WEBVTT 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 So I've had the great privilege 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 of traveling to some incredible places, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 photographing these distant landscapes and remote cultures 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 all over the world. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 I love my job. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 People think it's this string of epiphanies 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and sunrises and rainbows. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 When in reality, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 it looks more something like this. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 (Laughter) 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 This is my office. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 We can't afford the fanciest places to stay at night, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 so we tend to sleep a lot outdoors, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 as long as we can stay dry, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 that's a bonus. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 We also can't afford the fanciest restaurants. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 So we tend to eat whatever's on the local menu. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 And if you're in the Ecuadorian Paramo, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 you're going to eat a large rodent called a Cuy. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 (Laughter) 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 What makes our experiences, perhaps, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 a little bit different and a little more unique 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 than that of the average person 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 is that we have this gnawing thing in the back of our mind 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 that even in our darkest moments, in those times of despair, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 we think, "Hey, there might be an image to be made here, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 there might be a story to be told." 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 And why is storytelling important? 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 It helps us connect with our cultural and our natural heritage. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 And in the Southeast, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 there's an alarming disconnect between the public 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and the natural areas that allow us to be her win the first place. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 We're visual creatures, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 so we use what we see to teach us what we know. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Now the majority of us aren't going to go 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 way down into a swamp. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 So how can we expect those same people to advocate 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 on behalf of their protection? 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 We can't. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 My job, then, is to use photography as a communication tool 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 to help bridge the gap between the science and the aesthetics. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 To get people talking, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 to get them thinking, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and to hopefully, ultimately, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 to get them caring. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 I started doing this 15 years ago right here in Gainesville, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 right here in my backyard, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and I fell in love with adventure and discovery. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Going to explore all these different places 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 that were just minutes from my front door step. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 There's a lot of beautiful places to find. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Despite all these years that have passed, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 I still see the world through the eyes of a child 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and I try to incorporate that sense of wonderment 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and that sense of curiosity into my photography 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 as often as I can. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 And we're pretty lucky because here in the South, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 we're still blessed with a relatively blank canvas 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 that we can fill with the most fanciful adventures 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and incredible experiences. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 It's just a matter of how far our imagination will take us. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 See, a lot of people look at this and think, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 "Oh wow, that's a pretty tree." 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 But I don't just see a tree, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 I look at this and I see opportunity. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 I see an entire weekend. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Because when I was a kid, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 these were the types of images that got me off the sofa 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and dared me to explore, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 dared me to go find the woods 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and put my head underwater and see what we have. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 And folks, I've been photographing all over the world 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and I promise you, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 what we we have here, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 what we have in the Sunshine State 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 rivals anything else that I've seen. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 But yet out tourism industry is busy promoting all the wrong things. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Before most kids are 12, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 they'll have been to Disney World 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 more times than they've been in a canoe 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 or camping under a starry sky. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 And I have nothing against Disney or Mickey, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 I used to go there, too. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 But they're missing out on those fundamental connections 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 that create a real sense of pride and ownership 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 for the place that they call home. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 And this is compounded by the issue that the landscapes 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 that define our natural heritage and fuel our aquifer for our drinking water 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 have been deemed as scary and dangerous and spooky. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 See, when our ancestors first came here, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 they warned, "Stay out of these areas, they're haunted. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 They're full of evil spirits and ghosts." 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 I don't know where they came up with that idea. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 But it's actually led to a very real disconnect, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 a very real negative mentality 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 that has kept the public disinterested, silent, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and ultimately, our environment at risk. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 We're a state that's surrounded and defined by water. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 And for centuries, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 swamps and wetlands have been regarded 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 as these obstacles to overcome. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 And so we've treated them as second-class ecosystems 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 because they have very little monetary value 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and of course, they're known to harbor alligators and snakes, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 which I'll admit, these aren't the most cuddly of ambassadors. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 (Laughter) 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 So it became assumed, then, that the only good swamp 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 was a drained swamp. