Fires in Florida’s Everglades
Fire is critical to the survival of the pineland and prairie ecosystems of the Everglades. Located on the extreme southern section of the Florida peninsula, the Everglades ecosystem is unique. Fires perpetuate the river of grass and for 10’s of thousands of years lightning strikes have ignited fires in the sawgrass prairies. Sawgrass fires actually improve the passage of water through the slough or shallow river basin, by burning back grass that would otherwise impede the vital flow of water through the Everglades. Fire not only improves habitat for wildlife by creating a mosaic pattern of vegetation, but also helps reduce large accumulation of fuels near hammocks or tree islands, which harbor a wide variety of subtropical plants less tolerant of fire.
This region encompasses sawgrass marshes, hardwood hammocks, mangrove swamps, lakes, and coastal waters and is known for its abundant animal life including alligators, the largest concentration of wading birds on the American continent, and is home to 14 threatened or endangered species. The park preserves one of the world’s truly unique ecosystems. Some of the world’s rarest orchids grow and thrive here, flowering in the wild.
As well, over forty species of mammals inhabit Everglades National Park. Though they often utilize drier habitats, many are also adapted to the semi-aquatic habitats of the Everglades and it is not uncommon to see white-tailed deer wading through the sawgrass prairies.
The Highwaymen
The “Highwaymen” is a tag given to a loose-knit group of self-taught African American artists painting on the East coast of Florida; scenes of wind-bent palm trees, sand, surf, billowing clouds and vivid sunsets that were the essentials of Florida landscape painting that emerged following World War II. The name derived from their unique marketing strategy that consisted of traveling the highways and byways of central Florida to sell their paintings out of the back of their cars.
It is thought that they number some 20 artists that are still living, however for the most part many are unknown and have never received credit for their contribution to Florida’s art tradition. During these decades this group of friends, relatives and neighbors produced and sold an estimated 50,000 to 200,000 landscape paintings for $10 to $35 a piece, so the paintings were readily affordable to the average middle-class white worker.
They created an awareness of and appreciation for Florida regional landscape art and have encouraged what is considered the Indian River school of painting. They learned to paint by observation and practice; perhaps with a natural, untraditional lifestyle of marginalized and impoverished bent – however, painting for them was perceived a being a way out of the fields and groves.
This somewhat eclectic style of Florida landscape paintings were usually done on Upsom board or Masonite with whatever materials were at hand, including house paint. These paintings today sell and resell upwards from $1000; and, as these artists developed their talents and skills they gained respectable reputations and some still retain the highway marketing technique of promoting their artwork directly to the art collector.
Featured above is an oil painting by Harold Newton (1934-1994) on Upsom board measuring 30×48 inches executed in the 1960’s. It was the first highwayman painting to reach $10,000 when it sold in 2001.
Whooping Cranes in Flight
Cranes were on the brink of extinction in the early 1940’s with only 15 remaining in the population that migrates from their nesting grounds in Canada to the coast of Texas. Today, after many years of help, this population has reached a record number of almost 300 with a number living and migrating to Florida as well.
In order to safeguard this species, biologists are using an innovative method to imprint captive reared Whooping cranes and teach them to migrate behind ultralight aircraft. In this way, Whooping cranes have been restored to the Eastern flyway and a separate wild migrating population has been established. As more and more people have the privilege of seeing these birds, Whooping cranes have become ambassadors for our wetlands and for all species in need of our assistance. Support our wildlife.
Since fall of 1980, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has been involved in a large-scale project to restore the whooping crane to the southeastern United States. This year was successful as 7 young whooping cranes completing their first migration, from Wisconsin to Florida, in January 2009, following an ultralight aircraft. This procedure was carried out by Operation Migration.
En Plein Air
Currently there is a lot of emphasis on enjoying the outdoors and en plein air (a French expression) means “in the open air”, and is particularly used to describe the act of painting outdoors.
Artists have long painted outdoors, but in the mid-19th century working in natural light became particularly important to the Barbizon school and Impressionism. The popularity of painting en plein air increased in the 1870s with the introduction of paints in tubes (resembling modern toothpaste tubes). Previously, each painter made their own paints by grinding and mixing dry pigment powders with linseed oil. The Newlyn School in England is considered another major proponent of the technique in the latter 19th century.
This resurgence of appreciation of en plein air paintings can be found everywhere these days, and helps in the efforts to remind us all that clean fresh outdoors is something we should all seek to preserve; and encourage conservation efforts worldwide… especially in our own surroundings!
Mallard in Flight
The Mallard is a beautiful bird that brings delight to many outdoor people and one of the hardiest and most adaptable of ducks. Arlene Morgan’s Mallard in Flight is a winter scene portraying the true flight of this duck seeking to maneuver landing. The emphasis is on the vibrant feather colors, and the bird watcher knows of few more thrilling sights than Mallards dropping down with feet out-thrust to find the first spring water, as depicted in this painting.
Painted in 1982, has given emphasis to the plight of the continuing loss of prairie nesting habitat, particularly grassy uplands, which had caused a long-term decline in continental Mallard populations. The continuing loss of prairie nesting habitat, particularly grassy uplands, has caused a long-term decline in continental Mallard populations.
Droughts during the 1980s and 1990s have created unfavorable conditions ducks, and many former wetlands have dried out and are now farmland. Concern for the long-term decline in prairie Mallards resulted in a continent-wide effort to benefit waterfowl and other wetland wildlife. The North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP) signed in 1986 has specific habitat management goals aimed at restoring Mallard populations on prairie breeding habitat and also in their migration and wintering ranges such as Texas.
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