Big Cypress is speckled with low [limestone] outcrops, cut with shallow [sloughs] 1 to 2 feet deep, and dotted with ponds and wet prairies. As in the [everglades], fire and water maintain the character of the plantlife in this swampy realm of sunlight and shadow. Also as in the everglades, a difference of a few inches in elevation creates different [communities]. Tropical hardwood [hammocks] grow on rocky outcrops. In the depressions arise bayheads and clumps of pond apple, pop ash, and willow. The larger baldcypress trees grow in shallow sloughs, which are usually surrounded by prairies of sawgrass and maiden cane growing on slightly higher land. Although the several different plant communities resemble those in the glades, they support slightly different plants, because of the sandy soil (there being more quartz in the limestone under Big Cypress than in the park).
These baldcypresses, many measuring 3 to 6 feet in diameter, were heavily lumbered from 1930 to 1950. Today, few giant trees survive, but a sizable stand exists on the Norris Tract—so named for its conservation-minded donor—which forms the nucleus of Corkscrew [Swamp] Sanctuary. Here, protected by the National Audubon Society, are baldcypresses 130 feet tall; some have a girth of 25 feet! A boardwalk more than one-half mile long enables you to enjoy the beauty of this wild preserve without getting your feet wet.
CYPRESS STRAND
WET PRAIRIE TROPICAL HARDWOOD [HAMMOCK] WET PRAIRIE 1 SOUTH FLORIDA SLASH PINE 2 BALDCYPRESS 3 POP ASH 4 ROYAL PALM AIR PLANT
Large stands of baldcypress, called “strands,” support small [communities] such as ponds, prairies, and tropical [hammocks]. One such hammock is famous for the finest stand of royal palms remaining in south Florida. The largest cypress strand—the Fakahatchee—extends some 23 miles north and south a few miles east of Naples.
Big Cypress [Swamp] is the home of wild turkey, bobcat, deer, and an occasional Florida panther. The fish-eating otter plays in its waterways. Most of the birds found in the [everglades] also are found in the trees and waterways of Big Cypress, because the swamp has an abundance of food. The area is so rich in wildlife and edible plants that the Seminole Indians formerly lived entirely off its products.
BOBCAT WHITE-TAILED DEER OTTER
The eastern edge of the big [swamp] and its importance to [Everglades] National Park came to worldwide attention in 1969 when it was selected as the site for the proposed Miami International Jetport. According to plans, this was to be the biggest airport in the world, covering 39 square miles and handling 65 million passengers a year. Millions of persons were expected to make their home in and around the jetport. Such a threat to the national park, into which the waters of Big Cypress partly drain, provoked protest letters from all over the world. Most writers objected on the grounds that Everglades belongs to all and that a jetport here would seal the doom of the park. Congress acted in 1974 by establishing Big Cypress National Preserve to help protect the water supply to Everglades National Park.