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 And in fact, draining a swamp to make way 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 for agriculture and development 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 was considered the very essence of conservation 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 not too long ago. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 And now we're backpedaling, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 because the more we come to learn about these silent landscapes, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 the more secrets we're starting to unlock 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 about interspecies relationships 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and the connectivity of habitats, watersheds and flyways. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Take this bird, for example: 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 This is the prothonotary warbler. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 I love this bird because it's a swamp bird, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 through and through, a swamp bird. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 They nest and they mate and they breed in these old grown (?) swamps 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 in these flooded forests. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 And so after the spring, after they raise their young, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 they then fly thousand of miles over the Gulf of Mexico 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 into Central and South America. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 And then after the winter, spring rolls around 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and they come back. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 They fly thousands of miles over the Gulf of Mexico. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 And where do they go, where do they land? 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Right back in the same tree. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 That's nuts. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 This is a bird the size of a tennis ball. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 I mean, that's crazy. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 I used a GPS to get here today, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and this is my hometown. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 (Laughter) 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 That's crazy. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 So what happens, then, when this bird flies over the Gulf of Mexico 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and into Central America for the winter 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and then the spring rolls around and it flies back, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and it comes back to this: 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 A freshly salted golf course. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 This is a narrative that's all too commonly unraveling 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 here in this state. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 And this is a natural process that's occurred for thousands of years 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and we're just now learning about it. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 So you can imagine all else we have to learn about these landscapes 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 if we just preserve them first. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 And despite all this rich life that abounds in these swamps, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 they still have a bad name. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Many people feel uncomfortable with the idea of wadding 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 in Florida's black water. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 I can understand that. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 But what I loved about growing up in the Sunshine State 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 that for so many of us, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 we leave with this latent, but very palpable fear 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 that when we put our toes into the water, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 there might be something much more ancient 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and much more adapted than we are. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Knowing that you're not top dog is a welcomed discomfort, I think. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 How often in this modern and urban and digital age 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 do you actually have the chance to feel vulnerable, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 or consider that the world may not have been made for just us? 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 So for the last decade, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 I began seeking out these areas where the concrete yields to forest 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and the pines turn to cyprus 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and I viewed all these mosquitos and reptiles, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 all these discomforts, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 as affirmations that I'd found true wilderness, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and I embraced them wholly. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Now as a conservation photographer obsessed with black water, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 it's only fitting that I'd eventually end up 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 in the most famous swamp of all: 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 The Evergaldes. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Growing up here, in North-Central Florida, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 I'd always had these enchanted names, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 places like Loxahatchee and Fakahatchee, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Corkscrew and Big Cypress. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 I started what turned into a five-year project 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 to hopefully reintroduce the Everglades in a new light, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 in a more inspired light. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 But I knew this was going to be a tall order 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 because here you have an area 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 that's roughly a third the size the state of Florida, it huge. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 And when I saw Everglades, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 people are like, "Yeah, yeah, yeah the national park." 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 But the Everglades is not just a park, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 it's a watershed, an entire watershed. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 It's started with the Kissimmee chain of lakes in the north 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and then as the rains would fall during the summer, these downpours, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 it would flow into Lake Okeechobee, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and Lake Okeechobee would fill up and it would overflow its banks 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and spill southward, every slowly with the topography 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and get into the river of grass, the Sawgrass Prairies, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 before moving into the Cypress Slews 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 until going further south into the Mangrove swamps 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 until finally, finally reaching Florida Bay, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 the emerald gem of the Everglades, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 the great estuary, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 850 square-mile estuary. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 So sure, the national park is the southern end of this system, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 but all the things that make it unique are these inputs that come in, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 the fresh water that starts 100 miles north. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 So no (longer) are these political or invisible boundaries 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 protect the park from polluted water or insufficient water. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 And unfortunately, that's precisely what we've done. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Over the last 60 years, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 we have drained, we have dammed, we have dredged the Everglades 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 to where now only one third that used to reach the bay 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 now reaches the bay today. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 So this story is not all sunshine and rainbows, unfortunately. