Politics and a Land Remembered.

1. Think about how much Florida has changed over the years. Include the reading by Grunwald and Douglas. You also need to incorporate the first ten chapters of A Land remembered by Patrick Smith.

Florida  has changed in many ways over the course of the years. Whether it is from its name, Pahayokee to what it is now commonly known as The Everglades. Not only has it grown in age but it has also grown in importance. Over the years more and more people and politicians have realized just how important The Everglades are to Florida's ecosystem and not just the ecosystem but to the inhabitants of south Florida. All throughout the 20th century momentum had been building and many people were working towards salvaging what remain of The Everglades. Even though many environmentalists and Florida conversationalists worked hard to help stop plume hunts, preserve millions of acres at wetlands, mandate minimum flows to The Everglades National Park, and secure the largest nutrient cleanup in history it still wasn't enough. The ecosystem  was drastically changing, you couldn't preserve one species without harming another. As described in A Land Remembered, the influx of people to south Florida didn't help at all.

2. What do you make of the politics surrounding the Everglades? How much does it affect you? 

I honestly thought the politics surround the issue of The Everglades back in the 2000's was a bit ridiculous that it took over a year to finally have people realize that our ecosystem was more important than money. It wasn't just our ecosystems future that was at stake but also the livelihood of south Florida. It would've affected me because had the airport been built all the waste and runoff from it would've most likely been dumped in The Everglades polluting our drinking water. 

For our last field trip we went to the beautiful Six Mile Cypress Slough in Fort Myers. During our time there I learned that the preserve was started by a group of students that were studying ecology known as the Monday Group. Their goal was to be able to preserve 20% of all Lee county for conservation. Today that goal has been reached. I also learned that that a slough, which is a shallow,slow movement of water in one direction;which is what Six Mile Cypress is. I also learned that our bedrock here in Florida is made out of limestone. Limestone is make out of the carcass of really old shellfish. CaCO3 is it's chemical composition.

                                                              Photo Credit: Danielle Saenz

Throughout our walk through Six Mile Cypress, I was able to see that the water levels in the preserve vary and fluctuate, especially in the Hardwood Transition Community. Many of the native plants located in this area have adapted to this way of life, this is why they flourish in this transitional area because they get both wet and dry periods. Like the trees below:

                                                            Photo Credit: Danielle Saenz

During our trip we were also able to see more Cypress tress and their Cypress knees, just like on campus. Pond Cypress is among the oldest living organisms in the slough. Our trip throughout Six Miles Cypress I learned just how important it is to preserve our environment even if it is just pieces of it. Six Mile Cypress is like a transitional highway for animals. It allows them to cross from Fort Myers down to Estero.