volunteer spotlight: angie vasquez footprint...angie vasquez by van tran 49 the new normal changing...

1Footprint Summer/Fall 2020

FOOTPRINTVOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT: ANGIE VASQUEZ

MagazineSummer/Fall 2020 Volume 36 Issue 4

Florida TrailAssociation

Zora Neale Hurston

How Florida Almost Forgot "The Genius of the South"

Who's Visiting The Florida Trail?

ExploringThe Bryd Hammock Archeological Site

2 FloridaTrail.orgFlorida Trail Association

FTA volunteers, Hannah Plate and Preston James, pass through a beautiful mixed pine forest and oak hammock while maintaining the western corridor of the Ocala National Forest in September of 2019. This work party was hosted in partnership with REI in

celebration of National Public Lands Day. Photo courtesy of Van Tran

FloridaTrail.org


ContentsDepartments and Features

Our MissionThe Florida Trail Association builds, maintains, protects, and promotes the unique Florida National Scenic Trail (Florida Trail), along with a network of hiking trails throughout the state of Florida. Together with our partners, the Association provides opportunities for the public to contribute to meaningful volunteer work, engage in outdoor recreation, and participate in environmental education.

Cover photo: Girls Who Hike FL founder, Angie Vasquez, enjoying a moment with FT cheerleader and mascot, Ziggy. Photo courtesy of Van Tran, FTA Community Outreach Manager and Ziggy's mom.

5 President's Message by David Waldrop

8 Florida National Scenic Trail (FT) “Big Bend” Reroute Approved for Implementation by Shawn Thomas

19 Who's Visiting The Florida Trail? by Kelly Van Patten

22 Gateway Communities Program Gaining New Ground by Austin Tezak

24 Florida Native American Heritage Trail Crossword Puzzle by Van Tran

28 Zora Neale Hurston How Florida Almost Forgot "The Genius of the South" by Jenna Taylor

33 Land Trusts and Their Role In Completing The Florida Trail by Jeff Glenn

37 Native American History Along The Florida Trail Exploring the Byrd Hammock Archeological Site by Adam Fryska

40 Volunteer Spotlight Angie Vasquez by Van Tran

49 The New Normal Changing Outdoor Representation and Narratives by Luz Lituma

4037

28


OUR MAGAZINEThe Footprint is published by the Florida Trail Association, a volunteer-based nonprofit organization focused on Florida hiking and trail building. Since 1966, the primary mission of our organization has been the care and protection of the Florida Trail, a 1,500-mile footpath across the Sunshine State - Florida’s own National Scenic Trail.

OUR GOALTo provide outreach to our readers through informative articles that express appreciation for and conservation of the natural beauty of Florida; to inform our readers of Florida Trail Association efforts; and to provide informa-tion on Florida hiking and outdoor recreation opportunities.

CONTRIBUTORSPlease contact the editor at [email protected] to discuss ideas for feature stories prior to submission.

FLORIDA TRAIL ASSOCIATION1022 NW 2nd Street Gainesville, FL 32601

Toll-Free: 877-HIKE-FLATel: 352-378-8823

Email: [email protected]: FloridaTrail.org

Facebook.com/FloridaTrailAssociationDigital Magazine: Issuu.com/FlaTrail

BOARD OF DIRECTORSPresident: David Waldrop

VP Trails: Tom DanielVP Outreach/Development: Vacant

VP Governance: Peter DurnellVP Membership: Bill TurmanSecretary: Deborah Schroth

Treasurer: Pam HaleDirectors: Ralph Hancock • Amanda Kincaid

Greg Knecht • Darryl Updegrove Jan Wells • Leslie Wheeler

FLORIDA TRAIL STAFF Executive Director:

Royce W. Gibson • 352-378-8823 Administrative Director:

Janet Akerson • 352-378-8823Membership and Store Coordinator:

Diane Strong • 352-378-8823Community Outreach Manager:

Van Tran • 352-538-7639Trail Program Director:

Kelly Van Patten • 518-369-9057Panhandle Regional Trail Program Manager:

Adam Fryska • 812-325-3502North Florida Regional Trail Program Manager:

Jeff Glenn • 352-514-1455Central and South Florida Trail Program Manager:

Jenna Taylor • 772-242-3665Technical Assistant:

Abe Christian Gateway Communities Coordinator:

Austin Tezak • 239-288-9437

FLORIDA TRAIL FOOTPRINTEditorial Team: Van Tran • Kelly Van Patten

Layout: Sean Lucas ©2020 Florida Trail Association

All rights reserved.Contributors retain copyright to their work but

give the Florida Trail Association permission to use to promote FTA and the Florida Trail. Articles are subject to editing for clarity and space. Materials

will be returned if accompanied by a self-addressed stamped envelope. Opinions, observations, and en-dorsements made within the Florida Trail Footprint

do not necessarily reflect those of the board or staff of the Florida Trail Association.

The Footprint (ISSN 1064-0681) is published quarterly by the Florida Trail Association

1022 NW 2nd StreetGainesville, FL 32601

About UsThe Magazine of the Florida Trail Association

The Footprint is printed with soy-based inks on paper with

post-consumer content

MEMBERSHIPAs a Florida Trail member, you receive a subscription to The Footprint magazine, mem-bership in a local chapter, a local newsletter with local activities, opportunities for outdoor skills training, participation in regional and annual conferences and more. To become a member, you can visit our website, mail in the form on the last page of this magazine, or call 352-378-8823.

ADVERTISINGReach a highly targeted demographic of Florida outdoor enthusiasts by advertising with us or becoming a regular sponsor. Your advertising dollars directly support production and publication of this magazine and assist the Florida Trail Association in fulfilling its mission. Call 877-HIKE-FLA or email [email protected] for more details. Deadline for ads for the Winter 2021 issue of The Footprint is January 15.


