The Secret Islands of the Everglades
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 16 มิ.ย. 2024
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The Everglades is a water world - It’s the widest and slowest river in the United States. But in the heart of this great water body exist secret islands that have outsize importance for the cultural heritage of a people and for the biodiversity of this important wetland. Thousands of these tree islands dot the Everglades. For generations, the Miccosukee people have called these islands home. And they’ve long understood that the islands are a giver of life in this unforgiving environment. The islands are some of the only dry land around and harbor a surprising diversity of plant and animal life, including: coyotes, bobcat, bear, and even the Florida panther. But among the scientific establishment, the islands are little understood. Researchers from the Miccosukee tribe are working to understand how animals use the islands and what role they play in the larger Everglades ecosystem. With the islands under threat from outside forces, their studies have taken on increased urgency. What they’re finding could be key to preserving the Miccosukee culture and the balance of life in this great river.
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I was born and raised on the edge of the Everglades. My hometown literally borders the Everglades on more than one side including one of the aforementioned canals/pumps. I love the Everglades and the science of the ecosystems here and even wrote a whole paper on Everglades restoration. This video warmed my heart and made me so happy that you guys talked about it. The Everglades has to be one of the most damaged environments in the country and people know so little about it!
From homestead fl lived in the Everglades for 25 years
I have always wanted to visit the Everglades since I was a child. Hope I can make it over in the next few years.
lol Pembroke pines
My dad was a park ranger and I lived in everglades city till I was 4. I still go back every few years
Me too
I love programming with Indigenous voices. Bravo PBS ‼️
Betty is a living legend amongst the south Florida conservationist community, so glad to see her featured here.
💯☁️
She's someone I've looked up to for years.
I grew up in Miami but spent the better part of my youth in the Glades. I saw changes that I didn't understand as a young kid but those changes often made me cry for the loss of our favorite island for camping where dad would always ask us to clean up other people's trash. We always picked up any trash as we were floating the natural open waters. I saw the damage that humans did many times. Seeing more and more destruction every trip. It disgusted me. I stopped going because I could no longer stand to see the trash choked waterways destroyed habitat and so many people out there that you could no longer hear the quiet. That was my favorite part, the quiet.
The story of the Everglades is one known well by my family. They escaped certain death in Scotland when their land was taken from them and they were forced into slavery to the Crown. They risked being executed when they came to America. Eventually, they settled in Florida. They used the crack of a short whip to drive their cattle. This resulted in the term Florida Cracker or just Cracker as some like to use in a derogatory way. A story passed down for generations is how they hid from the Confederate army during the Civil War. They had lost family when forced into slavery in Scotland. It was inconceivable for them to fight and possibly give their lives for someone else to keep slaves. So, they refused to fight for the South. Because of this and because they would not sell their cattle to the Confederate army they were branded outlaws. They had no choice but to drive their cattle down to the Everglades. Once there, they made friends with and traded with the Native tribes hiding in the Everglades. After the war, some of my family returned to their farms and some stayed. However, the government messed up the area with their drain the swamp campaign. This drove the last of them to leave the area and migrate to the Tampa Bay area. I still remember listening to my Great Grandpa telling me stories about being the last Florida Cowboy and about the lessons taught to his family by the Native peoples living in the Everglades.
Your family history reads like the book "A land remembered ". I love it, Florida history is amazing!
@@kayaksamir4695 I will have to check out that book. Have you ever read the book Blind dog in a smokehouse. It has more modern stories but it's still good. I wish more people knew about their heritage. It's sad that for most it's lost history.
Colonialism is such a disease. Thank you for your testimony. As a Tampa native, your peoples influence is felt.
@@fuxan I'm sorry, I'm confused. Are you a native American and upset with his colonial ancestors or a "native" to the area and sympathetic to the plight of the European colonizers and appreciate the changes they made to the area?🤔
That's an incredible story
I’m 42 years born and raised in central Florida and I had no clue of this tribe or islands. Thank you
Dang, I didn’t think that was possible. Born and raised in the same area as you but have been down many times. You should check it out.
One of the most inhospitable places on earth. The fact that they survived there for so long is a testament to the strength of them.
My dad did a lot of work with the everglades and would take me often on trip with the biologists that work there. I'm so glad you guys made this video, I always felt more people should know about these.
