Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s needs, but not every man’s greed.― Mahatma Gandhi
Soon after the shelter at home orders were lifted in Florida, we decided to hit a trail every weekend. A small mile-long loop at the Big Cypress National Preserve, one of the first national preserves in the USA that borders the Everglades from the south, was one of them.
The preserve is awe-inspiring and shows you why South Florida is so unique. Go here for the many trails, a couple of them unpaved and rugged, close encounters with alligators, cypress hammocks, and tons of native birds to spot. The preserve is also crucial for its watershed to the Everglades National Park and is home to the endangered Florida Panthers.
Most of the trails here are unpaved and require you to wear high boots because vast stretches of the trail are submerged in water. We chose a boardwalk trail called the Kirby Storter trail that took us through swamps and tall cypress trees. Enjoy this trail as a birding trail too because you will spot a ton of tropical birds.
On our way back, my son asked what the difference is between a national park and a national preserve. The answer was unknown to me, but I decided to find out.
Reality strikes
At night, with the kids tucked away in bed, a load of laundry in the dryer, and my comfy jammies pulled up higher than the highest Old Navy high-rise jeans, I set out to find the answer to my son's earlier query.
Google gyan (a Hindi word for knowledge) provided the answer in split seconds, and a quick read through the top links gave me enough information to sound intelligent in front of my kiddo the next day. That should have brought my knowledge attainment session to a close.
You got your answer. Now, go on. Fold some laundry and pick up the toys in the living room.
Only, I wasn’t ready to go anywhere just yet. The human mind never stops at one. The more it knows, the more it wants to know. One question led to another, and curiosity became impossible to curb.
I spent the next several hours—until what sounded like mellifluous bird chirps at the crack of dawn—engrossed in and crestfallen at what was turning out to be a revelation about a habitat quite literally in my backyard.
It was shocking to know the many ways in which places like the Big Cypress NP have been adversely affected by climate changes, quenchless human needs and lack of consciousness of those inhabiting nearby areas of the preserve.
Needs over nature
A national preserve is mostly the same as a national park. The only difference being activities related to natural resources like fishing, hunting, mining and digging oil are allowed at the preserve but not at the park.
In 1974, a legislation made Big Cypress USA's first national preserve, allowing energy exploration and possible development. At the same time, Park Services was given the authority to ensure developments and oil exploration does not contravene the purpose of creating the preserve.
One of the first pieces of information I received after moving to Florida was that the neighborhood we had just moved into has been developed on land that was once part of the Everglades. The wetlands were filled up to make it fit for construction, lakes were drained, and many species' natural habitat was lost. Most of South Florida shares this truth.
The Everglades which coexists with the Big Cypress NP has a history of abuse—extensive urbanization along this fragile ecosystem, drainage of water for human consumption and oil excavation have shrunk this ecosystem to one-third its original size, endangering 100s of species of plant, animals and birds along the way. But it is not just the Everglades or the wilderness in Florida that is suffering.
The beauty and uniqueness of national parks in the USA and worldwide are hard to explain in words. But glossy travel magazines and alluring Instagram visuals of famous national parks depict a reality that is under severe threat. Threat so grave that many of these extraordinary landscapes might be altered permanently or seize to be.
In a 2019 article in The New York Times titled, “Our national parks are in trouble,” the writer, also the author of a book on national parks, explains how air pollution, the proliferation of invasive species of plants and animals, overcrowding and climate change are altering the national park habitat and ecosystems tremendously.
Park maintenance backlog, mining and drilling, lumbering and water shortage are the other reasons for putting the national parks and preserve in perils.
Deep impact
Currently, as many as forty national parks and preserve together in the USA sit on top of a bed of fossil fuel. Big Cypress NP already has several wells and future excavation sights zoned. Many other national parks and preserves across the USA are engaged in drilling, excavation and fracking activities.
What does excavation and drilling activity look like in a delicate ecosystem like the Big Cypress NP? Think a 30-something-ton drilling truck, known as thumper trucks, leaving deep ruts in the untouched habitat of hundreds of species of plants and animals. The rutted areas that look like deep and broad seismic lines, loose most of its vegetation, with little chances of it regaining its original growth.
What impact will urbanization, commercial drilling and climate change have on the delicate equilibrium that these natural systems in the long run?
Will our future generations be able to hike the trails of Big Cypress as we did? Is there something we can do to safeguard national parks and preserve?
As travelers, parents and responsible citizens of this planet, our role is crucial for the welfare of national parks, sanctuaries and preserves across the world. In my next blog, I will talk about some things to keep in mind while we head out to explore our national parks and preserves to ensure we do our part to protect wilderness. Which national park have you been to recently? How was your experience?
@elysian_reflection we definitely need to make it happen someday soon 🤗
Too bad we don’t reside much closer to each other, as I could see us both up late at night, in our comfy pajamas, up to our elbows researching information about national parks, preserves, state parks, etc...