Bulk rate postage paid at Gainesville, FL.Postmaster:

Send change-of-address form 3597 to: Footprint, 1022 NW 2nd StreetGainesville, FL 32601

FloridaTrail.orgmailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]/FloridaTrailAssociationIssuu.com/FlaTrailmailto:[email protected]


President’s Message

I’m leading with the bad news first, but stay with me, because this letter has much more good news than bad! With the COVID-19 pandemic still holding the world in its grip, we are slowly getting back to our new normal. The Florida Trail Association (FTA) will not be hosting large group gatherings for the time being, so many events that have become a tradition within our community are not able to happen this coming hiking season. Our annual Trail Skills Training will not be held this year for the first time in 8 years, conferences have been canceled, and our multi-day volunteer work parties will be scaled back and following new operating procedures. Maintenance of the trail is going to take longer because of this, but the work will get done through the dedication of our amazing volunteers and staff. Now more than ever, people are relying

The FTA’s Membership & Retail Coordinator, Diane Strong, posing with our trail mascot, Ziggy,

in front of the new headquarters office.

on public recreation. By maintaining our network of hiking trails we enable Floridians to exercise, socialize and immerse themselves in nature in a way that is safe and accessible. Despite these challenging times, I am pleased to announce two momentous achievements that were accomplished this fall. Earlier this year, the organization was fortunate to receive a generous bequest from an individual who saw the great value of investing in the work that we do to enhance recreation and conservation across the state. The board decided that dedicating this funding toward leadership for the organization would help the FTA meet its full potential, and moved full steam ahead on an executive director search. I am thrilled to share with our community that Royce Gibson was recently

selected as the FTA’s new executive director. Royce brings 25 years of experience in fundraising, advocacy and outreach, including 11 years as the senior director of membership and development for the Appalachian Trail Conservancy(ATC). While there, he built a team and a program which significantly improved and increased the organization’s fundraising program and revenue. Recently he has worked with the Friends of San Juan National Historic Site and at ATC in a consulting capacity. With Royce leading our organization, we are poised to expand our capacity to raise funds, collaborate with new partners, advocate for the trail, and so much more in support of our mission. Our second big announcement is that FTA headquarters has moved into a new and improved building. When the organization had to move out of the office on Hwy 441


Plan your next day hike or overnight trip on a hike that puts the “scenic” in Florida National Scenic Trail. Featuring 30 major destinations, this 376-page full color guidebook provides step-by-step details and maps for 52 distinct hikes along the Florida Trail. Each chapter includes multiple options to extend or shrink your hiking mileage.

This new book includes many of the best day hiking loops along the Florida Trail, and a few loops made up by using connecting trails. Hike mileages range from a half-mile accessible boardwalk to a 42-mile backpacking trip.

Order online at FloridaHikes.com or by check for $34.45 (includes shipping and sales tax) to: Florida Hikes PO Box 93 Mims FL 32754

Plan your next day hike or overnight trip on a hike that puts the “scenic” in Florida National Scenic Trail. Featuring 30 major destinations, this 376-page full color guidebook provides step-by-step details and maps for 52 distinct hikes along the Florida Trail. Each chapter includes multiple options to extend or shrink your hiking mileage.

This new book includes many of the best day hiking loops along the Florida Trail, and a few loops made up by using connecting trails. Hike mileages range from a half-mile accessible boardwalk to a 42-mile backpacking trip.

Order online at FloridaHikes.com or by check for $34.45 (includes shipping and sales tax) to: Florida Hikes PO Box 93 Mims FL 32754

in 2018, we were fortunate to find a newer building with great landlords right in the heart of Gainesville. While this location worked as a temporary solution, we quickly outgrew the space. The building lacked necessary amenities such as a confer-ence room, extra work areas for remote staff and interns, a sufficient workshop space, storage for the FTA store and other important features that enable us to do our best work. Last year, the board voted to enter into a lease with our existing landlords for a new building that was planned for construction across the parking lot from the current office space. This new building is now complete and has been custom designed for us. It includes 7 offices, a conference room, warehouse space and a small kitchen area. We look forward to opening the space to the public and showing it off to our community as soon as it is safe to do so. Moving forward, the beginning of the Footprint magazine will be featuring a letter from our executive director rather than a president’s letter. It has been a pleasure contributing to this column over the years and I am so excited to see what the next chapter holds. I am proud that our organization has stayed undeterred by the challenges that 2020 has brought. As always, we are thankful for the members, volun-teers, donors, partners and everyone else who contributes to the FTA’s growth and success.

Royce at the San Juan National

Historic Site

Royce hiking at Biscayne Bay

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Over 1,100 miles of the FT have been successfully certified, highlighting some of the most scenic and diverse natural areas found anywhere in the country. However, more than 300 miles of trail gaps remain in order to complete Florida’s own Na-tional Scenic Trail. Over the past several years, the US Forest Service’s Florida National Scenic Trail Program has been working closely with partners from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the Suwannee River Water Management District, Florida State Parks and the Office of Greenways and Trails, the Florida Forest Service, Taylor County, Four Rivers Land & Timber Company LLC, the Florida Greenways and Trails Foundation, and the Florida Trail Association to study and propose a solution to one of the largest gaps in the Florida Trail. The Forest Service convened a planning team to look at alterna-tives within the focus area that included state agencies and the Florida Trail Association. A viable public land route for this 50-mile gap between Twin Rivers State Forest and the Aucilla Wildlife Management Area was identified by the planning team in 2016 but was slightly outside the 20 mile planning corridor as published in the 1986 Comprehensive Plan. This option has become known as the Big Bend Reroute and will route hikers through some of the most scenic and undeveloped coastal areas in Florida. Together with our Florida Trail Coalition partners we

have been working to obtain the necessary approvals for the Big Bend reroute over the course of several years. I am happy to announce that the long-awaited routing decision has recently been approved and signed by the US Forest Service’s Southern Regional Forester. The Forest Service and our partners at the Florida Trail Association have published print and digital articles over the past several years along with public surveys seeking public input on the proposed reroute. We received tremendous support from the public, FTA membership and land managers alike so I would like to thank you for your patience while we worked through the approval process. The US Forest Service will publish official mapping updates and, in partnership with land management agencies and the Florida Trail Association, we will begin the implementation of the routing adjustment over the next several months. The implementation phase of the project is anticipated to take two or more field seasons to accomplish and we will look for opportunities to close the remaining gaps within the new routing. Our partner collaborative will work on best interim routing in gap areas for long distance hikers during the

by Shawn Thomas, Florida National Scenic Trail AdministratorConnecting the Trail

Scenic Dallus Creek, one of many unique waterways highlighted along the Big Bend route.

