The river of grass stretches out over Miccosukee lands north of Tamiami Trail on Oct. 25, 2022.

75 Years of Everglades National Park

“There are no other Everglades in the world. They are, they have always been, one of the unique regions of the earth, remote, never wholly known. Nothing anywhere else is like them: their vast glittering openness, wider than the enormous visible round of the horizon, the racing free saltness and sweetness of their massive winds, under the dazzling blue heights of space. They are unique also in the simplicity, the diversity, the related harmony of the forms of life they enclose. The miracle of the light pours over the green and brown expanse of saw grass and of water, shining and slow-moving below, the grass and water that is the meaning and the central fact of the Everglades of Florida. It is a river of grass.”

Few paragraphs have had such a lasting impact on an ecosystem as the opening lines of Marjory Stoneman Douglas’ seminal book, The Everglades: River of Grass.

This year, on the 75th anniversary of both Everglades National Park and Marjory’s book, we’re reflecting on the Everglades’ continued significance with a special video.

The Everglades remain a place of vast and untamed mystery, weaving blues and greens and browns — sawgrass and water, movement and wide open stillness — under an endlessly changing sky. This ecosystem remains imperiled, fragile and sustained by a delicate balance of use and protection. Home to an array of wild creatures and enjoyed by those who dare to venture into it to lose themselves for a minute or a day in a world unlike any other.

This video explores the motivations and aspirations for the future of the Everglades with Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. It follows the whisper of the wind through a slash pine forest as the sun sets and the starry skies open up, captured by Everglades photographer Anthony Sleiman. And it sails across the rough edges of sawgrass with Miccosukee tribe member Houston Cypress as we honor the ancient connection and enduring traditions of native peoples who have long called the Everglades home.

Seventy-five years later, the River of Grass endures.

If you can, help us commemorate this milestone with a gift to Friends of the Everglades today.

Watch the video featuring Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, Everglades photographer Anthony Sleiman, and Miccosukee Tribe Member Houston Cypress below: