The Everglades National Park

       By: Olivia Bush

                     Have you ever considered the thrill of  seeing alligators everywhere you turn? How about mysterious trees wrapped around another tree? At the Everglades National Park, you can! It's a place with unique animals, plants, and history. In fact, it's called "The River of Grass" because of the dense saw grass that makes some of it look like a river! It's located all throughout  most of southern Florida. Go online, and take a look yourself!

          The Everglades National Park is a place with rich history, including why it  became a park. It was established on December 6th 1947. In the 1500's, Spanish settlers came to the Everglades to look for gold. Native Indians lived here before and during the Spanish settlement. They captured the Indians and forced them to move to Spain to practice Christianity. It eventually became a park to protect the natural wildlife in the area.

          The amazing natural features and plants include over 2000 types of plants, 200 types of birds, and thousands of other animals. There are a vast amount of birds in the Everglades. For instance, Brown Pelicans, Wood Ibis, Snowy Egrets, three species of Huron, Turkeys, Kingfishers, and several kinds of ducks, are all part of the vast bird life in the Everglades. Salt water fish and animals include Sharks, Tarpons, Dolphins, Sea Trout, and Saltwater Alligators and Crocodiles. The plants in this area include Air trees, Cypress trees, Marshes, and many other plants. The wild life is the main attraction when you visit the Park so bring your Binoculars!

            The park has a history of hunting, building,and farming. It has been through many changes during its time. After the Native American civilization, in the early 1900's, the Everglades became a popular places to hunt for Snowy Egrets which supplied feathers for lady's hats.  Because of all of the hunting being done, conservationists created the National Audubon Society. That led to a growth of the species and they became so populated they had to be hunted almost to extinction. In the late 1900's, land had been sold because developers wanted to drain the Everglades to build on. They made sugar cane plantations, vegetable fields, and cattle ranches.The main reason this land was reserved and made into a park was to save wildlife and stop hunting.                        The Everglades was not always an area of perfect places, people and wild life. It has and still does face some difficult challenges. I believe that the main challenge for the Everglades is the problem of the many

invasive species. They have taken over the park a little at a time. They include the Burmese Python, Australian pine, Latherleaf, Old world Climbing Fern, Melaleuca, Brazilian Pepper, and Seaside Malnoe. The invasive species are taking over and creating another problem. The native animals eat the plants, but die because these plants are not native and the animals die from eating them. The park also suffers from overuse, wild fires, and pollution. The park rangers and the National Wildlife Society is helping to fix these problems and save the park.

            I hope by this time I have caught your interest in the park. If I didn't there is alot more to do than just look at the nature. You can go hiking, canoeing, enjoy a safari, camping, or stay in the hotel inside the park! But I have to warn you, if you stay in the hotel, you might just wake up to 30 Alligators outside your window! The tree that wraps around another one is called the Air Tree. The amazing shapes of them is the most interesting thing about it. There was a picture of it in the front of this booklet.