JUST AROUND THE BENDFlorida National Scenic Trail (FT) “Big Bend”

Reroute Approved for Implementation

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FloridaTrail.org


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Big Bend Reroute Map with Alternative Roadwalk Agency staff review maps of the proposed reroute.

FTA Board Members tour an FWC parcel along the reroute with our

land management partners.

10 FloridaTrail.orgFlorida Trail Association10 FloridaTrail.orgFlorida Trail Association

Steinhatchee Falls, a rare Florida waterfall located along the new Florida Trail route.

Photo courtesy of Jan Wells

FloridaTrail.orgFloridaTrail.org

11Footprint Summer/Fall 2020 11Footprint Summer/Fall 2020


Hikers will cross the remote Fenholloway River midway along the Big Bend route.




realignment of the Big Bend reroute. The Big Bend reroute will replace 50 miles of dangerous roadwalk with approximately 90 miles of trail along administrative roads within public land units, greatly increasing public safety by moving away from the road shoulder and enhancing opportunities for users to experience natural Florida. The reroute maximizes trail protection and permanency in this region and better aligns with the nature and purposes of the Florida National Scenic Trail, as defined in the National Trails System Act. Showcasing a diversity of landscapes and highlighting remarkable water features along the way, the Big Bend reroute will be a destination for those looking for a truly unique Florida Trail experience. Hikers will have the opportunity to rest their feet and take advantage of a paddling connection along the Suwannee River Wilderness Trail while still maintaining course along their Florida Trail journey. Connecting state forest lands, two state parks, and several state wildlife and water management units, hikers will enjoy world-class recreational and scenic opportunities and the FT will gain permanent protection on publicly owned lands. The reroute promotes an exciting opportunity to engage new volunteers and establish a Gateway Com-munity in the gulf coast town of Steinhatchee. The beloved, 13-mile Aucilla Wildlife Management Area segment will be retained as a desig-nated spur trail of the Florida Trail as part of this routing improvement. Please reach out to Adam Fryska, Panhandle Trail Program Manager with the FTA if you have any questions and to see how you can help with the next phase of this exciting development. Thank you for your continued dedication and support of the Florida National Scenic Trail! Find Your Store | REI.com

FTA Board Members hike along the Aucilla Sinks section. The Aucilla Section will remain an official designated spur trail of the

Florida National Scenic Trail. Photo courtesy of Leslie Wheeler

http://REI.comhttp://REI.com


The Big Bend reroute highlights the unique wetlands along Florida’s Gulf Coast,

seen here at Keaton Beach. Photo courtesy of Nature Coast Adventurer



Hikers will be able to access the Suwannee River Wilderness Trail from the Big Bend

route at Lafayette Blue Springs State Park.

Photo courtesy of Jan Wells



The call for FTA 2021 Board of Directors nominations is now open. We are seeking candidates for three officer and three at-large director positions. FTA has a 15-member Board. Nominations may be submitted for President, First Vice President Governance and Administration, Secretary and three at-large board members. The term for officers is two years, and three years for at-large positions, beginning after the annual meeting on Saturday, April 3rd, 2021. The Nominating Committee will select the slate based on nominations received. A slate of officers and at-large Board members for 2021 will be voted upon via electronic voting beginning January 2021. In addition to this, we will include a mail-in voting option in the Winter Footprint. The results of the election will be announced at the April 2021 Annual Meeting. Serving on FTA’s Board of Directors is a rare chance to help the organization face challenges, provide creative solutions, contribute to a fast-growing trail program, and affect long-term positive change. Board service also offers you the opportunity to grow personally and professionally, to develop valuable skills in non-profit governance, gain unique experience and make lasting connections with a team of other passionate and motivated professionals.

Please consider serving on the Board and submit a nomination for the 2021 Florida Trail Association Board of Directors. For more information on our current Board of Directors as well as the general and specific responsibilities of our board members,

visit: floridatrail.org/about-us/ourboard/.

Please send your nominations to Darryl Updegrove at [email protected].

Nominations should include the following information:1. Name of Nominee, address and contact information (including email address);

2. Brief statement or cover letter outlining why the nominee would like to be a board member;3. Resume or short background on the candidate in question

(work history, non-profit experience, involvement with the FTA, interests etc.); and4. Reference (optional).

Thank You,

Darryl UpdegroveFTA Nominating Committee Chair

NOMINATIONS CLOSE MONDAY, DECEMBER 7TH, 2020

FTA Board of Directors Nominations for the Florida Trail Association's 2021 Board of Directors are now being accepted

FTA Board Members take in the view at Keaton Beach alongside FTA & USFS staff during a tour of the Big Bend Reroute

FloridaTrail.orghttp://floridatrail.org/about-us/ourboard/mailto:[email protected]


by Kelly Van Patten, Trail Program DirectorWho’s Visiting the Florida Trail?

