“River of Grass”

Hope for our Favorite National Park

“River of Grass”…Marjorie Stoneman Douglas in her 1947 landmark book, The Everglades: River of Grass, explained that "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. . . 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."

Sawgrass prairie with tree island, Everglades National Park

My first trip to Florida was in April 1979, when a friend and I drove all the way from Maine to the Everglades and Keys during college spring break. We knew or cared nothing of the typical “spring break” destinations…for us, spring break in Florida meant the Everglades, camping, and birding! We tented at Flamingo, staved off persistent raccoons and ravenous mosquitoes, hiked, photographed and explored the everglades, returning to Eco Pond each evening in time for the flight of Roseate Spoonbills. We broke our tent stake in the coral on the Keys, visited Corkscrew Swamp, and saw a Swallow-tailed Kite. We loved every second of it, and I was 100 percent enamored with South Florida!

Little Blue Heron, Shark Valley, Everglades National Park

A decade and a half later, Denise and I would visit South Florida together for the first time. South Florida has special meaning to us; it was our first (of many) major trips together nearly 30 years ago, and quickly became both a tradition and a favorite destination. Sometimes we would include other places such as Sanibel, Corkscrew, the Keys or greater Miami, but mostly we focused on the Everglades, staying at the venerable old Flamingo Lodge, visiting the same places in the national park year-after-year and day-after-day while we were there. We would visit every habitat in that great park, from the bird-rich Anhinga Trail to the pines, the sawgrass prairie dotted with tree islands, to the mangroves, ponds and bay, and the coastal prairie of Flamingo. We looked for Liguus tree snails, competing with each other to find the most! … All of it was good, all of it steeped in the familiarity and normality of favorite places.

Liguus tree snail, Everglades National Park

We also became students of the everglades. In our daily hikes and explorations, we soaked up as much knowledge of how the ecosystem worked as we did the warmth and sun that provided a welcome respite from an Albany, New York winter. We learned of the precipitous decline in the population of wading birds since the 1930s, and how the everglades are dependent on not only the quantity of water but its quality, timing, and distribution as well. The Tamiami Trail (US 41) along the northern border of the park effectively dammed up the River of Grass, depriving the Everglades of vital water. We were saddened by how collectors once burned the tree hammocks where the Liguus lived, upping the value of their own holdings. And we learned the story of Guy Bradley, the brave Audubon game warden who was shot and killed in 1905 while battling to protect the wading bird rookeries of Florida Bay.

We of course also learned of Marjorie Stoneman Douglas, mentioned above, whose landmark book was published in 1947, the same year that Everglades National Park was established. She lived to 108, and fittingly, her house in Miami has been designated a national historic landmark. The park’s new visitor center being built in Everglades City will be named for her.

We also got to know the rangers at Flamingo, including Steve Robinson, whose great voice for the everglades was silenced far too young by cancer, but whose message is carried on by others whom he inspired.  We saw the fragility of south Florida’s ecosystem as hurricanes Katrina and Wilma brought the sea crashing into it in 2005.   The storms dealt a final blow to Flamingo Lodge and converted Eco Pond from a freshwater birding spot to a saltwater pond.  We felt great promise with the signing of the $8 billion commitment to restore the everglades, and then watched nervously as progress seemed to move as slowly as an apple snail.  

Without a place to stay in Flamingo (and not eager to camp any more), we still visited the Everglades at least every couple of years for a while, driving in each day from nearby Florida City. But it wasn’t the same as being immersed in the whole everglades experience. More recently, between the pandemic and travel to other winter locations, we’ve gone nearly seven years without visiting our favorite park. But it has been too long. We are going back. Coincidentally, there is even a new lodge and restaurant at Flamingo! Most importantly, efforts at Everglades restoration are well underway and showing promise! Portions of the Tamiami Trail (US 41) along the north edge of the park have been replaced by elevated bridges to increase the water flow into the park, and culverts will be added as well to further enhance the flow and effect the distribution.  Already, water levels in the park are higher!  In a quote generally attributed to Marjorie Stoneman Douglas, “The everglades is a test. If we pass, we may get to keep the planet.”  The jury is still out, but there is hope!

So, we look forward to visiting again, this winter, to see our favorite park again, to count the Liguus, to see the water birds, and gaze out upon the river of grass. We’ll check out enhanced water flow, the new Flamingo Lodge, and the new Guy Bradley Visitor Center, and once again we’ll walk along the edge of Florida Bay on the Guy Bradley Trail.  

Anhinga, Nine Mile Pond, Everglades National Park

References and for More Information:

https://www.nps.gov/ever/learn/news/quotes.htm#:~:text=%22There%20are%20no%20other%20Everglades,%2C%20remote%2C%20never%20wholly%20known

https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/removing-the-cork-in-the-bottle-reconstructing-tamiami-trail-to-restore-water-flow-to-everglades-national-park.htm

https://www.nps.gov/ever/index.htm