Articles
The Last Gladesmen
By Mike Clary Staff Writer
Everglades Outposts Struggle To Keep 'Swamp Culture' Alive Survival, They Say, Hinges On Historical, Recreational Renewal
Two miles down the levee, where the bumpy gravel road gives way to sawgrass, sits the last outpost in Southeast Florida of an Everglades world almost forgotten.
Here, going for a swim means plunging into the canal from a rope swing. Travel is by airboat. And alligators swim right up to the back door.
Gladesmen; The Real Everglades
By Nick Callahan
Two miles down a gravel road along the C304Canal, away from the tourist traps of the Tamiami Trail, lies one of the few remaining bastions of old Florida. Mack's Fishing Camp is an enclave of cottages anchored by a small general store that has been a part of the Everglades landscape long before the National Park Service decided to set up shop in 1947. Five successive generations of landowners, or Gladesmen, have made this gateway to the real Everglades one of seven properties eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.
Earlier this year, the United States Army Corps of Engineers, in conjunction with the South Florida Water Management District, began the public comment phase of an ethnographic study of Gladesmen Culture as part of their Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP). The Corps commissioned the study to determine the existence of traditional cultural properties that would help qualify places such as Mack's for registry under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. In order to qualify, these sites must be deemed to have been "associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history; or embody distinctive characteristics of a period."
Although a final determination has yet to be made on registry of these sites, the cultural influence Gladesmen have made on the landscape of Southern Florida needs to garner historic protection. Gladesmen have carved a unique culture out of a landscape fraught with challenges and have played a pivotal role in preserving a unique American frontier. Today the family members who run Mack's are among the staunchest proponents of Everglades' restoration and certainly some of most knowledgeable naturalists the State of Florida has at its disposal. Nary a tree-island, gar or panther are unknown to these unique individuals. Federal and State scientists and biologists regularly call upon their years of indigenous knowledge to assist in ongoing studies aimed at protecting this vital aquifer. Thanks in large part to their generational knowledge of the land, its nuances and condition, the Gladesmen have shaped the direction of many of the restoration efforts currently underway.
As funding battles rage and restoration theories are hypothesized; it is the Gladesmen who can tell us that the Everglades are truly threatened. They have seen, firsthand, the damage that over-development and disregard have had upon their land. For over a century, these folks have had their finger on the pulse of the Glades and they feel it weakening each year. Littered canals, pockmarked sawgrass prairies and invasive species are putting a stranglehold on Florida's last great natural gem faster than ever before and protecting the Gladesmen culture is an integral part of reviving this great landscape.
State and Federal governments must recognize this threatened culture and way of life before it disappears. Monies promised nearly a decade ago for preservation projects to undo the environmental and cultural damage caused by 70 years of greed, political pandering and ignorance are drying to a trickle. Protecting the Gladesmen culture is the last best hope to keep the Everglades from becoming an historic footnote and erasing an important chapter in the annals of Florida history.
JPO will continue to follow progress of the Gladesmen Ethnographic Study and the CERP in future installments covering the health of the Everglades.
Bassoline.com
Mack's Fish Camp, 5 generations of family hospitality offering boat rentals, fishing, camping, family events, private group trips and professional photography available.
Home to hundreds of creepy creatures and watery wildflowers, the Everglades Mack's Fishing Camp is the perfect place for both entertainment and learning. Explore a forest of unspoiled wonders at Mack's Fish Camp, located in the heart of the Everglades see for yourself what makes the wetlands so wildly wonderful! "The Everglades is a attraction in Fort Lauderdale not to be missed." The hidden secrets of nature's own will develop your curiosity as you explore Mack's Fishing Camp in Fort Lauderdale, Broward County.
Come on down let's go fishing!
Everglades Bass Fishing trips, include everything along with tackle, all that is missing is you.
Trips are available for 2, 4, 6 & 8 hours of fishing and sightseeing. Reservation are a must, trip need to be scheduled in advance. We can generally accommodate you with as little as a couple hours notice, so don't pass up the opportunity for a true Everglades experience. We can meet you at Mack's Fish Camp or arrange for pickup. The Everglades is indeed an angler's paradise and the perfect place to catch the trophy bass of your dreams. Whether you're a fisherman or just a naturist, this is a cool way to see the Everglades!