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Posts tagged ‘Big Cypress National Preserve’

Apr 21

37 Comments

An Earth Day Note of Gratitude

Since I’ve had my little blog, I’ve been blessed with requests from biologists, scientists, park rangers, national wildlife organizations, and artists to use my photos — my tiny glimpses into the continually threatened natural Florida. I always learn so much from them all, and am incredibly grateful to have met them.

In honor of Earth Day, I want to give an enormous THANKS to all of those who work so incredibly hard, often in dubious and/or dangerous situations, for our beautiful blue sphere — the hands-on scientists and rangers working directly with the wildlife and lands, caring for the welfare of so many threatened and endangered critters and ecosystems. An equal shout of gratitude to the writers, artists, and outspoken voices of our wonderful world!

Most recently, I met Everglades biologist John Kellam, and he kindly shared his amazing research on the endangered Florida panther. To say that this is a special and rare glimpse into the lives of these magnificent and elusive animals is an understatement! I hope you enjoy John’s images and descriptive text as much as I did — and another thanks to him for sharing his work for, and obvious love of, these endangered creatures.

From John: I am a biologist; Since 2006, I have been a member of the National Park Service Florida panther capture, research, and monitoring team, and the lead biologist of the first successful home range and habitat use study of the Big Cypress fox squirrel (a Florida State listed Threatened species) in natural habitats (http://www.nps.gov/bicy/learn/nature/big-cypress-fox-squirrel.htm).

Florida Panther Kitten (Copyright John Kellam), Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida

Florida Panther Kitten (Copyright John Kellam), Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida

More from John: The kitten in the photos is 1 of 3 kittens located in female Florida panther #162’s den on August 15, 2014 in the interior of Big Cypress National Preserve.

Florida Panther Kitten, Copyright John Kellam, Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida

Florida Panther Kitten (Copyright John Kellam), Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida

When a female panther is denning and her kittens are @ 14 days old (based on radio-telemetry data), we wait until she leaves the den (typically to go hunting), then we locate the den and process the kitten away from the den site. Our medical work-up of kittens involves collecting biopsy, hair, and ectoparasite samples, inserting subcutaneous microchips (PIT-tags), obtaining body mass/measurement data, and administering oral medications. Once we have processed the kittens, we place them back in the den.

When kittens are handled at dens, we gain valuable reproduction information on litter size, gender, weight, genetics, and overall health of kittens. In addition, kittens with microchips provide us information on movements and survival if handled again as an adult.

Florida Panther Kittens at Den (Copyright John Kellam), Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida

Florida Panther Kittens at Den (Copyright John Kellam), Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida

Here’s much love and good wishes to a promising future for these amazing animals — Happy Earth Day!

Jan 15

34 Comments

Tree Tuesday: Cypress in the Winter

Over the last few weeks, I’ve noticed a few naturalist / photographer bloggers in this amazing community posting on Tree Tuesday. How could I, tree-hugger fanatic that I am, have missed this? I’m running incredibly behind on all of the wonderful places I’ve hiked and visited over the last few months, so while I play catch-up, at least I can post some of the magnificent TREES that I’ve spied.

Florida has an incredible assortment of flora — not just the palm trees that many developers like to plop down, after ripping up our beautiful natives. And they’re enormous. If you’re lucky enough to stumble upon sections of pristine land, areas that weren’t cruelly and completely logged out in the 1930s and ’40s, you’re in for a real treat…. But sadly, few massive trees survived the logging operations of this time. While these trees are old, they’re probably 7th- or 8th-generation cypress. The loggers really did a number on Florida’s cypress populations. But if untouched, they could live to 500 years. The good news is, they’re now protected by various federal and state agencies!

In honor of our wonderful cypress swamps, some of the loveliest and most unique vistas to behold, here’s a shot of some cypress trees in a swamp, in the Big Cypress National Preserve (bordering the Everglades National Park) during the dry winter months.

Cypress Trees in the Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida

Cypress Trees in the Big Cypress National Preserve

Dec 5

Panther Kitteh Released into Big Cypress

Trees Along the Florida Trail, in Big Cypress

Defenders of Wildlife recently announced some great news for the Florida panther! An orphaned kitten, discovered last year (I remember the sad story — they never found his brother) has been released in Big Cypress National Preserve. Much luck to them all, and profuse thanks for the continued rescue and conservation efforts on the biologists’ behalf.