When I talk to Florida Trail thru- hikers about their experience on the trail, many of them remi-nisce about long stretches of time that they never saw another person. For many, the solitude of the Florida Trail is part of what makes it an attractive hike. It allows hikers to escape and reflect while immersed in some of Florida’s most beautiful landscapes. Given the solitude most hikers experience, you may be surprised to learn that over 337,000 people set foot on the Florida Trail every year. When I share this information, the next question one often asks is, “How do you calculate that!?” The Ecotourism and Recreation Lab at the University of Florida (UF), in part-nership with the US Forest Service, has been studying visitation on the Florida Trail

since 2003. The purpose of this research is to continuously monitor visitor counts throughout the trail each year, and to gather trends in visitor characteristics. This research represents one of the only holistic visitor assessments on a National Scenic Trail in the country and is one of the longest running visitor assessment studies at 17 years and counting. The research has been of benefit to recreation professionals across the coun-try, resulting in numerous research publica-tions that help other institutions understand recreational visitor monitoring efforts on a large-scale trail. To conduct this research, the UF team installed infrared trail counters on trees or posts along the Florida Trail. To help increase the accuracy of the numbers across the trail, counter locations are changed each trail

season. Staff from UF, the Forest Service, or the FTA are assigned to visit each counter on a monthly basis to collect data and ensure that the counter is functioning properly. This year, the trail counter program has been expanded to include more locations than ever before. This expansion was made possible by a grant from our partners at REI, whose corporate leadership recognized the immense value of this research. REI’s Out-door Places grant program invested $4,000 into the program, which allowed us to pur-chase and deploy three additional counters. As always, we are incredibly thankful for our continued partnership with REI and for their strong commitment to supporting the FTA and the Florida Trail. For the 2020-2021 season, counters will be placed at Gulf Islands National Seashore, Econfina WMA,

Kotryna Klizentyte of UF installing a counter at Apalachicola National Forest


Taylor Henley of UF installing a counter at Kissimmee Prairie Preserve




St. Marks NWR, Triple N Ranch WMA, Split Oak Forest, Moss Park, Seminole State Forest, Withlacoochee State Forest and Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park. The UF team also conducts exit sur-veys with hikers along the Florida Trail. The purpose of these surveys is to understand users in terms of their socio-demographic information, trip characteristics, motiva-tions, and attitudes about management of the trail. This information helps us in many aspects of managing the trial, including targeting our marketing efforts, increasing diversity of users, and making decisions on appropriate trail routing and infrastructure. Visitor assessment and monitoring is important for decision-making in natural resource management, not only in terms of ecological impacts, but to promote social benefits related to outdoor recreation. Understanding the volume of users and their preferences allows land managers to better manage public lands to balance conservation of the ecosystem while managing for appro-priate recreation use in the area. Visitation data is also useful in grant applications, funding allocation documents, and similar documents, which can help land managers obtain the resources they need to properly manage recreation and ecological factors. The data also helps us focus on facility maintenance and trailhead development in areas of most need or high use. Conversely, we can identify low use areas for enhanced

focus. Visitation data is presented bi-an-nually to the Florida National Scenic Trail Coalition-- a diverse, representative sample of land management and agency partners dedicated to the development, maintenance, and promotion of the Florida Trail. The variety of organizations helps to ensure that a wide spectrum of land owners’ needs and recreationists' interests are considered in management decisions affecting the Florida National Scenic Trail. Additionally, having accurate data about the number of visitors using the Flor-ida Trail is an important part of demonstrat-ing the trail’s importance to the public. User counts are a crucial component of FTA’s outreach materials, and remain a key talking point referenced in congressional meet-ings during our “Hike the Hill” advocacy week. Having hard data that shows how our infrastructure, rehabilitation, and gap closure efforts have enabled access to outdoor recreation in Florida will greatly strengthen our efforts to advocate for the trail and gain resources to do more of this important work. As monitoring efforts continue over the coming years, we look forward to review-ing new data to assist in monitoring how FT visitation is changing as well as how the char-acteristics of trail visitors are changing. As a result, staff, land managers, and volunteers will be provided with information to assist them in creating and enhancing recreation along the Florida Trail.

INTERESTING HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE 2018-2019 FLORIDA TRAIL VISITOR ASSESSMENT INCLUDE:

An estimated 337,753 people set foot on the trail each year In the 2018-2019 season, the most popular sections of the trail by foot traffic included Lake Okeechobee, the Cross Florida Greenway, Gulf Islands National Seashore and Little Big Econ State Forest. Florida Trail users were mostly married (56%), with no children (64%), had a Bach-elor’s degree (41%), were employed full time (60%), white (86%) and had an income between $30,000-60,000 (32%). The gender demographic was 49.6% split between male/female. More than half of survey respondents (61%) were repeat visitors. A majority of the respondents (81%) hiked one to five miles on the trail, and 6% of the respondents hiked five to ten miles on the trail. About half of the respondents traveled in a group of two or three visitors, whereas 27% traveled alone and 10% traveled in a group of five or more visitors. The top recreation motivation for users was experiencing nature and its aesthetics. In choosing a place to hike, respondents overwhelmingly cited their desire for wilder-ness/undisturbed nature, and a location that is easy to access. Users were most likely to know about the Florida Trail through word of mouth or living nearby.

Where Black People& Nature Meet

OutDoorAfro.com

http://OutDoorAfro.comhttp://OutDoorAfro.com


by Austin Tezak, Gateway Communities CoordinatorTrail Program Highlight

Hello to all, my name is Austin Tezak and I am the new Gateway Commu-nities Coordinator for the Florida Trail Association (FTA). I am a recent Wildlife Ecology graduate from the University of Flor-ida (UF), and I’m excited to be back in my college town with the opportunity to work on expanding awareness of the Florida Trail and its impact on local communities. My passion for outdoor recreation was kindled through-out my youth while camping and hiking with my dad in the swampy areas of Southwest Florida. In college, I worked for UF in two dif-ferent research labs, one working with tropical lizards in Puerto Rico and the other work-ing with blue crabs in a marine ecology lab. Whether hiking, swimming, or hammocking, I try to be outside even when I am not working. I look forward to working across the state in the coming months to expand the Gateway Communities program. The goal of the Gateway Communities program is to designate towns and cities in

close proximity to the trail, and market their resources to outdoor recreation enthusiasts. Examples of these resources include restau-rants, grocery stores, lodging, laundry, out-fitters, local attractions and much more that are of interest to hikers. You may be familiar with similar programs on other national scenic trails, such as the Appalachian Trail’s Trail Towns program. In 2017, the FTA received a grant from the Partnership for the National Trails System to hire an intern dedicated to launching the revitalization of its Gateway Communities program. This grant is designed to give young people, like me, an opportunity to gain professional development within the competitive outdoor recreation industry. In just three years, having a dedicated Gateway Communities intern has allowed FTA to designate 11 communities, partner with over 100 businesses, and create a companion Passport program with 30 stamp locations within the communities.

