Big Cypress
Welcome to the Western Everglades
Big Cypress Swamp Welcome Center Nears Completion
The Big Cypress Swamp is an amazing place…
- A place so flat that mere inches make a difference in the landscape.
- A place so large that the name itself – Big Cypress – only hints at the vast expanse of this ecosystem (more than 2,400 square miles).
- A place so wild that ghost orchids bloom in splendid isolation and panthers roam the land, rarely seen by people.
The Big Cypress is an amazing place – but it remains a mystery for many.
Few people who live or travel in Southwest Florida truly appreciate what makes this incredibly diverse and distinct region of the Greater Everglades ecosystem – a place often called the “Western Everglades” – different from its better known cousin to the east.
The Big Cypress Swamp Welcome Center in Collier County promises to change that dynamic. When it opens its doors next year, the Welcome Center will introduce tens of thousands of residents and visitors a year to the Big Cypress, its wetlands and wildlife.
The Big Cypress National Preserve is building the $2.2 million Welcome Center on U.S. 41 (Tamiami Trail). Construction began in November 2008 and is now nearly complete. The project itself won’t be finished, though, until the center’s exhibits are installed.
The South Florida National Parks Trust, an independent 501(c)(3) organization, has embarked on a fundraising campaign to complete the project. The Trust is seeking to raise $250,000 in public and private funds to pay for the Welcome Center’s new exhibits.
The exhibits will explain and describe the history, hydrology and habitats of the Big Cypress and invite people to explore the region – on their own or through guided tours.
We invite you to join us in supporting a project that will welcome more people, especially children, to the “Western Everglades” and enhance the quality of life in Southwest Florida.
Sincerely,
Patrick White
Porter Wright Morris & Arthur
Co-Chair
Big Cypress Welcome Center Campaign |
Howard Isaacson
Merrill Lynch
Co-Chair
Big Cypress Welcome Center Campaign |
Find Out More
To learn more about the new Big Cypress Swamp Welcome Center and the Trust’s fundraising campaign in support of the project, and to see design sketches of the planned exhibits, click on the following links:
Welcome Center – Donor Opportunities
Welcome Center Exhibits – Design Sketches
Welcome Center News – Fall 2009
Welcome Center – Photo Album
New documentary tells the story of “The Western Everglades”
Producer and Cinematographer Elam Stoltzfus has teamed up with photographer Clyde Butcher and musician Sammy Tedder to produce a new film that takes viewers deep into the heart of the Big Cypress Swamp. The hour-long documentary began airing on public television nationwide in September. Elam, Clyde and Sammy have worked together before, notably on “Living Waters, Aquatic Preserves of Florida” and “The Apalachicola River: An American Treasure.” Their latest project features some stunning footage captured in the Big Cypress, and interviews with folks who know and love these “Western Everglades.”
DVD copies of the new documentary are available for purchase through the Trust, for $20 plus $5 for shipping and handling. All proceeds benefit the Welcome Center. To purchase a copy, contact the Trust office at 305.665.4769 or by email at info@southfloridaparks.org
To learn more about the film, go to www.bigcypressswamp.org
Sammy Tedder, Clyde Butcher and Elam Stoltzfus
