Wilderness on the Edge: A History of Everglades National Park Robert W Blythe Chicago, Illinois 2017 Prepared under the National Park Service/Organization of American Historians cooperative agreement Table of Contents List of Figures iii Preface xi Acknowledgements xiii Abbreviations and Acronyms Used in Footnotes xv Chapter 1: The Everglades to the 1920s 1 Chapter 2: Early Conservation Efforts in the Everglades 40 Chapter 3: The Movement for a National Park in the Everglades 62 Chapter 4: The Long and Winding Road to Park Establishment 92 Chapter 5: First a Wildlife Refuge, Then a National Park 131 Chapter 6: Land Acquisition 150 Chapter 7: Developing the Park 176 Chapter 8: The Water Needs of a Wetland Park: From Establishment (1947) to Congress’s Water Guarantee (1970) 213 Chapter 9: Water Issues, 1970 to 1992: The Rise of Environmentalism and the Path to the Restudy of the C&SF Project 237 Chapter 10: Wilderness Values and Wilderness Designations 270 Chapter 11: Park Science 288 Chapter 12: Wildlife, Native Plants, and Endangered Species 309 Chapter 13: Marine Fisheries, Fisheries Management, and Florida Bay 353 Chapter 14: Control of Invasive Species and Native Pests 373 Chapter 15: Wildland Fire 398 Chapter 16: Hurricanes and Storms 416 Chapter 17: Archeological and Historic Resources 430 Chapter 18: Museum Collection and Library 449 Chapter 19: Relationships with Cultural Communities 466 Chapter 20: Interpretive and Educational Programs 492 Chapter 21: Resource and Visitor Protection 526 Chapter 22: Relationships with the Military 549 Chapter 23: Concessions and Special Park Uses 564 Chapter 24: Cooperating Associations, Friends Groups, Employee Groups, Volunteers, Youth Conservation Corps 577 Chapter 25: Special Events 588 Chapter 26: Organization, Planning, Budgets, Relationships with Other NPS Units 595 Chapter 27: Park Designations and International Relationships 606 ii WILDERNESS ON THE EDGE: A HISTORY OF EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK Chapter 28: The Everglades Becomes a Test Case for Ecosystem Restoration: The Road to CERP 614 Bibliography 644 Illustration Sources 679 Index 681 Appendices Appendix A: Legislation Appendix B: Visitation Appendix C: Budgets Appendix D: Superintendents Appendix E: Chronology Appendix F: Capsule Biographies List of Figures Preface Figure PR-1. Park entrance signs through the years xii Chapter 1 Figure 1-1. Detail from Henry S.Tanner’s 1823 map 2 Figure 1-2. Predrainage plant communities 7 Figure 1-3. Sawgrass marsh 8 Figure 1-4. Hammock vegetation 9 Figure 1-5. Pine upland 10 Figure 1-6. Mangroves on the Gulf coast 12 Figure 1-7. South Florida cultural areas, 2,000 years before present 15 Figure 1-8. Native American groups at contact 20 Figure 1-9. Pedro Menéndez de Avilés 21 Figure 1-10. St. Augustine in the Eighteenth Century 23 Figure 1-11. U.S. forces burning a Seminole town Pilak-li-ka-ha 26 Figure 1-12. Everglades Drainage District 31 Figure 1-13. Drill barge on Tamiami Canal, 1927 33 Figure 1-14. Mural celebrating the arrival of the railroad at Okeechobee 35 Figure 1-15. Housing for black tomato field workers, 1927 36 Figure 1-16. Belle Glade after the 1928 Hurricane 36 Figure 1-17. Coconuts awaiting shipment at Cape Sable 38 Chapter 2 Figure 2-1. Flamingos in the Bahamas 42 Figure 2-2. Lavish use of plumes in a hat 44 Figure 2-3. Audubon Warden Guy Bradley 46 Figure 2-4. May Mann Jennings 49 Figure 2-5. Telegram announcing the passage of the Royal Palm Park bill 50 Figure 2-6. Luncheon at the dedication of Royal Palm State Park 52 Figure 2-7. Lodge at Royal Palm State Park 53 Figure 2-8. Lodge interior, Royal Palm State Park 54 Figure 2-9. Limestone wall at Mathesson Hammock Park 56 Figure 2-10. CCC men sawing limestone at Royal Palm State Park, March 1934 58 Figure 2-11. Deer pen and feeding station at Royal Palm State Park, July 1934 58 Figure 2-12. Lily pond at Royal Palm State Park, July 1934 59 iv WILDERNESS ON THE EDGE: A HISTORY OF EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK Chapter 3 Figure 3-1. Ernest F. Coe, circa 1930s 65 Figure 3-2. Everglades National Park Association postcard with proposed park boundary 66 Figure 3-3. Everglades National Park Association membership card 68 Figure 3-4A. Map with Ernest Coe’s planned scenic highway 69 Figure 3-4B. Legend for map with planned scenic highway 70 Figure 3- 5. Tourist camp, Dade County 71 Figure 3-6. NPS inspection party and Goodyear blimp, 1930 76 Figure 3-7. NPS inspection party on boat, 1930 77 Figure 3-8. Maximum boundary from 1934 authorizing act 79 Figure 3-9. Cover of Olmstead-Wharton Report 86 Figure 3-10. Pen used by President Roosevelt to sign 1934 authorization act 91 Chapter 4 Figure 4-1. 