Our passport program features unique stamps housed at businesses and attractions along the Florida Trail and in established Gateway Communities. Hikers simply pur-chase a passport from the FTA store, then present it at participating locations. The lay-out of the passport is a simple accordion fold that will allow for easy display of the stamps. The stamp designs are created by the business owners and leaders in the communities hosting the stamps. The design of each stamp depicts an image or slogan that somehow represents the business, town, or section of trail where the stamp is available. A complet-ed passport makes an excellent souvenir after your hike! Our newest stamp location is at the smallest post office in the nation. This quaint post office is located 16 miles west of the southern terminus of the Florida Trail, in the town of Ochopee. This historic landmark is a fully functioning post office and a common stop for thru hikers arriving from out of town, starting their journey on the Florida Trail. We have also added four new stamp locations around Lake Okeechobee— they can be found in Moore Haven, Okeechobee, and two in Clewiston. You can visit floridatrail.org/passport to learn more about the stamp locations and incorporate the Florida Trail Gateway Communities into your next adventure. There are an abundance of opportu-nities to grow and strengthen the Gateway Communities program. I am focusing on the reestablishment of the Gateway Communi-ties that existed in the FTA’s original iteration of the program from the early 2000’s. This was the goal of the recent visit I made to

GATEWAY COMMUNITIES PROGRAMGaining New Ground

Our newest passport stamp located near the southern terminus of the Florida Trail

FloridaTrail.orghttp://floridatrail.org/passporthttp://floridatrail.org/passport


the southern region of the Florida Trail. It was a pleasure to experience the charm, history and culture that the region has to offer. I visited Okeechobee, Moore Haven, and Clewiston to meet with community leaders and business owners, and have successfully added these cities back into the program. Other goals that I have for my time in the position include adding a local volunteer liaison for each Gateway Community, adding new signage, creating a toolkit to help participating businesses learn how to accommodate and incentivize visits from hikers, and more. One of our biggest projects planned for this fall is the installation of four Gateway Communities kiosks. These kiosks were funded through an REI grant and will be placed in four Gateway Communities along the Florida Trail in effort to spread awareness within these communities. These kiosks will provide information about the segment of trail that goes through that community and about the community itself. COVID-19" has changed our society for the forseeable future, making travel to communities to meet chapter members and community leaders challenging. However, I am eager to meet, whether in person or through a video conference. Our hope is the Gateway Communities program will increase foot traffic to small businesses who are increasingly under pressure due to the constraints of COVID-19. I look forward to sharing what the FTA and the members of its community have to offer everyone seeking a little more adventure. In Florida, outdoor recreation generates $58 billion dollars per year, so it's clear that Floridians and those who visit our state want to connect with the outdoors. The communities we designate play a crucial role in providing the gateway to Florida's wild, rural, historic and cultural landscapes, via the Florida Trail.


Austin meeting with the Mayor of Moore Haven.

Photo courtesy of Jenna Taylor

The Florida Trail passes directly through the Gateway Community of St. Marks


CROSSWORD PUZZLEFlorida Native American Heritage Trail

Answer Key on page 26

ACROSS:

1. Federally recognized Native American groups with ties to Florida include the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, and the (Creek) Nation.

5. The believed that people had three souls: in the pupil of one's eye, in one's shadow, and in one's reflection.

6. This term is used to describe the layer of soil where indigenous people lived, walked on, built houses, and threw out trash, including fragments of tools, charcoal, pieces of pottery, and food remains such as animal bones and seeds. Decomposition of these food remains and artifacts usually makes this layer darker than surrounding layers of soil.

8.Prehistoric “ ” canoes provide information about Florida's past. The oldest canoes date to the Middle Archaic Period, ca. 7,000 to 6,000 years ago.

9. whose name in the Hitchiti language means “high chief” became hereditary leader of the Seminoles in 1819, near the beginning of the American Territorial Period. He was a strong defender against white settlement of Indian lands. At the Treaty of Payne's Landing in 1832, other Semi-nole leaders agreed to relocate, but Micanopy refused, aligning with younger leaders. Their bold attack on Major Dade's forces, known as the Dade Massacre, and on troops under General Clinch in 1835 ignited the seven-year Second Seminole War.

10. The territory of this indigenous tribe was bounded in northwest Florida by the Aucilla and Ochlockonee rivers, and included rich soils well suited to intensive agriculture.

DOWN:

1. The language spoken by the Miccosukees is also spoken by over half of the modern Seminole Tribe. This language is called .

2. National Forest is named after a prominent Seminole leader in the First Seminole War. His fierce resistance to removal and his leadership of an undefeated Seminole force led to great fame.

3. In the mid-1700s, two bands of Creek Indians in the present-day towns of Micanopy and Tallahassee formed to become known as the , a Creek pronunciation of the Spanish word cimarrón or "wild one."

4. The Pond Site, situated between the Indian and St. Johns Rivers, near modern day Titusville, contains one of the most important archaeological finds in the country and is a National Historic Landmark. Over 120 individual burials were found within the peat deposits of the pond some 10 feet below the pond surface. These burials occurred neady 8,000 years ago, long before the Egyptian mummies were entombed.

7. When the Seminole Tribe of Florida received federal recognition in 1957, Betty Mae was on the first Tribal Council and was elected Chairperson of the Seminole Tribe of Florida in 1967, becoming the first woman to lead the Seminoles.

11. Occurring in deep marine deposits, this flintlike silica rock was commonly used by Native Americans in central and western Florida to make tools.

The following information was sourced from https://dos.myflorida.com/

FloridaTrail.orghttps://dos.myflorida.com/


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Discover the natural beauty of the Florida Trail through this pictorial journey of the trail, end to end.

With a Foreword by Jim Kern and photography by Sandra Friend and John Keatley, this keepsake book showcases the natural wonders and unique features of each section of the Florida Trail in moments captured by Sandra and John.

