African American Sawmill Workers

Like shadows of history, black sawmill workers and loggers in the area that is now part of the Big Cypress National Preserve and its environs, made a way of life laboring in fearful and dangerous circumstances. They raised families, worshiped in harmony, and then disappeared with little notice taken of their presence, their passing or their contributions. In less than five decades, a way of life, and many of the people who lived it, has been dispersed from public memory. More is known about the ancient Calusa and Tequesta Indians than is known about this segment of the population from our recent past, and the tremendous contributions they made to our country and the world. It almost begs the question, “Were they ever really there at all?” There are only passing references to “negro labor” in the best-known history books. Recent efforts by local writer Maria Stone and the Museum of the Everglades have captured some of the stories from the mouth of the people who lived them. (We Also Came: Black people of Collier County, by Maria Stone) oral interviews collected by the Museum of the Everglades, April 28, 2001 and April 27, 2002.

Grizzly Hunt

This week, the Wyoming Fish and Game Commission voted to allow hunters to shoot as many as 22 grizzlies outside of Yellowstone National Park. The hunt, slated to start this September, will be the first allowed in the state in more than four decades. This action was made possible by a 2017 decision by the federal Fish and Wildlife Service to strip Endangered Species Act protections from this population of grizzly bears despite a recent spike in grizzly deaths in the Yellowstone region.

Florida and the Arts

At the end of March, Governor Rick Scott approved the state’s $88.7 billion budget for fiscal year 2018-19. Unfortunately, the final budget included only $2.6 million for cultural grants to be distributed among just 489 organizations across Florida—90 percent less funding than the current fiscal year. This year’s funding level moves Florida from 10th to 48th in per-capita appropriations for the arts for the nation’s third largest state.

Thoughts from Ansel Adams

We are not just talking about saving scenery. We are talking about the immediate future of the world.
Ansel Adams

The Savage in Us

"The savage lives in himself; the man accustomed to the ways of society is always outside himself and knows how to live only in the opinion of others. And it is, as it were, from their judgement alone that he draws the sentiment of his own existence." ~ Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Taking Care of Each Other

"Only the most arrogant, shortsighted, and spiritually bereft of our species would say that, at any cost to other species, we need only worry about our own."
- Timothy Walker

Sustainable Agriculture

Farmers who want to adopt sustainable practices on their land often turn to two government programs: the Environmental Quality Incentives Program and the Conservation Stewardship Program. The former funds individual projects like cover crops, forest buffers, and pollinator habitat, while the latter involves a holistic management plan for the whole farm.
Both programs are very popular -- forced to turn away three-quarters of the people who apply due to limited funds.1 Yet the House of Representatives wants to get rid of one!

Instead of dropping conservation programs, the House of Representatives should incorporate the SOIL Stewardship Act. This bill would level the playing field between corporations and small farmers by:
capping overall payments while increasing payment rates to farmers
requiring applicants be actively engaged in their farm
easing the transition to organic farming
increasing support for beginning farmers and wildlife habitat
encouraging crop rotation and rotational, pasture-based grazing, and
removing a mandate that 60 percent of all funding go toward livestock production