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 For better or for worse, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 the story of the Everglades is intrinsically tied 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 to the peaks and the valleys of mankind's relationship 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 with the natural world. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 But I'll show you these beautiful pictures 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 because it gets you on-board. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 And while I have your attention, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 I can tell you the real story, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 is that we're taking this, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and we're trading it for this, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 at an alarming rate. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 But what's lost on so many people 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 is the sheer scale of what we're discussing. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Because the Everglades is not just responsible 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 for the drinking water for 7 million Floridians, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 today is also provide agricultural fields 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 for the year-round tomatoes and oranges for over 300 million Americans. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 And it's that same seasonal pulse of water in the summer 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 that built the river of grass 6,000 years ago. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Ironically, today, is also responsible for the over half a million acres 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 of endless river of sugarcane. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 These same fields that are responsible for dumping 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 exceedingly high levels of fertilizers into the watershed 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 are changing the system. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 But in order for you guys not just to understand how this system works, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 but to also get personally connected to it, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 I decided to break the story down 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 into several different narratives, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and I wanted that story to start in Lake Okeechobee, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 the beating heart of the Everglade system. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 And to do that, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 I picked an ambassador, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 an iconic speices. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Now, this is the Everglade Snail Kite. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 It's a great bird, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and they used to nest in the thousands, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 thousands, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 in the northern Everglades. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 And then they've gone down to about 400 nesting pairs today. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 And why is that? 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Well, it's because they eat one source of food, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 an Apple Snail, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 about the size of a ping-pong ball, an aquatic gastropod. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 So as we starting damming up the Everglades, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 as we started diking Lake Okeechobee 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and draining the wetlands, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 we lost the habitat for the snail, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and thus, the populate of the Kites declined. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 And so, I wanted a photo that would not only communicate this relationship 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 between wetland, snail and bird, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 but I also wanted a photo that would communicate 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 how incredible this relationship was 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and how very important it is 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 that they've come to depend on each other, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 this healthy wetland and this bird. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 And to do that, I brainstormed this idea, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 I started sketching out these plans to make a photo. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 And I sent it to a wildlife biologist down in Okeechobee -- 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and this is an endangered bird, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 so it takes special permission to do. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 And so I built this submerged platform that would hold snails 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 just right under the water. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 And I spent months planning this crazy idea. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 And I took this platform down to Lake Okeechobee 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and I spent a week in the water, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 waiting waist-deep, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 9-hour shifts from dawn until dusk, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 waiting to get one image 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 that I thought might communicate this. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 And here's the day that I finally worked: 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Video: 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 "After setting up the platform, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 I look off and I see a Kite coming off of the cattails, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and I see him flying and searching. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 And he gets right over the trap, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and I see that he's seen it, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and he goes straight for the trap. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 And in that moment, all those months of planning, waiting, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 all the sunburn, mosquito bites, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 they're all worth it. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Oh my gosh, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 I can't believe it." 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 You can believe how excited I was when that happened. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 But what the idea was is that for someone whose never seen this bird 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and has no reason to care about it, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 the idea is that these photos, these new perspectives 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 will help shed a little new light on 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 just one species that makes this watershed so incredible, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 so valuable, so important. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Now, I know I can't come here to Gainesville 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and talk to you about animals and the Everglades 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 without talking to you about gators. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 I love gators, I grew up loving gators. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 My parents always said that I had an unhealthy relationship with gators. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 But what I like about them is that 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 they're like the fresh water equivalent to sharks. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 They're feared, they're hated, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and they're tragically misunderstood. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Because these are a unique species, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 they're not just apex predators. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 In the Everglades, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 they are the very architects of the Everglades, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 because as the water drops down in the winter 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 during the dry season, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 they start excavating these holes called gator holes. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 And they do this because as the water drops down, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 they'll be able to stay wet and they'll be able to forge. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 And now this isn't just affecting them, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 other animals also depend on this relationship, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 so they become a keystone species as well. