored live test of the Nike Hercules air defense missile system. The low-kiloton range W-31 warhead detonated at 21 km altitude 3 km SSW of Johnston Atoll. This Nike Hercules missile test is regarded to be the last true US atmospheric nuclear test.

Upon returning from the Pacific, B Battery (designated HM-66) was originally located in a tent city just outside the entrance to Everglades National Park off State Road 9336 adjacent to A Battery.

In 1965, B Battery was relocated to Key Largo and designated HM-40 to a permanent facility built by the Army Corps of Engineers. The missile base was built in tropical hardwood hammock and remains of this site can still be seen from Card Sound Road. B Battery was also decommissioned in the summer of 1979.

After 1979 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFW) assumed ownership from the Army to create the Crocodile Lake National Wildlife Refuge in 1980.

The Crocodile Lake National Wildlife Refuge was established to protect critical breeding and nesting habitat for the endangered American crocodile and other wildlife.

The refuge is located in north Key Largo and is currently comprised of 6,700 acres including 650 acres of open water. It contains a mosaic of habitat types including tropical hardwood hammock, mangrove forest, and salt marsh. These habitats are critical for hundreds of plants and animals including six federally-listed species. Crocodile Lake NWR focuses management efforts on habitat restoration and enhancement in order to sustain the diverse array of resident and migratory wildlife. Management programs include hammock restoration, crocodile habitat enhancement, and Key Largo woodrat captive breeding.

The project involved removal of the launch area of the former Nike Hercules missile base which was located on the site from 1965 - 1979. The restoration included structural and concrete pad removal to be replanted as a hardwood hammock. The rubble from the demolition would provide nesting for the endangered woodrat for nesting. Several rubble piles were created at all three building sites and are currently being used by Key Largo woodrats for nesting.

C battery along with A and D Battery was dispatched to south Florida during October 1962 when President Kennedy ordered the units to defend the southern coast of Florida. In 1962 The Administrative / IFC area was located just west of NW 57th Avenue (Red Road) and just north of NW 183rd Road (Miami Gardens Drive). The launch area was relocated near the intersection of NW 57th Avenue (Red Road) and NW 202 Street (Honey Hill Road).

The location of the Administration / IFC from 1965 - 1979 was located in unincorporated Dade County. The site was west of Carol City which only went west to NW 57th Avenue (Red Road). There was no community known as Miami Gardens until they incorporated in the early 2000's, long after the site disappeared. The Marine/Naval Reserve Training Center is most likely built on the far western portion of the Admin/IFC site. I don't know exactly how large the parcel of land was but it makes sense that the Marine/Naval Reserve Training Center was built on former Army property.

The site on which the Launch Area is located was originally a portion of the Everglades wetland area. After the Snake Creek canal was installed to drain the wetlands in 1952, the property laid fallow until the property was utilized by the United States Army as a Nike Hercules missile site during and following the Cuban Missile Crisis until 1979. The launch area facility was vacant until it was deeded to the Army National Guard as a weekend training site.

The Missile Assembly Building, Ready Building, Section Barns, Generator Buildings, POL sheds, and other structures were demolished in 2007.

In 1928, Ernest F. Coe wrote Stephen T. Mather, first Director of the National Park Service, outlining a proposal for a national park to be located within the lower Everglades of south Florida. A subsequent meeting took place and from this meeting legislation to create Everglades National Park was introduced by Senator Duncan B. Fletcher of Florida, in December of 1928. This legislation was approved May 25, 1934 and was signed by President Roosevelt on May 30, 1934. It took another thirteen years to acquire the land and define the boundaries of the new park.

Ernest F. Coe, affectionately known as Tom by his friends, was born in New Haven, Connecticut, on March 21, 1866. He attended Yale University's School of Fine Arts from 1885 to 1887. He and his wife Anna came to Miami in 1925. Their home was in Coconut Grove where he did landscape work. Anna died in July 1941.

As a youngster Coe loved the outdoors, and as an adult he liked to explore the Everglades. On these trips Coe was shocked to learn of rare birds being killed and the rare or unusual orchids being taken from their natural habitat, He feared that many animals would face extinction if something wasn't done. Coe was insistent that Florida should save its unparalleled tropical beauty. In 1928, he created the Tropical Everglades National Park Association (later Everglades National Park Association). As an official of this association he persistently and almost single handedly pushed for the establishment of the park. An inspection party came to Miami in 1930 to decide on areas for inclusion. One of those who participated was Marjory Stoneman Douglas , who would later write The Everglades: River of Grass , which has become a classic about the park and its conservation movement. He was ultimately successful and President Harry Truman dedicated the park in 1947.