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Mini coffee table book Hardcover 5x7” format 192 pages Short overviews of each trail section Photograph locations identified at the end of the book

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M U S C O G E E

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She stands like a tree in Florida’s history. Sometimes seen, sometimes forgotten. She bloomed, withered and almost disappeared until her great roots in this state created a legacy that stands tall today. Zora Neale Hurston, author of tales full of Florida history and imagery such as, Their Eyes Were Watching God and Dirt Tracks on a Dust Road, lived and died here. Though

sensible for me to choose familiar ground,” she wrote in Mules and Men. Though largely overlooked as an environmentalist, Zora’s appreciation and care of the landscape shows through her writing. “I was only happy in the woods, and when the ecstatic Florida springtime came strolling from the sea, trance-glorifying the world with its aura.” (The Inside Light by Deborah Plant). Through her works, Zora shows the wildness of Florida and the ability to live off the land. She wrote about the migrant farm workers, lived on a shrimping boat, sailed her houseboats up and down the rivers all while inspiring and captivating others. Three Florida cities—Eatonville, Belle Glade and Fort Pierce, provided the back-drop of her life. Just miles from the Florida Trail, these locations offer unique historic value and trails of their own to remind us of Florida as it was through the eyes of Zora. Visiting those places today, whether while hiking on the Florida Trail, or by taking a day trip, one can ponder how we almost forgot Zora and the stories she tried to tell.

EATONVILLEJust outside of Orlando and 15 miles from

Portrait of Zora Neale Hurston. April 3, 1938 by photographer, Van Vechten C.

Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress

HOW FLORIDA ALMOST FORGOT “THE GENIUS OF THE SOUTH”

by Jenna Taylor, Central and South FL Trail Program ManagerZora Neale Hurston

she left several times to fulfill her own wish to, “have a busy life, a just mind and a timely death,” she always found herself back on Florida soil. She spent time immersing herself in the Harlem Renaissance, experiencing and studying voodoo in Jamaica and Haiti on a Guggenheim Fellowship or simply writing in and about Florida. “I realized I was new myself, so it looked

“Janie saw her life like a great tree in leaf with the things suffered, things enjoyed, things done and undone.” Their Eyes Were Watching God

Florida Trail access points, quietly sits Eaton-ville. A town of just over 2,400 residents, it holds a significant place in Florida history. Founded in 1887, Eatonville was the first town successfully established by African American freedmen in the United States. According to the James Madison Institute, while over 400 black towns had been es-tablished, none were legally recognized until Eatonville and only about 150 communities went on to receive the rights of a municipali-ty. Of those, only 12 remain today. Zora considered this place home and

FloridaTrail.org


wrote about it in Their Eyes Were Watching God and Mules and Men. In her autobiog-raphy, she claimed Eatonville to be her birthplace. Both of her parents were former slaves and moved to Eatonville when Zora was very young. Her father, John Hurston, became one of the first mayors of the city and later the minister of Macedonia Mis-sionary Baptist Church, which still exists today. While she moved to Jacksonville and the Northeast for school, it was Eatonville that was the inspiration for one of her first works, How It Feels to Be Colored Me. By the time of her death, her fame had been forgotten by most the residents of Eatonville. It wasn’t until the 1980’s that she was brought back to the forefront of everyone in Eatonville’s minds. A five-lane highway was proposed to go straight through the town, replacing the quiet two lane road. As a response, the town rallied around Zora’s memory and planned the first “Zora!” Festival. Today, Zora! is a multi-day, multi-dis-ciplinary, intergenerational event composed of public talks, museum exhibitions, theatri-cal productions, arts education programming and a three-day outdoor festival of the arts. In 2021, this event will take place in person

These locations in Fort Pierce, take visitors through the final two years of Zora’s life.

Zora Neale Hurston and an unidentified man probably

at a recording site, Belle Glade, Florida. Belle Glade Florida, 1935.

Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress

FOLKLORIST“There are years that ask questions and years

that answer.”- Their Eyes Were Watching God

Zora knew that the only way to move forward was to protect the past. She was a folklorist. After studying at Barnard College in New York where she was their first black graduate under the father of American anthropology, Frank Boass, she was dispatched into the field. She traveled throughout the 20s and 30s in African American communities throughout the Southern United States and Caribbean collecting stories, music and oral poetry. She received a Guggenheim Fellowship Elizabeth Barnicle scholarship/award to document African American song traditions. As they visited turpentine, railroad and sawmill camps, they recorded in Belle Glade, Chosen and Eatonville. Some of this work she published in “Mules and Men” and most of the work she helped collect, along with recordings of her own performances which can be found online through the American Folklife Center.


Visit the mosaic that now covers Alfred Hair’s gravesite and more on this tour of the Highwaymen’s story in Fort Pierce.

“They weren’t forgotten, they were invisible,” Gary Monroe, Author and Highwaymen historian

Alfred Hair’s grave as first discovered by Gary Monroe, author of The Highwaymen: Florida’s African American

Landscape Painters. Photo provided by Monroe.

FLORIDA HIGHWAYMENThe Florida Highwaymen share a common home with Zora— Fort Pierce. Less than a mile from where Zora has been laid to rest, 26 names are inscribed on a wall. They represent the names of another forgotten group of men and one woman who until 2004, were only known by locals who remembered them sitting along US-1, trunks open for business. According to Monroe, “After World War 2, people were starting fresh. They (military members) remembered being in South Florida as 18 year olds and wanted to return.” These families were sold dreams of owning a “piece of paradise” Florida home by companies such as General Development Corporation and thereby, moved to the state, sight unseen. In their new homes, they needed art and the Highwaymen filled that need. Going door to door, these self-taught artists sold beautiful Florida landscape oil paintings, some with the paint still drying. For only $25, these young families could afford this beauty to remind them of the nature they longed to see in moving to Florida. “It was God-given landscape and they sold paintings in astonishing numbers,” says Monroe, “They took extreme pride in their work. All of the art was done in the moment and genuinely.” Monroe has spent decades studying the art and artists. When asked about the most iconic site to see when visiting the Fort Pierce Highwaymen Trail, Monroe suggested Pine Grove Cemetery: the grave of Alfred Hair. Though it has since been redone, when Monroe first found the maker, it was

broken. Now Fort Pierce celebrates the Highway-men with an annual festival in the spring and

showcases their paintings at the A.E. Backus Museum and Gallery. If you drive through town, there is a strong chance you will

find artists who are still carrying on the craft, painting

alongside the road.