Rescued Florida Panther, Panther Ridge Conservation Center

The cats have much to contend with in Big Cypress these days — continued threats of oil-drilling expansion from Florida’s Governor Rick Scott, and the increased use, and consequently trails, of off-road vehicles (ORVs). The battle rages, with overwhelming concerns for the wildlife — mainly for the elusive Florida panther’s habitat. As of early November 2011, a lawsuit has been filed to protect Big Cypress from invasive ORV employment — seeking to overturn National Park Service’s decision to introduce extensive ORV use in the Addition Lands. According to the lawsuit, NPS authorized the ORVs in the Addition Lands, a result they achieved “by improperly excluding pristine lands from a wilderness eligibility study, which allowed NPS to bypass recommending those areas to Congress for long-term preservation as wilderness for the public’s enjoyment of these lands in their natural state. The lawsuit also raises concerns with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Biological Opinion, which failed to address several key threats to the highly imperiled Florida panther, as well as other species. Here is a link to the press release, and here is a link to the complaint.” (WE-blog: Wildlife and Environment Blog). As one who’s encountered these mechanical beasts within the far reaches of Big Cypress, it’s indeed a sad and scary thing to witness — their sheer size, their bellowing noise, their enormous tracks — after walking for hours through the silence and beauty of Big Cypress, their force is all that more mind-blowingly evident.

From the Defenders of Wildlife article:

(Visit the Defenders of Wildlife blog for the complete article by Caitlin Leutwiler, Panther Kitten Released into the Wild.)

This week saw the happy return of an orphaned Florida panther kitten to the wild. The release of the 1.5-year-old cat took place on Tuesday evening in Florida’s Big Cypress National Preserve, near the area he’d been discovered last year.

Watch the video footage of the kitten as he takes off into the Big Cypress National Preserve (footage provided by Ralph Arwood).

Background:

On October 25, 2010, through on-going tracking activity within the preserve, the radio-collar of female panther FP102 began emitting a mortality signal. Upon reaching the site of the signal, National Park Service biologists found the remains of the cat. A subsequent necropsy confirmed that she had died from wounds received during a fight. Five months earlier the cat had given birth to two male kittens. After the death of FP102, one of the offspring, was discovered. His sibling was never found.

Rescue efforts:

The National Park Service, working closely with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, transported the kitten, now called FP194, to the White Oak Conservation Center, a wildlife facility in northeastern Florida. At the facility, the cat was cared for and housed in appropriate facilities with minimal human contact….

For More Information on the ORV Issue and Lawsuit:

For More Information on Big Cypress National Preserve:

Nov 16

2 Comments

Clyde Butcher, Visionary of the ‘Glades

Clyde Butcher, from Clyde Butcher's Online Gallery and Website

Originally trained as an architect, landscape photographer Clyde Butcher has been exploring and capturing the far reaches of nature for more than 40 years. With his Deardorff, Wisner, and self-designed “Clyde-O-Wide,” Butcher hauls his unwieldy camera equipment (weighing 100-125 pounds) deep into the swamps of the Everglades, where he wades into the waters (and sits — for hours on end, with alligators and other critters) to catch eye-level, pure black-and-white images of such grace and beauty, that words cannot do them justice.

Butcher’s love and passion for nature — and specifically, for the chaotic beauty of the Everglades — gleams through every photograph of his swamps, rivers, bays, and oceansides. He embraces his spiritual connection to nature, and translates it through the photographic medium. Understandably, Butcher is a fierce conservationist; he yearns to protect and preserve wild Florida and its incredibly unique wetlands in the midst of ever-encroaching humanity, and in the face of voracious developers. “My goal,” he says, “is to let people see Florida and make up their own minds whether they want to keep it or not.”

“Wilderness to me, is a spiritual necessity. When my son was killed by a drunken driver, it was to the wilderness that I fled…and being close to nature helped restore my soul. My experience reinforced my sense of dedication to use my art form, photography, to let people know our land is a special place, and to inspire others to work together to save nature’s places of spiritual sanctuary for future generations.” —Clyde Butcher

I’ve been lucky to visit the Big Cypress Gallery, and stand in amazement in front of my favorite photographer’s enormous works. For years now, I’ve said that when my millions arrive … one of these pieces shall be my first purchase. C’mon, millions. Butcher will always be one of my heros — environmentally, spiritually, and artistically.

