The road less traveled A friend of the Everglades, Dave Preston, shared images with us of a recent trip to Big Cypress National Preserve. Though not a part of Everglades National Park, the freshwater flowing through Big Cypress is essential to the health of the Everglades and many restoration efforts in South Florida intertwine the fates of the two ecosystems. When a plan arose in the 1960s to build an "Everglades jetport" on 39 square miles of wetlands in Eastern Big Cypress, Marjory Stoneman Douglas joined the resistance, founding Friends of the Everglades to galvanize support for preserving the swampy wilderness. We won that first fight — construction was halted after a single jetport runway was built — [...]

Weaving between the knees of a cypress grove, a male bobcat wades quietly through the water in a world that must feel like all his own. A friend of the Everglades gifted us this trail cam footage captured in the Everglades. Palmetto leaf reflections shimmer on the surface of the water as he peers back over his shoulder, taking in the stillness of his surroundings. As we’re sure many of you did, we took a moment this week to consider all that we accomplished in 2021 and our targets for the year ahead. The first week of the year invites resolutions, planning, mapping, charting and charging into the laundry list of goals and obstacles that each of us envisions tackling [...]

"Snorkeling in the Florida Everglades" What would you do if on your next snorkeling adventure you ended up face-to-face with this prehistoric lizard? We’ll admit that this video might defy the average person’s idea of a “moment of zen.” It features a voiceover from a snorkeler calmly interacting with several of the Everglades’ most famous apex predators — from a safe distance — as he explores a maze of underwater tree root systems. Along the way he points out different species in surprisingly clear water, offering a truly unique perspective of the thriving and interconnected ecosystem that lives beyond the view of most Everglades sightseers. We’re perfectly happy to join you in viewing this particular moment of Everglades zen from [...]

We know the bad-news reel gets old. It’s good to stop and remember what we’re working so hard to protect. Here’s your dose of Everglades zen. Photographer and friend of the Everglades Bob Branham captures a breathtaking Northern Everglades sunrise at the Dinner Island Wildlife Management Area in Hendry County, 29 miles southwest of Clewiston, FL. "The Everglades" A poem by Campbell McGrath about Everglades National Park Green and blue and white, it is a flag for Florida stitched by hungry ibises. It is a paradise of flocks, a cornucopia of wind and grass and dark, slow waters. Turtles bask in the last tatters of afternoon, frogs perfect their symphony at dusk— in its solitude we remember ourselves, dimly, [...]