and virtually throughout the entire month of January, culminating on January 30th and 31st with the outdoor festival. While in town, stroll down Kennedy Blvd. and be sure to visit the Zora Neale Hurston National Museum of Fine Arts in Eatonville which features artists of African descent. Stop at the St. Lawrence African Methodist Episcopal Church where Zora attended and the Matilda Moseleye House Museum, her childhood best friend’s home. Walking tours and maps are available at the Zora Neale Hurston National Museum of Fine Arts.

BELLE GLADE“To Janie’s strange eyes, everything in the Everglades was big and new. Big Lake Okeechobee, big beans, big cane, big weeds, big everything.

Weeds that did well to grow waist high up the state were eight and often ten feet tall down there. Ground so rich that everything went wild.” –

Their Eyes Were Watching God Zora moved to Belle Glade, a stop along the Florida Trail in 1950. There, she befriended Sarah Lee Creech, who served with her on the Belle Glade Inter-Racial Council. Creech had noticed a lack of diverse toys for black children. With Zora’s guidance, Creech went on to create the Sarah Lee doll. Zora championed it and garnered support among the African American community and leaders. In 1951, Eleanor Roosevelt held a reception for the Sara Lee doll with prominent figures of the time. The Sara Lee became the first black baby doll to be mass produced and marketed nationally and was featured in the 1951 Sears Christmas catalogue. Zora’s swift influence was not uncommon and she used it throughout her career to advocate for other projects and causes she believed in.

FORT PIERCEZora moved to Fort Pierce for the final two years of her life and little is known about the time she spent along the coast. She taught at Lincoln Park Academy, which was an all-black school at the time, but her notoriety went undetected. It was recorded that she spent time with the artist, A.E. “Beanie” Backus, mentor to the Highwaymen. Her final writing was done for the Fort Pierce Chronicle where she produced a column. At the time of her death, she was living in

FloridaTrail.org


University of Florida Archives. Severe flooding at the Everglades Experiment Station at Belle Glade, Florida,

caused by the 1928 hurricane. 1928. Sept. 9. Photo Courtesy of the University Archives Photograph Collection

at http://ufdc.ufl.edu/UF00034353/00001

FLORIDA’S FORGOTTEN HURRICANEThrough the screaming wind they heard things crashing and things hurtling and dashing with unbelievable velocity…And the lake got madder and madder with only its dikes between them and him.-

Their Eyes Were Watching God The hurricane described in “Their Eyes Were Watching God,” was a true event in 1928. Though she was not there at the time, Zora used the stories she collected to create Janie’s mem-ories of the event. An estimated 12,000 were injured, 32,414 buildings were destroyed or damaged and 2,500 Floridians died in the storm, long before warning systems were in place. Nearly 700 of those victims were black residents. Their remains were placed in an unmarked mass grave in West Palm Beach that was forgotten for many years. A historical marker was finally added in 2003. Prior to the storm, a small dike had been built at the south end of Lake Okeechobee but it failed to hold back the waters and many homes simply floated away. As a result, in 1929 President Hoover visited the community and construction on the dike currently hosting the Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, a part of the Florida Trail, began. During her anthropological recording trips, Zora record-ed, “God Rode on a Mighty Storm.” The lines of this haunting song tell us what it might have been like that day.

social service housing. In 1960, she died penniless, with her name spelled wrong on her death certificate. Residents of the Lincoln Park Community took up a collection to have her buried at the Garden of Heavenly Rest Cemetery. It sat unmarked until 1972, when Alice Walker, author of The Color Purple, found where Zora had been buried and had a marker made that reads, “A Genius of the South.” A week after her death, a fire burned at the 648 square foot home Zora had lived in. A deputy, Patrick Duval, stopped and realized the fire seemed to have been intentional, as it was Zora’s work fueling the flames. He acted quickly, trying to save as much as he could. Duval had met Zora when his class traveled to Daytona to Bethune-Cookman college. She briefly taught there while living aboard her houseboat, Wanago, purchased with her Anisfield-Wolf Book Award winnings for Dust Tracks on a Dirt Road. Despite his efforts, much of her work was lost. The documents that were salvaged have been used to piece together some of Zora’s final years and understand the final piece she was working on, Herold the Great, which remains unpublished. Zora’s gravesite and 7 other locations can be visited on the Fort Pierce, “Dust Tracks Heritage Trail.” In 1991, a St. Lucie County library was named in her honor and houses a collection of her works and eight portraits by Ade Rossman entitled the “Zora Art Series.”

CLOSINGZora Neale Hurston’s legacy is just one story with which the Florida Trail intersects as it winds through the state. As a National Scenic Trail, our responsibilities extend beyond trail maintenance. We must shine the light on the historical and cultural significance of the communities that the trail passes through and nearby.

In that storm, oh in that storm;Lord, somebody got drownded in the storm.

Oh, in that storm, in that storm, oh, in that storm,Lord, somebody got drownded in that storm.

Over in Pahokee,Families rushed out at the door,

Sombody’s poor motherHave never been seen anymore

Visit WarriorExpeditions.org for more information

Florida Trail Association is a Proud Partner with Warrior Expeditions

Warrior Expeditions supports combat veterans transitioning from their military service by thru-hiking America’s National Scenic Trails.

