Voice of the Everglades: Our gift to you — a guide to Everglades National Park 🐊

Our gift to you this holiday season

Dear manoj,

A few months ago, I taped a scrap of paper to the wall next to my desk, where it reminds me to do something that's essential if we are to succeed at saving the Everglades.

It boils down to this: Get out into the nature you're working to protect.

"It is not enough to fight for the land; it is even more important to enjoy it. While you can. While it's still here. So get out there and hunt and fish and mess around with your friends, ramble out yonder and explore the forests, climb the mountains, bag the peaks, run the rivers, breathe deep of that yet sweet and lucid air, sit quietly for a while and contemplate the precious stillness, the lovely, mysterious, and awesome space. Enjoy yourselves, keep your brain in your head and your head firmly attached to the body, the body active and alive, and I promise you this much; I promise you this one sweet victory over our enemies, over those desk-bound men and women with their hearts in a safe deposit box, and their eyes hypnotized by desk calculators. I promise you this; You will outlive the bastards." — Edward Abbey, writer and environmentalist

I don't hunt, and we don't have mountain peaks in Florida — but Abbey's message bowls me over every time I read it.

So, in the spirit of writer-conservationists like Edward Abbey and Marjory Stoneman Douglas, we have a gift for you this holiday season: our Guide to Visiting Everglades National Park. It's a token of our thanks to you for being a Friend of the Everglades.

Get out there and hike the cypress forests, paddle the seagrass flats, and trudge through the swamp. You will be reminded why we're fighting so hard.

For the Everglades,

Eve Samples
Executive Director

SUPPORT THE EVERGLADES!

Marjory's Circle Spotlight

I am continually inspired by the passionate people who support Friends of the Everglades. On that note, I'd like you to meet Camila Quaresma-Sharp. Originally from Brazil, Camila is a dynamic and determined voice for the Everglades who lives in Miami Beach but finds solace in the Everglades. She's part of our Marjory's Circle alliance of supporters who empower our work and sustain the legacy of our spirited founder, Marjory Stoneman Douglas. Watch this 1-minute video about Camila to learn why she joined Marjory's Circle.

Session is coming. Bad bills are flying.

Make sure you savor a good dose of holiday cheer. You'll need it to get through the upcoming session of the Florida Legislature, which begins January 9 in Tallahassee. Bad bills are already flying — including a pair of bills that aim to undercut local wetland protections, and another pair that would gut citizens' rights to challenge development permits. Friends of the Everglades is committed to being a watchdog and keeping you informed about key moments to weigh in. Steel your nerves, and bookmark our Legislative Accountability page.

ICYMI: 2023 Impacts, powered by you

Each year, we publish an Impact Report so you can better understand the work your dollars power at Friends of the Everglades. Over the past year, we have waged a campaign to fix the too-sweet sugar industry supports in the U.S. Farm Bill, advocated to stop sugarcane burning, elevated our Legislative Accountability efforts in Tallahassee, and reinvigorated our Young Friends of the Everglades program. Read more in our 2023 Impact Report.

Parting Words from MSD

"The phrase 'bird-watching' has come to be used by some people with a half-humorous, half-contemptuous condescension, because they cannot imagine what pleasure there can be in merely looking at birds. There is no money to be made in knowing them."

— Marjory Stoneman Douglas, The Joys of Birdwatching in Florida

Founded in 1969 by Marjory Stoneman Douglas, Friends of the Everglades' mission is to preserve, protect and restore the only Everglades in the world. We are science-driven and solutions-oriented.

Support the movement for a truly restored Everglades by donating now!

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