I do kind of wish you focused more on the impact the road have on water flow. While the canals and agriculture are big factors I-75 and the Tamiami trail also impact the way waters flow across the everglades since they act as giant dikes and restrict water flow to only a few culverts and channels rather than the massive sheet flow. It may have been improved but there was a time where water would consistently higher on the upriver side of the roads
My grandma worked at
Aerojet right by the Everglades National park in the Redlands/fl city off palm drive/Ingram road that runs directly into the National park to the end of it flamingo… the Original dirt road was built by the Ingram family that are close family friends
💯☁️
@@bluntman305 My wife and I spend a lot of time exploring the Everglades and places nearby. We recently visited the abandoned Aerojet facility. We were able to see the one rocket that is still in place. We plan to return soon and explore the area more. Very cool.
The Everglades is so beautiful. My deepest blessings and praises to the Miccosukee Tribe in your love and protection of the Everglades, your people, all people, all of nature and all the world.
Thank you for shedding new light on the Everglades. I did not know about the tree Islands.
I have family that lives right next to the Everglades, I always thought it was cool but I never knew any of this. Thanks for shedding light on this and giving the people there a platform to reach people
The vast everglades are about a 10 minute drive from my home. It will always have a place in my heart. I want to study ecology and I hope I can be a "voice for the voiceless" too like the amazing native American in this video.
I’m sure the pythons have a lot to do with the diminishing numbers of small mammals.
I also wish the best for the Miccosukee in maintaining their culture and endangered language, along with their islands and waters.
That’s my Dad! So proud of him!!!! 💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗
👏🏼
You guys from South Africa?
I hope that the state of Florida and U.S Sugar can strike a new deal on purchasing the land between the glades and Lake O, deconstruct those canals and dikes, and finally restore the natural flow from the lake to the glades and from the glades to the Florida straits
damn how beautiful it is like exploring the other world
This strikes home in a way that I appreciate. Thank you PBS Terra. 🐊🏴☠🦞❣❤❣❤❣❤
I live 1 mile away from the Miccosukee tribe, in a suburb of Miami.
The Miccosukee’s main reservation is on alligator alley. It’s about 10 square miles of untouched land. The tribe operates its headquarters on a smaller patch of land off of US41. It’s about 20 miles outside of Miami.
Those raccoons are adorable! 🥰
I hope local officials can pursue better water management methods in the future.
I hope that this video helps raise awareness because it was downright depressing to see what was done to these tree islands
Tree islands aka hardwood Hammocks
This was a great video and at least starts a conversation to help the Everglades! And it’s so rich in biodiversity this is just scratching the surface!
I love PBS, ASAP I will help never stop the show's
This is so cool. I'd love to find a guided tour that focuses on the biology and sustainability of these habitats.
Nature will reclaim after man is gone. That idea always fills me with hope.
The Seminole’s and other tribes somehow managed to survive in that most inhospitable land full of alligators and venomous snakes ( especially the coral snakes ) .Just amazing yet how I admire them.
It’s almost like land developers push stories of exaggerated dangerous wildlife so people are more willing to let it get destroyed. Coexistence has always been possible 😌
@@nickc6380 unfortunately I worked for a land developer for 29 yrs and it bothered me immensely knowing what they did to the land. Rather than redevelop areas already ruined they built on more raw land. In the meantime forests are being cut down ( the sand trees that absorb carbon dioxide and give off life giving oxygen. ) Glad I was just an accountant
@@nickc6380
I mean yeah. Human beings are a adaptable species, it's why we've migrated out of original range of Africa.
We have always called them “heads”, the islands that is. You don’t want to be chasing a buck deer with a half track buggy and hit a gator hole. Been there and done that. One thing we would do is go into a head as far as we could go in a airboat, then we would climb down to the ground and you could only do this in very dry periods. Otherwise you would sink into the mud , a whole other problem. But if we were able to get through the thickness of the underbrush, sometimes you would run across an old camp and you could also run across a camp still being used. If a camp was still being used we would always respect the camp, number one we were honest but you never knew who was lurking in the brush. Makes me want to be there, some very good memories. So much to see in what most people would see nothing. God has Blessed the Everglades.
I had no idea about this. Thanks for making the this video
Thanks for shining a light on this unique ecosystem.
It’s fascinating.
Beautiful video. We must protect our precious everglades
As always excellent job
Love the everglades and my beautiful Florida !
This was such a beautiful video
The inner complexities nature has versus our brute force is so stark
I live in wv mountains and for over 20 years I’ve felt pulled to the Everglades and don’t know why but this summer coming 2022 I’m taking a trip to see….