"Fisheating Creek 14," from Clyde Butcher's Online Gallery and Website

“Like the work of Ansel Adams, Clyde Butcher’s remarkable photographs gives us an access to nature we rarely see or experience.  They not only reveal the intimate and majestic beauty of the Everglades — and the need to save the fragile environment — they also remind us of the abiding kinship we mortals share when we work together to preserve these magnificent places.  Butcher’s art is a national treasure.” —Ken Burns, Emmy-winning filmmaker

For More Information on Clyde Butcher:

For More Information on Big Cypress National Preserve:

Nov 13

5 Comments

Big Cypress National Preserve

Big Cypress offers myriad amazing trails, offering the opportunity to hike for an hour or a week. During our last trip, we hit the Florida Trail for the majority of the time (6 hours) — winding through hardwood hammocks, pinelands, prairies, and cypress — and finishing with a stroll through an easy but magnificent swamp boardwalk.  But your options are endless; so research carefully to make the most of it (something we don’t usually do).

Established October 11, 1974, Big Cypress National Preserve was the first national preserve in the US National Park System. The critical role of this watershed to the Everglades National Park was of foremost concern for its establishment. It encompasses 720,000 acres of the Big Cypress Watershed, bordering the Everglades National Park to the south, and other protected areas to the west. The freshwaters of the Big Cypress Swamp are essential to the health of the Everglades, and support the marine estuaries along Florida’s southwest coast.

Historically, Big Cypress has been home to Native Americans, including the Miccosukee and Seminole tribes. Early settlers in the Everglades region heavily hunted herons and egrets for their much-desired feathers, which were then shipped to hatmakers throughout America and Europe; alligators and crocodiles were also hunted to near-extinction.

Petroleum exploration was allowed within Big Cypress — as in Everglades National Park — but plans have been underway to buy out the remaining leases. However, Florida’s Governor Rick Scott has emphasized that he is open to expanding oil drilling in the Everglades.

Another invasive force at odds with conservationists is the ORV. Long established as a recreational activity, off-road vehicles (ORVs) were originally used by many who worked to protect the preserve from development, and to access remote areas for drainage. With the increase of tourism and hunting, however, came an increase in ORVs’ use. Since 2001, scientists and conservationists prompted the National Park Service (NPS) to actively manage ORV recreation, and to reduce the number of their trails within Big Cypress, due to the “impacted wildlife populations and habitats through modifications to water flow patterns (direction and velocity) and water quality, soil displacement and compaction, direct vegetation damage, disturbance to foraging individuals, and, ultimately, overall suitability of habitats for wildlife” (2001 United States Geological Survey). The battle continues, with overwhelming concerns for the wildlife — mainly for the elusive Florida Panther’s habitat. As of early November 2011, a lawsuit has been filed to protect Big Cypress from invasive ORV employment — seeking to overturn NPS’ decision to introduce extensive ORV use in the Addition Lands. According to the lawsuit, NPS authorized the ORVs in the Addition Lands, a result they achieved “by improperly excluding pristine lands from a wilderness eligibility study, which allowed NPS to bypass recommending those areas to Congress for long-term preservation as wilderness for the public’s enjoyment of these lands in their natural state. The lawsuit also raises concerns with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Biological Opinion, which failed to address several key threats to the highly imperiled Florida panther, as well as other species. Here is a link to the press release, and here is a link to the complaint.” (WE-blog: Wildlife and Environment Blog). As one who’s encountered these mechanical beasts within the far reaches of Big Cypress, it’s indeed a sad and scary thing to witness — their sheer size, their bellowing noise, their enormous tracks — after walking for hours through the silence and beauty of Big Cypress’ flora and fauna, their force is all that more mind-blowingly evident.

For More Information on the ORV Issue and Lawsuit:

The most biologically diverse region in the Everglades, Big Cypress is home to alligators, venomous snakes, myriad birds, the Florida Black Bear, the Florida Panther, bobcat, deer, turkey, wild hogs, and the West Indian Manatee. The preserve is slightly more elevated than other areas of the Everglades, with rock outcroppings visible throughout.

Big Cypress is located off of the potentially dangerous Tamiami Trail (U.S.41), approximately half-way between Naples and Miami. The road doesn’t have to be fatal, if people gave it the respect it was due — a two-lane road in parts, it’s replete with twists and tricky bends. You can’t rush it. On our way out of the preserve during our last visit, we came upon an SUV … up a tree. It had obviously just happened, and to this day, we have no idea how a tight turn could hurl a vehicle 20 feet into a tree. Be careful on the Tamiami Trail — just go slow in the parts that make sense, watch for critters, and enjoy the scenery.

Coming up: The amazing, otherworldly Everglades vision of Clyde Butcher.

For More Information on Big Cypress National Preserve:

Trail in Big Cypress (Florida Trail)

Swamp Scene in Big Cypress

Trail in Big Cypress (Florida Trail)

Trail in Big Cypress (Florida Trail)

Trees Along the Florida Trail, in Big Cypress

Prairie in Big Cypress