1917 and 1937 Seminole reservations 94 Figure 4-2. Everglades National Park Commission map touting tourism 97 Figure 4-3. Miami Daily News blasts Governor Cone’s attitude, Aug. 2, 1938 106 Figure 4-4. Daniel Beard’s 1938 Wildlife Reconnaissance 110 Figure 4-5. Park boundary at establishment, 1947 129 Chapter 5 Figure 5-1. Air boat 132 Figure 5-2. Glades buggy with treads 133 Figure 5-3. Program for Everglades National Park dedication 135 Figure 5-4. Everglades Rod & Gun Club 137 Figure 5-5. First day cover, Everglades stamp 138 Figure 5-6. Marjory Stoneman Douglas 140 Figure 5-7. Miccosukee Indians presenting shirt to President Truman 141 Figure 5-8. Miccosukee shirt given to Daniel Beard 142 Figure 5-9. President Truman dedicating Everglades Nat’l Park, Dec. 6, 1947 144 Figure 5-10. Audience at park dedication 145 Figure 5-11. Ernest Coe letter with his customary leaf 147 Chapter 6 Figure 6-1. Fishing village of Flamingo, circa 1950 154 Figure 6-2. Abandoned automobile at Flamingo 155 Figure 6-3. Dr. Lunsford’s house at Cape Sable 156 FIGURES V Figure 6-4. 1950s boundary changes 161 Figure 6-5. Bulldozer with scarifying blade for rock plowing 163 Figure 6-6. Iori Farms complex 164 Figure 6-7. Dreamland Estates advertisement, Miami Times, Nov. 13, 1961 165 Figure 6-8. Hole-in-the-Donut lands 166 Figure 6-9. The Impact of Evicting Farmers from the Hole-in-the-Donut 167 Figure 6-10. Protesting to keep farming in Hole-in-the-Donut 168 Figure 6-11. East Everglades lands 170 Chapter 7 Figure 7-1. NPS recreational map of Florida, circa 1935 177 Figure 7-2. Proposed Cape Sable Development 179 Figure 7-3. Coot Bay comfort station, National Parks Magazine 23/98 (July-Sep. 1949), p. 29 180 Figure 7-4. Royal Palm Ranger Station at completion, 1951 181 Figure 7-5. Parachute Key and Pine Island 183 Figure 7-6. Park developed areas 186 Figure 7-7. Cecil Doty drawing of Flamingo Visitor Center 187 Figure 7-8. Cecil Doty birds-eye view of proposed Flamingo development 188 Figure 7-9. Model of Flamingo visitor center and concession building, 1957 190 Figure 7-10. Flamingo comfort station 191 Figure 7-11. Flamingo comfort station after Hurricane Donna, Oct. 1960 193 Figure 7-12. Employee apartments at Flamingo, 1967 195 Figure 7-13. Park sign for Mission 66 project 196 Figure 7-14. Chickee checking station 197 Figure 7-15. Main Visitor Center 198 Figure 7-16. Interior of Main Visitor Center 199 Figure 7-17. Furnishing plan for park headquarters building 200 Figure 7-18. Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center 201 Figure 7-19. Employee residence at Pine Island 202 Figure 7-20. Laying a concrete pad at Long Pine campground 203 Figure 7-21. Shark Valley tower 205 Figure 7-22. Everglades City ranger station and boat basin 207 Figure 7-23. Key Largo ranger station 208 Figure 7-24. Cabin at Chekika, built 1950s 210 Chapter 8 Figure 8-1. The Central & Southern Florida Flood Control Plan 216 vi WILDERNESS ON THE EDGE: A HISTORY OF EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK Figure 8-2. Weeping cow booklet 218 Figure 8-3. One of the S-12 water control gates 223 Figure 8-4. Water control structures affecting Everglades National Park 225 Figure 8-5. Pumping from a well at the Anhinga Trail 232 Figure 8-6. Blasting a gator hole 233 Chapter 9 Figure 9-1. Seadade and Islandia 240 Figure 9-2. Location of proposed jetport 243 Figure 9-3. Luna Leopold Report on the Jetport 246 Figure 9-4. Runway at the Jetport site 248 Figure 9-5. In the Big Cypress swamp 250 Figure 9-6. Everglades Agricultural Area 264 Figure 9-7. U.S. Sugar Corporation refinery at Clewiston 268 Chapter 10 Figure 10-1. Everglades Wilderness Areas 278 Figure 10-2. Lopez River backcountry campsite 282 Figure 10-3. Indian Key backcountry campsite 283 Figure 10-4. Wilderness waterway 285 Figure 10-5. Canoeing in the backcountry 287 Chapter 11 Figure 11-1. Game fish stocks were a focus of early research 291 Figure 11-2. 1960s droughts affected the nesting of great blue herons 293 Figure 11-3. Touting the new science program at Everglades, May 1978 300 Figure 11-4. Checking on the health of a tranquilized Florida panther 301 Figure 11-5. Modular laboratory at Florida Bay Interagency Science Center 307 Chapter 12 Figure 12-1. Cuthbert Lake Rookery 309 Figure 12-2. Tricolor heron 316 Figure 12-3. Cape Sable seaside sparrow 319 Figure 12-4. Cape Sable seaside sparrow subpopulations 321 Figure 12-5. Bald eagle in flight 324 Figure 12-6. Brown pelican 326 Figure 12-7. Wild turkey 327 Figure 12-8. Relocating an alligator, 1960s 331 FIGURES VII Figure 12-9.