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 So how do you make an apex predator, and ancient reptile, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 at once look like it dominates the system, but at the same time, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 look vulnerable? 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Well, you wave into a pit of about 120 of them, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 then you hope that you've made the right decision. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 (Laughter) 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 I still have all my fingers, it's cool. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 But I understand, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 I know I'm not going to rally you guys, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 I'm not going to rally the troops to, "Save the Everglades for the gators!" 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 It won't happen because they're so ubiquitous, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 we see them now, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 they're one of the great conservation success stories 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 of the US. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 But there is one species in the Everglades 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 that no matter who you are, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 you can't help but love to, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and that's Roseate Spoonbill. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 These birds are great, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 but they've had a really tough time in the Everglades 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 because they started out with thousands of nesting pairs in Florida Bay. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 And at the turn of the 20th century, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 they got down to two -- two nesting pairs. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 And why? 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 That's because women thought they looked better on their hats 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 then they did flying in the sky. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Then we banned the plume trade, we banned it, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and their numbers started rebounding. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 And as their numbers started rebounding, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 scientists began to pay attention, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 they started studying these birds. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 They started studying these birds. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 And what they found out is that these birds behavior 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 is intrinsically tied to the annual draw-down cycle of water in the Evergaldes, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 the thing that defines the Everglades watershed. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 What they found out is that these birds started nesting in the winter 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 as the water drew down 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 because they're tactile feeders, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 they have to touch whatever they eat. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 And so they wait for these concentrated pools of fish 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 to be able to feed enough to feed their young. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 So these birds became the very icon of the Everglades, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 an indicator species of the overall health of the system. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 And just as their numbers were rebounding in the mid-20th century, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 shooting up to 900, 1,000, 11,000, 12,000. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Just as that started happening, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 we started draining the southern Everglades. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 And we stopped two thirds of that water moving south. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 And it had drastic consequences. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 And just as those numbers started reaching their peak, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 unfortunately, today, the real spoonbill story, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 the real photo of what it looks like is more something like this. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Now we're down to less than 70 nesting pairs in Florida today 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 because we've disrupted the system so much. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 So all these different organizations are shouting, they're screaming, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 "The Everglades are fragile, they're frágile." 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 It is not. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 It is resilient. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Because despite all we've taken, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 despite all we've done and we've drained and we've dammed 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and we've dredged it, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 they're still here, waiting to be put back together. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 And this is what I've loved about South Florida is that 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 in one place, you have this unstoppable force of mankind 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 meeting the immovable object of tropical nature. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 And it's at this new frontier that we're forced with this new appraisal: 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 What is wilderness worth? 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 What is the value of biodiversity or our drinking water? 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 And fortunately, after decades of debate, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 we're finally starting to act on those questions. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 We're slowly undertaking these projects 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 to bring more freshwater back to the bay. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 But it's up to us as citizens, as residents, as stewards 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 to hold our elected officials to their promises. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 What can you do to help? 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 It's so easy. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Just go outside. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Get out there. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Take your friends out, take your kids out, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 take your family out. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Hire a fishing guide. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Show the state that protecting wilderness 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 not only makes ecological sense, but economic sense as well. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 It's a lot of fun, just do it -- put your feet in the water. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 The swamp will change you, I promise. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Over the years, we've been so generous 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 with these other landscapes around the country, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 cloaking them with this American pride, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 places that we now consider to define us: 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 The Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Yellowstone. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 And we use these parks and these natural areas 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 as these beacons and these cultural compasses. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 And sadly, the Everglades is very commonly 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 left out of that conversation. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 But I believe it's every bit as iconic and emblematic 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 of who we are as a country 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 as any of these other wildernesses. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 It's just a different kind of wild. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 But I'm encouraged, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 because maybe we're finally starting to come around. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Because what was once deemed this swampy wasteland, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 today is a World Heritage site. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 It's a wetland of international importance. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 And we've come a long way in the last 60 years.