Davis & The Environmental History of Florida Arsenault “From the earliest descriptions of the state’s natural beauty to the degradation of the Paradise Lost? Everglades, virtually every facet of Florida environment is included in Paradise Lost? Nor have the authors neglected the human side of the story, from William Bartram, Marjory Stoneman Douglas, and Archie Carr to various development boosters and bureaucrats. . . . A fine collection that will make an important contribution to environmental history P generally and to the history of Florida in particular.”—Timothy Silver, Appalachian State University a r “A magnificent contribution to Florida’s environmental history and a fascinating analysis a of ‘paradise lost’ in the land of the pink flamingos and Disney.”—Carolyn Johnston, d Eckerd College i s This collection of essays surveys the environmental history of the Sunshine State, from e Spanish exploration to the present, and provides an organized, detailed overview of the reciprocal relationship between humans and Florida’s unique peninsular ecology. It is L divided into four thematic sections: explorers and naturalists; science, technology, and o public policy; despoliation; and conservationists and environmentalists. The contributors s describe the evolving environmental policies and practices of the state and federal gov- t ernments and the dynamic interaction between the Florida environment and many social ? and cultural groups including the Spanish, English, Americans, southerners, northerners, men, and women. They have applied historical methodology and also drawn on the meth- odologies of the fields of political science, cultural anthropology, and sociology. Of obvious value to environmentalists and general readers interested in Florida’s history, exploration, and development, the book will also serve as a solid introduction to the sub- ject for undergraduates and graduate students. Jack E. Davis is associate professor of history at University of Florida. Raymond Arsenault is the John Hope Franklin Professor of Southern History and director of the University Honors College at the University of South Florida, St. Petersburg. Cover: View on the Tomoka, postcard. Florida History and Culture Series University Press of Florida Edited by Jack E. Davis and Raymond Arsenault ISBN 0-8130-2962-7 UPF ,,!7IA8B3-acjgch!:P;m;O;t;p Paradise Lost? The Florida History and Culture Series University Press of Florida / State University System Florida A&M University, Tallahassee Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton Florida Gulf Coast University, Ft. Myers Florida International University, Miami Florida State University, Tallahassee New College of Florida, Sarasota University of Central Florida, Orlando University of Florida, Gainesville University of North Florida, Jacksonville University of South Florida , Tampa University of West Florida , Pensacola University Press of Florida Gainesville · Tallahassee · Tampa · Boca Raton · Pensacola Orlando · Miami · Jacksonville · Ft. Myers · Sarasota Paradise Lost? The Environmental History of Florida Edited by Jack E. Davis and Raymond Arsenault Copyright 2005 by Jack E. Davis and Raymond Arsenault All rights reserved Chapter 9 originally appeared as Raymond Arsenault, “The Public Storm: Hurricanes and the State in Twentieth-Century America,” in American Public Life and the Historical Imagination, edited by Wendy Gamber et al. (University of Notre Dame Press, 2003). Reprinted with permission. Chapter 13 originally appeared as Jack E. Davis, “‘Conservation is Now a Dead Word’: Marjory Stoneman Douglas and the Transformation of American Environmentalism,” Environmental History 8 (January 2003): 53–76. Reprinted with permission. First cloth printing, 2005 First paper printing, 2005 A record of cataloging-in-publication data is available from the Library of Congress. ISBN 978-0-8130-2826-2 (cloth); ISBN 978-0-8130-2962-7 (pbk.) ISBN 978-0-8130-4022-6 (e-book) The University Press of Florida is the scholarly publishing agency for the State University System of Florida, comprising Florida A&M University, Florida Atlantic University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Florida International University, Florida State University, New College of Florida, University of Central Florida, University of Florida, University of North Florida, University of South Florida, and University of West Florida University Press of Florida 15 Northwest 15th Street Gainesville, FL 32611-2079 http://www.upf.com For Becky Palmer Davis Patricia Ostby Arsenault Contents List of Illustrations ix Foreword xi Acknowledgments xiii Introduction 1 Part 1. Paradise Explored and Interpreted 1. Between Topos and the Terrain: A Brief Survey of Florida Environmental Writing, 1513–1821 25 Thomas Hallock 2. An Eighteenth-Century Flower Child: William Bartram 47 Charlotte M. Porter 3. A Naturalist’s Place: Archie Carr and the Nature of Florida 72 Frederick R. Davis 4. “Improving” Paradise: The Civilian Conservation Corps and Environmental Change in Florida 92 Dave Nelson 5. Water, Water Everywhere 113 Christopher F. Meindl Part 2. Science, Technology, and Public Policy 6. The Everglades and the Florida Dream 141 David McCally 7. The Trials and Tribulations of Amos Quito: The Creation of the Florida Anti-Mosquito Association 160 Gordon Patterson 8. “Nature’s Navels”: An Overview of the Many Environmental Histories of Florida Citrus 177 Christian Warren 9. The Public Storm: Hurricanes and the State in Twentieth-Century America 201 Raymond Arsenault Part 3. Despoliation 10. Alligators and Plume Birds: The Despoliation of Florida’s Living Aesthetic 235 Jack E. Davis 11. Blasting through Paradise: The Construction and Consequences of the Tamiami Trail 260 Gary Garrett 12. Lake Apopka: From Natural Wonder to Unnatural Disaster 280 Nano Riley Part 4. Conservation and Environmentalism 13. “Conservation Is Now a Dead Word”: Marjory Stoneman Douglas and the Transformation of American Environmentalism 297 Jack E. Davis 14. A “Monstrous Desecration”: Dredge and Fill in Boca Ciega Bay 326 Bruce Stephenson 15. “We Must Free Ourselves . . . from the Tattered Fetters of the Booster Mentality”: Big Cypress Swamp and the Politics of Environmental Protection in 1970s Florida 350 Gordon E. Harvey 16. “The Big Ditch”: The Rise and Fall of the Cross-Florida Barge Canal 375 Lee Irby Contributors 399 Index 403 Illustrations Figure 5.1. Population of Florida since 1860 126 Figure 8.1. Oranges produced by box 184 Figure 8.2. Orange production by county 184 Figure 8.3. Orange production versus population growth 193 Figure 14.1. Boca Ciega Bay 341 Table 8.1. Orange production in Florida, 1890–1992 185