After Coe's death, on January 1, 1951, at age 84, Secretary of the Interior Oscar Chapman said, "Ernest Coe's many years of effective and unselfish efforts to save the Everglades earned him a place among the immortals of the National Park movement." On December 6, 1996, Everglades National Park christened its new visitor center the "Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center," in honor of this man who dedicated his life to the preservation of the everglades.

The papers of the Everglades National Park Commission, including Coe's writings, are part of the Everglades National Park's museum collection.

In the early 20th century, African Americans lived and worked in the Flamingo and Cape Sable areas of what would later become the Park.

Everglades National Park houses one of the best-preserved relics of the Cold War in Florida, a historic Nike Hercules missile site.

Through her writing, Douglas helped spark the movement that rallied people to protect Everglades National Park.

Water in south Florida once flowed freely from the Kissimmee River to Lake Okeechobee and southward over low-lying lands to the estuaries of Biscayne Bay, the Ten Thousand Islands, and Florida Bay. This shallow, slow-moving sheet of water covered almost 11,000 square miles, creating a mosaic of ponds, sloughs, sawgrass marshes, hardwood hammock, and forested uplands. For thousands of years this intricate system evolved into a finely balanced ecosystem that formed the biological infrastructure for the southern half of the state. However, to early colonial settlers and developers the Everglades were potential farm land and communities. By the early 1900s', the drainage process to transform wetland to land ready to be developed was underway. The results would be severely damaging to the ecosystem and the species it supported.

With the support of many early conservationists, scientists, and other advocates, Everglades National Park was established in 1947 to conserve the natural landscape and prevent further degradation of its land, plants, and animals. Although the captivation of the Everglades has mostly stemmed from its unique ecosystem, an alluring human story of the Everglades is deeply interwoven with its endless marshes, dense mangroves, towering palms, alligator holes, and tropical fauna. Various groups and people navigated through and wrestled with the watery landscape to make it home, and even to exploit its natural wonder at times. On these pages you can discover more about the Native Americans that existed and thrived; the agricultural development and drainage of the Everglades; the people and groups who advocated for the conservation of the area; the Everglades’ role in United States War efforts; the preservation and restoration work that continues today; and much more.

Although known for its vast natural landscapes, the Everglades have been home and hunting grounds for many people.

Learn about some of the historic places that reflect the history, present and future of Everglades National Park.

Everglades National Park's museum collection consists of over 2.8 million objects, archival documents and photographs, and specimens.

Before the Everglades was established as a National Park, the conservation movement inspired some protection of the area’s fauna.

Throughout the 20th century, the increased use of aviation in South Florida has resulted in a significant number of aircraft lost.

An important haven for migratory birds and endangered animals, the Everglades is also a significant nursery for wading birds and fish.

Found at the transition of tropical and temperate climates, the Everglades supports a unique assemblage of plants found nowhere else.

Fire is important to a healthy Everglades because it regulates this fire-adapted ecosystem. Some plant communities are even fire-dependent.

Invasive and non-native species affect the park and Everglades ecosystem in many ways, some obvious and others obscure.

Climate change and sea level rise are affecting the park and the Everglades. Learn about what's happening and what we can do about it.

In the Everglades, elevation is everything. Even a few inches can influence which ecosystems develop. Along the coast, salt plays a role.

Water is the lifeblood of the Everglades. Without it, this ecosystem would cease to exist. Everglades restoration will restore water flow.

The Everglades formed 5,000 years ago atop a bedrock of porous limestone. Learn how the geology of the region influences the Everglades.

The name Everglades has always been associated with birds . The warm, shallow, and vast River of Grass has attracted all types of birds to this region for thousands of years. In the 1800s, the well-known naturalist and artist, John James Audubon, wrote during a visit to south Florida:

"We observed great flocks of wading birds flying overhead toward their evening roosts .... They appeared in such numbers to actually block out the light from the sun for some time."

In Everglades National Park, more than 360 different species of birds have been sighted. Though there are many different ways to identify one group of birds from another, generally birds can be placed into one of three groups: wading birds, land birds, and birds of prey.

From the earliest written accounts, the Everglades have been lauded as the stage from which yearly spectacles of avian life could be viewed. Amidst the life-giving waters of the River of Grass, immense flocks of countless birds quenched their thirst, satisfied their hunger, rested during lengthy migrations, and raised their young.