These tropical hardwood hammock islands form small unique rainforest ecosystems all over the Everglades prob the only place in the mainland US you’ll find an actual tropical rainforest ecosystem
The only place in the continental U.S. with a tropical biome, complete with a tropical climate that has wet and dry seasons. Even the prized mahogany trees and several tropical fruiting trees from the West Indies grow in those tropical hammocks.
Thank you, PBS Terra for the lesson. Today I learned so much about a massive & delicate ecosystem that reminded me of a book a read: Their Eyes Were Watching God.
Amazing. I totally agree with her
"Our people, we were meant to be a part of nature" As she goes roaring by in an airboat....
Lolol..yeah..the natives always leave out the fact that they slaughtered other natives for that land..its always " the white man's fault " .she belongs to it about as much as an Asian does.
She's a phony man. All of this "we belong to the Earth" sh!t. They don't live in the swamp anymore not because it's flooded, but because they're so rich from their casinos that they live in nice areas.
One of my fave TH-cam vids ina long ass time thank u
So stoned watching this is amazing
Great video!
So amazing
This was beautiful! I love that you brought in native voices!
Me and a friend of mine was fortunate that we had a lot of native American friends we would spend weeks in Big Cypress loved it .
When the documentary starts with a person saying they are one with nature while in a gas powered boat...
I moved to South Florida from Ohio. I always have been an outdoors person so I've hiked in the Everglades multiple times. It's a lot of walking through water, extremely buggy at times and filled with small little islands. It's a beautiful landscape.
Use plant based mosquito spray it works and less toxic on enviorment
Wow i just learned something new
When I was going through flight school, most of the training areas were over the Everglades. This meant that in an emergency we were always trained to land on Levis and not in the water/mud soup. There was a DC-3 that went down just outside Boca Raton and the pilots made it, but the plane disappeared. Not that they wanted the plane back, but you would think that it would just stay there… but nope.
I remember that story on the news plane just disappeared in the Everglades.
When did that happen I’ve lived in boca my whole life and I never heard about that, Interesting
Fascinating story, I learned a lot from this and I'm from Florida.
amazing place!
Great video
I was raised on the fringes of the Honey Island Swamp,,,, worked offshore with many Cajuns of South Louisiana
I cried when I finally saw the Everglades on this Wednesday. The ACE basin is amazing in itself in SC...this though...there is something else like ghosts on the wind of eternity.
In GA and a bunch of the EG are in our state too and they are so cool.
The Everglades is an important migratory ecosystem and must be protected!
This is the best "I've got some prime real estate in the Everglades" pitch I've ever heard.
When I visit the Everglades. I feel part of nature and feel as though I'm in control of nothing. That's why I go there. I feel like I'm on different planet from where I live. I live in north Georgia. That is just a few hundred miles away. I wish that I could just stay there. But I don't belong there. I wish all people felt the same. It's hard to believe this place is so close and yet so far from my every day life.
Great presentation.. but no mention of the Florida treesnails (Liguus fasciatus)?? They have to be the most unique and vulnerable of all the animals that live on the "tree islands" we call them hammocks in the Everglades btw. Still a very good message and well shot. Thank you for spreading the word👍🐌
amen…….well said
Im from the fingerlakes region of NY and my local lake (oneida) used to be connected to a huge swamp which literally acts like a massive sump filter for the lake, just as this does for floridas water bodies. the last 50 years, local officials have filled in many areas here that disconnected the lake from the filtering swamp and sold filled in lots, took money for granting bad building permits, etc, and its caused our lake to go putrid every year and get huge algal blooms which never were a problem back in the day. Its important that we have elected officials who arent greedy bad people in positions where they can facilitate the protection of these beautiful lands. If we dont encourage and show our youth that this is important, 100 years from now these places will be full of contaminants like oil, plastic, chemicals, etc and the biodiversity will be non existent.
Isn't any conversation about the everglades incomplete without at least mention of the threat of sea level rise?
TaLk AbOuT mY tHiNg!!!! 🥴
That is true because the southernmost parts like in Cape Sable area and elsewhere has seen trees further inland dying off from seawater. Most of the die off though follows the arrival of hurricanes as the storms push the seawater inland into the canals.
“Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit, and as vital to our lives as water and good bread. A civilization which destroys what little remains of the wild, the spare, the original, is cutting itself off from its origins and betraying the principle of civilization itself.”
