(Special
Commemorative Edition of the Naples Daily News
celebrating the 50th anniversary of the
Everglades, published Dec. 6, 1997)
Call it the fight of the
century. River of Grass vs. Concrete Jungle. But
unlike those heavyweight bouts between Muhammad
Ali and Joe Frazier, in this battle only the
contender is punching.
From the walking dredge
that carved a swath through the marshes to build
the Tamiami Trail to the agricultural runoff from
sugar farms that pumped excess nutrients into
Everglades waters, the ecosystem has been
continually shocked for the greater part of the
20th century.
The Everglades may not
resemble the endless expanse the Seminoles knew,
but it remains alive. As Florida celebrates the
50th anniversary of Everglades National Park
today, a cleanup estimated to cost as much as $7
billion over the next 50 years is in the works.
For Collier County, the
Everglades is more than a reminder of the
uninhabitable swamp country Barron Gift Collier
encountered in 1923 when he first pondered one of
the biggest real estate gambits in Florida
history. The national park provides an economic
base for Everglades City. It's our anti-Disney
World, a natural tourist attraction loved by
hundreds of thousands of visitors each year who
hope to experience its undistilled magic.
Staff writer Ralf E.
"Ted" Kircher and staff photographer
Cameron Gillie experienced that magic on a
one-week canoe trip through the heart of the
Everglades. Their story anchors this special
section. On these pages we celebrate the River of
Grass and try to map its past, its present and
its future.
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