During the turn of the 20th century, the number of birds plummeted under pressure from both the plume trade and the alteration of the south Florida landscape. In fact, protecting this dwindling population was a major catalyst for the establishment of the national park.

Though the effort to restore the historic bird populations has been slow, Everglades National Park remains a popular destination for bird enthusiasts from around the world. More than 360 bird species have been recorded in the park and the list continues to grow. The Everglades remain one of the best destinations for easily observing high concentrations of many diverse species.

Sixteen different species of wading birds live in the Everglades. All have long legs for wading into the water to catch their food. The white Ibis is the most common wading bird found in the park. Unlike wading birds that prefer to eat fish, the ibis dines mostly on crayfish. This attractive white bird has a long, slender, curved beak that it uses to probe the mud in search of food. Ancient Egyptians believed the ibis to be the reincarnation of their God, Thoth, the God of Wisdom and Learning.

The wood stork is a larger wading bird than the ibis and has an unusual way of feeding. With its beak held in the water, the wood stork shuffles its feet. As a frightened fish swims away from its feet, it bumps into the bird's beak. The sensitive beak can feel the fish, and it clamps down on it within a fraction of a second. Some believe this movement to be the fastest of any organism in the Everglades. The wood stork was federally listed as an endangered species until June 2014, when its status was down-listed to threatened.

Located at the confluence of temperate North America and the tropical Caribbean, Everglades National Park is home to representative flora from both climes. The optimal growing conditions that are prevalent throughout south Florida foster a lush growth of plant life that sustains a diverse complex of flora. The Everglades serve as important habitat for a number of endemic and legally protected species. Although nine distinct ecosystems have been identified within Everglades National Park, their boundaries overlap within the dynamic landscape, which is subject to the elements of south Florida.

Another major factor that controls the distribution of vegetation within the Everglades is the hydrologic pattern, which is defined by the depth, timing, and duration of inundation (flooding) as well as the quality and salinity of the source water. The flat topography, temporal distribution of rainfall, and proximity to the coast all interact to determine the hydrologic regime. Surficial geology and overlying soil type also influence the composition and abundance of plant species. Disturbances, both natural (including fire, freezes, hurricanes, etc.) and human-caused (such as altered fire regimes, drainage, development, and introduction of exotic pest plants), also impact vegetation patterns.

The indelible footprint left behind in Everglades history by early colonial settlers, farmers, and developers is visible throughout the landscape. Wetlands were drained to create arable and developable land suited for agriculture and human habitation and growth. With the support of many early conservationists and advocates, Everglades National Park was established in 1947 to conserve the natural landscape and prevent further degradation of a portion of the Greater Everglades. By that date, however, the established assemblage of plants had already been transformed forever. Native plant species were gradually disappearing and being replaced by exotic plants, some of which were formerly cultivated and used for landscaping or in the nursery trade. Other factors, such as climate change , also stress the ecosystem. The resulting ever-adapting assemblage of plants makes up the mosaic of vegetation that we see today.

Despite the challenges of human alterations, abundant endemic plant species remain. From photosynthetic periphyton, which is the tiniest building block of the Everglades food chain, to the largest remaining stand of pine rockland forest in south Florida, each and every plant cell plays an important role in the Everglades ecosystem. The great floral variety of the Everglades is one of the key resources of the park.

Among the more prominent and colorful plants are bromeliads and epiphytic orchids. Thirty-nine native orchid species occur in the park, in addition to about 750 other kinds of native seed-bearing plants. Within the park, a total of 164 plant species have been listed by the State of Florida, including 47 as threatened, 113 as endangered, and 4 as commercially exploited. That is nearly one out of every four (22.5%) of the park's native plant species! Two native plant species within the park have been federally listed, including one as threatened and one as endangered, and five species are candidates for listing. Although the number changes from time to time as more information is gathered, 66 species that are native to the park are considered to be critically imperiled in south Florida, including grasses, sedges, ferns, orchids, shrubs, trees, and vines. Some of these species are pretty to look at and some of them less so, but each has adapted to a special niche in the watery world of the Everglades.

Learn about some of the invasive, non-native plant species that threaten the park and other areas of south Florida.

Learn how non-native plants and animals affect Everglades National Park and what you can do to help protect native ecosystems.