― Edward Abbey, Desert Solitaire
What wise lady!
Wise woman ! U should run for president!!! You got my VOTE !!!!!!!
Back in the 1960's, my mother would tell stories of the Everglades and the wildlife there, such as the indigo snake. It was hard to hear how such as the indigo became rare, though now the american gator has come back. I hope the state will be more help in the future to keep and restore this amazing ecosystem. Instead of changing it, it be a huge resource for things like fish/shrimp/hydro farming instead of corn and cattle.
Came back? Since when were gators rare?
@@VinylUnboxings In the 1950's + 60's they were at a very low pupulations and all types of laws and restrictions were put in place. Many thought it was to late to save them, but they've come back better than about any animal that was near extinction and so most of the laws have been reversed.
Shared to educate those who are uninformed and raise awareness.
I love how she finished with everyone not just her people everyone something native us native people do wrong and speak about owning us it's about everyone thank you
I hope they can save the glades they are so important.
Carl Hiaasen approves of this video
great video--I learned a lot. Newly transplanted in Florida (2 months) and hearing much about the water contaminations, red tide, and now this issue with the everglades. I wish the end of the video gave us direction as to how we can help, what is the solution?
Write in to the tribe featured, maybe they can point you to some ways
There is a plan to restore the Everglades that has been stagnant for years. The plan was to buy land from the sugar farmers and convert them to filtration ponds. The idea was that filtration ponds would absorb the runoff and contamination from the sugar cane farms. The money has already been allocated. However, there is no political will to start the restoration project as the sugar companies and dairy farmers are the biggest political contributors. They’ve gone so far as to lower water quality standards to avoid penalizing these industries. Florida will continue to lose the Everglades and suffer red tides until Florida leaders step up and get tougher with those industries.
Welcome to Florida.
Support your tribes, vote out our current leaders, educate the general public, and hold companies accountable rrly
Betty’s voice is so calming 😍😌
I love my Everglades
Nature always figures it out
What can we do to help?
It's simple really, the role of these islands is what they are being used for now, a natural sanctuary for all living things within the glade.
Hey from My family lives next to the reservation right at the edge of the Everglades no I’m not native just live close as heck to the border of Kendal and the Everglades!!
To all those living in the Everglades how do you endure mosquito season?
Season??? 😂
@@bambina772 yeah, it does go on forever doesn't it?
In an area like this swamp, there are lots (probably hundreds of millions) of little fishes that eat mosquito larvae before they can become adult mosquitoes. I believe dragonfly larvae eat mosquito larvae as well. I find that worse mosquito infestations occur on dry land areas that develop puddles & ephemeral (temporary) ponds, because there are no fishes in them. I catch tiny Gambusia mosquitofishes in swamps around me and put them in my small ponds to keep my yard naturally almost free of mosquitoes, but I find that dragonfly larvae unfortunately prey on the fishes in such confined spaces.
Who needs guard dogs when ya got an army of crocs on ya front garden
Truly hope for the health of the everglades. Been to Florida many times just not the Everglades.
4:28 what is that? Looks like a reclaimed road or something 🤔
Dont be mistaken as many programs are for helping the everglades many home developers continue to break down the edges and continue deforestation
there is one in Noosa QLD.
You may want to get rid of the invasive python, if there’s any hope of your small mammals surviving.
It's insane to me that humans can watch the negative impact of their actions for over 50 years and still DO NOTHING to stop it. I hope beyond hope we wise up soon.
ngl the channel icon made me think it was a like default google letter icon for a week of seeing this on my feed and i didnt click it because of that.
Well said, we should try to coexist with nature, we are part of it. When it falls, we fall.
I miss Miami and the glades
good luck.
Thanks to the man made lake okeechobee 60 miles wide and 90 miles long that the Everglades have been suffering and it just keeps getting worse. I’ve seen it. I’ve lived it since 1965. American by birth , southern by the grace of God.
You must be talking about the Okeechobee Waterway because that’s man made but the lake itself has existed for thousands of years. The waterway has been killing the glades and the lake itself
There wouldn’t be an Everglades if Lake Okeechobee didn’t exist
So really there is no water shortage problem in Florida when this huge area is nothing but fresh water - or is it actually briny, not really fresh enough to drink ? I recognize the people reporting on this care about keeping the area as it's pristine self - but water shortage in hot areas is going to be a terrible problem in the future ~ so some compromise would seem to be needed on this unless we do what is best for the world anyway & get rid of huge numbers of humans !!!
