Everglades National Park has been on my bucket list for several years.  It’s a huge National Park that’s relatively near by – less than a 2 hour drive from my winter home in Fort Myers Beach.  In March of 2022, I made a trip down to the park and share my experience in this post.

Background

I always thought of the Everglades as just a huge swamp.  It never had the same appeal as those big scenic wonder parks such as Yellowstone, The Grand Canyon, or Glacier.  Seeing acres of  marshes and mangroves wasn’t interesting to me.

My interest in the park was peaked this year after I watched a PBS documentary about the Everglades called The Swamp.  This show gave a history of the Everglades area (from Lake Okeechobee to the Florida Bay) and it’s importance to southern Florida as a water source.  I learned that without the Everglades there would be limited fresh water for places like Miami and Fort Lauderdale..

Next, I read Marjory Stoneham Douglas’s book called The Everglades: River of Grass.  This great book gives a detailed history of the Everglades, describes how man has almost killed the Everglades, and how a few dedicated people worked tirelessly to save it and preserve southern Florida’s water supply.  After I read the book, I planned my visit.  I wanted to see this huge area of water, grass, mangroves, swamps, and wildlife that are all connected and are so vital to sustaining southern Florida.

It’s All About the Water

Southern Florida is shaped like a giant tablespoon that tilts south towards the Florida Bay.  Near the top of the spoon is Lake Okeechobee.  The side rims of the spoon are the east and west coasts of Florida.  In the middle of the spoon are the Everglades and the Big Cyprus Swamp.  The north, east, and west sides of the spoon are created by underground limestone rims that keep the salt water out and the fresh water in.

The Everglades is a huge water system.  In southern Florida, here are no underground springs like the ones in central and northern Florida.  Surface water (rain and condensation) from the Orlando area travels south and feeds Lake Okeechobee from the Kissimmee River.  The original flow of the water from Lake Okeechobee slowly flowed south in a huge arc sweeping from east to west and ending up in the Florida Bay.  More fresh water gets added from rain and condensation.  All of this moving water is what makes up most of the fresh water supply for populated areas on the coasts.

All this water also serves a feeding and nesting area for the wildlife, most importantly birds.  The water delivers a food supply (fish, shell fish, insects, seeds) for the birds.  Birds are pretty to look at, but they also serve a critical purpose.  Birds are seed sowers, aerators, pollinators, and fertilizers.  They sustain much of the plant life in the Everglades.  Without the water there would be no food supply for the birds.  And and without the birds, there would be no Everglades.

Saving the Everglades

In the early 1900’s efforts began to drain the Everglades and develop the land for agriculture and housing.  Much of the land south of Lake Okeechobee was drained with a series of dikes and canals.  It is now a huge area noted for it’s black muck soil that grows sugar cane and vegetables.

The original flow of the water was also changed.  In order to provide flood control and drainage, a series of major canals were dug (5 to the east coast and one to the west).  Much of the water from Lake O now gets diverted to flow east and west.  As the water flow changed, water levels dropped in the Everglades and salt water began to intrude to the extent that the water supply to places like Miami began to turn salty.

Fortunately, some bright and dedicated people, like Marjory Stoneham Douglas and Ernest F. Coe, saw the folly of what was happening and lobbied the state and federal governments to preserve the area.   They prevailed and the result of their efforts was Everglades National Park being established in 1947.  Big Cyprus Swamp National Preserve was created in 1974.  The two areas protect over 2.2 million acres of the Everglades.

My Visit

There are four distinct areas within Everglades National Park.  We chose to enter the park at the eastern side of the park at the Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center and travel down to Flamingo.  There’s a campground at Flamingo along with a marina, boat tours, and a small visitor center.

The other two areas in Everglades National Park are at Everglades City and Shark Valley.

I booked two days so we’d have time to explore and take a boat tour.  The campground is very nice and and sites are well spaced out.  There are electrical hookup at about 40 of the sites.  There’s a single water spigot and dump station.  The camping areas are in big fields but there is some shade from several mahogany trees.

We took a backcountry boat tour with hopes of seeing some wildlife and birds.  The boat tour was nice as we were able to see areas beyond the roads and trails and travel into Whitewater Lake.  But our sightings of wild life were disappointing.  We saw one alligator and only a handful of birds.  We did see an American crocodile.  The Everglades is an area where there are both alligators and crocodiles.

I made a video of our visit at Flamingo which shows the scenes from the park road, our boat tour, the Anhinga Trail at Royal Palm, and the Flamingo area.

Observations

I’m glad I made the visit to the Everglades.  Learning about the area before hand made the trip much more meaningful.

The Everglades is a very remote area.  It’s a 40 mile drive to get from the park entrance down to Flamingo.  And there is no Verizon cell service or wifi at Flamingo.  It can also be very hot and buggy.  A two day visit was sufficient for us.

The lack of wildlife was concerning.  I was expecting to see huge rafts of white pelicans, roseate spoonbills, and possibly some flamingos.  We did see these birds and lots more but not in the Everglades.  We saw them on our way down in Big Cyprus National Preserve.  I also was expecting to see lots of alligators.  We saw just three in the Everglades but saw over 30 in Big Cypress.

Since the early 1900, bird populations in the Everglades have steadily declined.  One article I read said bird populations are down by 90% since the early 1900’s. Hunting for bird feathers, reduced water flow, and pesticides have taken a toll on the bird population in the Everglades.  In Douglas’s book on the Everglades there’s a statement towards the end of the book about the future of the Everglades.  I can’t quote the exact words but  the statement said – if we loose the birds, we loose the Everglades.  I didn’t fully understand this connection until I read more about the role birds play for the ecosystem.

In the past few years, the birds have been making a came back.  One park ranger I talked to said the birds just seem to come and go.  But I read another article that said in 2021 there had been low water conditions which affected the fish and food supply for the birds.  Then later in 2022, there have been high water levels which destroyed many nesting sites (There was high water levels during our visit).  The result – much less birds and wildlife.

Seeing a significant lack of birds in an area, where I expected to see hundreds, is very concerning. I hope they make a comeback.  Otherwise, without the birds, the Everglades will become a lifeless swamp.