Everglades National Park guide · 2 min read
Marjory Stoneman Douglas and the Park's Fight
Marjory Stoneman Douglas is the writer most closely tied to the fight for this landscape. Her 1947 book, The Everglades: River of Grass, captured the open expanse of the land and the variety of life packed into its waters and marshes.
Official approval for the park came in 1934, aimed at a landscape that was disappearing rapidly, but it was not formally dedicated until 1947. The dedication took place as large canal projects were getting underway throughout South Florida. At the same time, the water flowing out of Lake Okeechobee was being tightly controlled and diverted so the Miami area could keep growing.
Ernest F. Coe, a land developer turned conservationist, led the Tropical Everglades National Park Commission and became known as the Father of Everglades National Park. His first plan covered more than 2,000,000 acres, reaching as far as Key Largo and Big Cypress. His refusal to scale that vision back nearly blocked the park's creation, since developers and sport hunters pushed for a smaller one.
A fight over a proposed jetport became a flashpoint that drew environmental activists into public debate, from city halls up to the national stage. In the end, the jetport idea was shelved. In 1972, a measure appeared that would restrict building across South Florida and secure the park's water supply. By 1990, the Army Corps of Engineers had shifted gears, setting aside new dam and canal construction in favor of environmental work.
Today the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Wilderness covers about 1,296,500 acres, roughly 86 percent of the park. It ranks as the largest wilderness on the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains. The Marjory Stoneman Douglas Visitor Center is in Everglades City. Long before the national park, Florida set aside Paradise Key in 1916 as Royal Palm State Park, a spot a short drive outside Homestead with its own walking paths and a place to greet visitors. Repairing the damage to this wetland is still a heated political question across South Florida.