Veronica, you are the much needed "Voice of Reason" here. One thing that I think people forget too, is that we Live on a very dynamic planet and it is changing constantly. If we look at Earth and it's history we will see just how much it has changed over millennia. Scientists have enough evidence to believe that the Antarctic was once a very warm and humid place. Now all of the shifts that were involved in causing this change, I can't help but feel as though if this were happening now, Humanity would believe that WE were the causal factor in it all and that we had better change something that we're doing or that place may end up under ice, or something! Our planet has changed dramatically and so many times, even without Humans being any part of it all AND I believe that things would still be changing now, with or without us being here. While Yes, I believe that we all need to do our best to not exacerbate the affect that we have in and on the World around us, I think it a bit hubris of us to think that we are that important to this planets evolution. Earth was here before us and it will be here long after we're gone. In short: Be good stewards of the Planet... YES, but don't forget to relax and lose the Guilt... As I iterated earlier, we are not that Important to our planet. Enjoy this wonderful playground of ours and don't lose sleep over that candy wrapper that blew out of your car window either. Do your best, but that's all. Keep Smiling...
I use to live in Chicago, the Illinois rivers and it's associate tributaries all flow into the Mississippi then down into the Everglades, where I now live, Fl. A gr8 amount of reparian systems attach themselves as a steady flow of water begins to build up. The Florida Everglades IS the last stronghold of all that ancient terra forma coming from Canada -->Minnesota -Wisconsin ---> Illinois ---> Mississippi ----> Gulf of MX and Fl. Everglades. The richest soils on planet earth all end up here. These miccosukee indian's are sacred peoples who have steward these wetlands for centuries upon centruries. We should support them in every endeavor they contribute to this sacred watersheds.
The Mississippi River goes through Mississippi into Louisiana
@@brodyhess5553 yep, which ends up in the Gulf of Mexico. Katrina destroyed much of the French quarter another storm and Louisiana will be our first coastal basin lost to climate crisis. And Bill Gates is buying all the farmland around these predicted flood planes & he doesn't even do any agriculture...
The Mississippi River has carried the non biodegradable herbicide chemical toxins from Monsanto/ USDA farms. This has created a massive 250 mile wide DEAD ZONE inside the ocean where all phytoplankton plants are completely dead. There is no oxygen without these microbial plants and hypoxia has caused total death. Please Be glad the Mississippi does not flow into the Florida wetlands or it would be a lifeless Dead Zone too.
Mississippi River doesn’t flow into the Everglades thou sooooo
The Miccosukee didn't live here for "centuries upon centuries"- they've been here since the 1800's when they came down to escape Andrew Jackson's Trail of Tears.
The original Indians were the Tequesta tribe, which are now long since gone.
Yet they fail to mention the pythons that are taking over and devouring the small and large game!
Very easy to transport shit through the Everglades. I once saw a small boat tied to multiple canoes, the men on the boat looked crazy as fuck and they all had guns and machetes. Thats when they slowed down and gave me that look. I never paddled so fast in my life.
So what is a hammock?
The aquifer under it is more amazing!
Really well done, thank you for centering the Miccosukee in this piece. (Unfortunately Big Sugar & US Govt are mammoth and white sprawl is booming again along US 41 & I-75 since 2014.)
Really? No Latinos or Blacks or Asians? Only Whites?
@HHHearn They show such deference to native spirituality but are contemptuous of Christianity. Phonies.
What TF is "white sprawl"?
*Sadly Everglades* has infestation invasive Burmese pythons, I would not want to explore those islands 😂😂😆
ye
Imagine falling off the fan boat into the middle of the river and it goes 20 feet passed you to where you have to swim
It’s about waist deep water. You can pretty much walk across the Everglades.
@@dinoflagella4185 even that sounds crazy
I'm confused. The native woman says she wants no human interference with the water levels. The state has big drains set up. The problem is extended flooding. The answer is periodic draining, right? Sure there are a lot of factors to consider in draining the right amount at the right time, etc. - In order to preserve current tree islands and allow more to grow. In the larger, global sense ocean levels are rising and environments are changing so without human interference to mitigate the side effects of global human interference - the everglades along with so much more will be undergo change too quickly for nature to maintain.
You are 100% correct.
so why dont they change the waterflows...