Invasive species pose a serious threat to South Florida’s native ecosystems. In the Everglades, invasive fish prey on native species, while invasive plants like melaleuca outcompete and overshadow native vegetation. Far from their original habitats, these invaders often thrive in disturbed areas, where they have a competitive edge. Without natural predators to keep them in check, invasive species spread rapidly—consuming sunlight, water, and nutrients that native plants and animals need to survive. The result is intense competition that weakens the health and diversity of the Everglades ecosystem. In addition to causing environmental damage, invasive species also have significant economic impacts—especially in Florida, where the warm climate and diverse landscape make it easier for them to take hold. While some of these invasive species may be here to stay, we can slow their spread by preventing the release of non-native plants and animals into the wild and actively managing those already invading natural areas.

These large constrictors prey on native wildlife and can disrupt the natural balance of the Everglades ecosystem.

This invasive marine fish competes with native species and can impact the health of coral reef communities.

Everglades National Park works year-round to prevent, detect, and control invasive species through science, monitoring, partnerships, and targeted management programs.

Managing invasive plants protects native habitats, supports restoration, and helps maintain the ecological integrity of the Everglades.

Managing invasive animals helps protect native wildlife populations and supports the long-term health of the Everglades.

Everglades National Park partners with many organizations to combat invasive species across South Florida.

Dominated by broad-leaf trees, hardwood hammocks have the highest elevation in the Everglades, remaining dry in all but the wettest years.

One of the most endangered plant communities in the world, pine rocklands are a fire-dependent ecosystem found in a small area of the world.

Marl prairies dominate the eastern side of the park. This plant community resembles freshwater sloughs, but it is drier and less vegetated.

Sloughs are “deep” sections of a wetland that are flooded periodically. In the Everglades, sloughs are the main channels for water flow.

Cypress trees are characteristic wetland trees and are the base of more than one distinct Everglades plant community.

Coastal lowlands are characterized by rugged plant communities that can tolerate the harsh growing conditions found there.

The Everglades has the largest continuous mangrove ecosystem in the western hemisphere. Mangroves are incredibly important to our coasts.

Many think of the Everglades as a freshwater wetland, but more than one third of the park is comprised of marine and estuarine ecosystems.

Everglades National Park is home to a number of threatened and endangered plant and animal species. Some of the best known of these are the Florida Panther , American Crocodile , American Alligator , West Indian Manatee , Wood Stork , and Snail Kite .

Thirty-six native Florida species that may occur in Everglades National Park (EVER) are federally listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA). These species include plants (8), invertebrates (7), fish (2), reptiles (8), birds (10), and mammals (4). Seven of these species are currently considered to be extirpated (no longer present) from the park. Two of these listed species, the Cape Sable seaside sparrow and the Florida leafwing butterfly only occur within Everglades National Park and the immediately adjacent lands. There currently are no candidates for consideration. Approximately 180 plant and animal species that occur in EVER are also listed by the State of Florida as threatened, endangered, species of special concern, or commercially exploited (view state-listed animals ).

Critical habitat is a legally designated area that is considered to be essential to the conservation of the federally listed species for which it is designated. Not all listed species have associated critical habitat. Critical habitat is currently designated or proposed for 10 of the 39 species that occur in the park, but well more than half of the park is currently designated as critical habitat for one or more listed species (Fig. 1). Under the Endangered Species Act, Federal agencies are required to consider potential impacts of their actions on listed species and critical habitat (including proposed). Consultation with either the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (for terrestrial/freshwater species), or the National Marine Fisheries Service (for marine species) is required if any action may affect listed species or critical habitat, and we routinely conduct consultation with both agencies. Additionally, all federal agencies are supposed to use their authorities to advance the purposes of the Endangered Species Act, which are to improve protections for listed species. Everglades National Park conducts and participates in several such programs, ranging from participation in Everglades Restoration activities, to conducting status surveys for listed species and implementing habitat management in key areas.

One of the most common herons you would encounter on a visit to the park would be the green-backed heron. A relatively small wading bird, the antics of this fisherman are fun to watch. Slowly stalking in shallow water, or hanging from a low tree branch, its dart-like jab at a fish is rarely off target.

Other wading birds you may encounter on a visit include the great white heron, great blue heron, great egret , snowy egret, tri-colored heron, little blue heron, cattle egret, reddish egret, black-crowned night heron, yellow-crowned night heron, least bittern, glossy ibis, and the very colorful roseate spoonbill .

The vibrant, detailed nature illustrations on this page and others are by NPS volunteer and artist Kathleen Konicek-Moran. Kathleen has graciously allowed Everglades National Park to use her original works to help convey the vital connections inherent within the Everglades ecosystem. Learn more about Kathleen Konicek-Moran and what inspires her bountiful flow of creativity.