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FloridaTrail.orghttp://GraniteGear.com


The Florida Trail is diverse in many ways, and one of those is the breakdown and complexity of land ownership along the trail. Unlike many of our sister National Scenic Trails, the The Florida Trail (FT) crosses through dozens of land management units and even more private parcels. This ownership, while making the route unique, also poses a challenge: how to protect the trail in such a fragmented land-scape. This is neither exclusive to the Florida Trail, nor to the rest of Florida in general, but something that is applicable to the country, if not the world. How is land protected, preserved, sustainably used, and treated with respect for future generations? One way is through organizations called land trusts. Land trusts are organizations that take legal ownership, stewardship, or partial control over property at the behest of the landowner. Conservation land trusts are tasked with the management of land to

maintain natural resources, historical sites, and public recreational areas for future generations. They may require that property owners give up some rights over land use and development since their goal is to protect these resources from development or other activities that may lead to disruption or pol-lution. Land trusts conserve all types of land: farmland or ranchland, forests, mountains, prairies, deserts, wildlife habitat, cultural resources such as archaeological sites or battlefields, urban parks, scenic corridors, coastlines, wetlands or waterways. It is up to each organization to decide what type of land to protect according to its mission. Many different strategies are used to provide this protection, including outright donation or acquisition of the land by the trust. In other cases, the land will remain in private hands, but the trust will purchase a conservation easement on the property to prevent development, or purchase any min-

ing, logging, drilling, or development rights on the land. Trusts also provide funding to assist like-minded private buyers or govern-ment organizations to purchase and protect the land forever. Easements can also grant access only and provide zero conservation value. An example of this is the trail section through Weyerhaeuser lands north of the city of Lake Butler. The trail is permanently protected where it is, meaning that it can never be forced out of that location, but the timber farm it passes through could be sold for development purposes all the same. A conservation easement is a legally binding agreement that halts the develop-ment rights on a property. The trust is tasked with ensuring the easement is enforced and, in some cases, managing the property. Con-servation easements can be tailored so that the landowner retains ownership and usage rights—such as the right to continue farming or raising livestock—while still ensuring that the land remains undeveloped in perpetuity, which means that the terms of the easement remain in force even if the land is sold or passed to heirs. As non-profit organizations, land trusts rely on donations, grants and public land acquisition programs for operating ex-penses and for acquiring land and easements. Donors often provide monetary support, but it is common for conservation-minded landowners to donate an easement on their land, or the land itself. Some land trusts also receive funds from government programs to acquire, protect, and manage land. Altruistic donors do exist along the Florida Trail! A great example of this is along the Suwannee River near Bell Springs. The Opgenorth family donated a trail easement to the Florida Trail Association (FTA) many years ago, preserving a trail route connecting the trailhead to nearby Suwannee River Water Management District Lands. Another major example of government land acquisition pro-grams is discussed in the following section about Camp Blanding. According to The Land Trust Alliance, a national organization that supports land trusts across the nation, there are more than 1,667 land trusts operating in every state of the United States with 29 accredited trusts operating in Florida. While there are many land trusts working hard to protect wild Flor-

Land Trusts and Their Role in Completing the Florida Trail

by Jeff Glenn, North FL Trail Program ManagerLand Conservation

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ida, there are a few standout organizations that work closely with the FTA and US For-est Service. Here are some of our partners: NORTH FLORIDA LAND TRUSTThe North Florida Land Trust (NFLT) seeks to preserve the natural resources, historic places, and working lands of North Florida. Since 1999 the NFLT has protected over 20,000 acres of wild spaces spread across 12 counties in the state. Recently FTA, in partnership with the US Forest service, created a proposal for a future collaboration with the NFLT on one of their recent acquisitions in Clay Coun-ty. This acquisition is part of the Ocala to Osceola Conservation Corridor, or O2O for short. The O2O is a network of forested and rural lands that make up a 1.6-million-acre wildlife corridor connecting Ocala Nation-al Forest to Osceola National Forest. The O2O is part of the larger Florida Wildlife Corridor, which is a network of connected lands throughout the State that serves as Florida’s “conservation blueprint” for optimal protection of natural resources, wildlife habi-tat, agriculture and open space. The O2O Partnership, of which the FTA and the US Forest Service are members, is a coalition of 16 public agencies and private organizations to protect land through direct acquisition and conservation management. The Florida Trail is the preeminent recreational feature that ties the O2O corridor together and is a proud member of this group. Camp Blanding Joint Training Cen-ter is the primary military reservation and training base for the Florida National Guard. It is located in the heart of O2O, and is a prominent partner in the effort to build the O2O Corridor. Camp Blanding helps fund acquisition of land and conservation ease-ments to protect wildlife habitat and military training, while deterring incompatible land development surrounding the installation. Since 2016, this partnership has enabled the acquisition of over 7,000 acres of conserva-tion land, which are managed and protected by NFLT. As Camp Blanding works to en-large its footprint through land conservation the Florida Trail will be able to move off of connecting roadwalks in the vicinity of the base. Our latest proposed routing change will remove 1.6 miles of road walk in the vicinity of Goldhead Branch State Park and there will potentially be more opportunities in the future to continue this work.

PUTNAM LAND CONSERVANCY Putnam Land Conser-vancy (PLC) is a regional, nonprofit Florida land trust dedicated to working coop-eratively with landowners and public and private conservation partners to preserve and protect important natural areas and open spaces– including wetlands,waterways, forests, farmlands, and environmentally significant habitats. PLC focuses on Putnam County, but their range of activity compris-es the tri-county (Putnam-Alachua-Clay) region. An area of focus just north of the Ocala National Forest is known locally as Mondex, a classic undeveloped north Florida subdivision that was sold off to out-of-state buyers, many of whom have never seen their property. This was a common scheme, where vacant lots were advertised in out of state areas offering Florida land on the cheap. According to the property appraiser data, current owners live in states such as NJ,

MI, MA, TX, MS, WI, and so on. Whether lots were purchased as investment properties or a space to retire, they sit abandoned.

Unfortunately, this large area has become a playground, party spot, and

dumping ground, and the environmental toll is evident. Fortunately, through the work of PLC and their partners, the dynamic is changing and the land is being purchased for conservation. Up until 2018, the FT navi-gated through the heart of Mondex, passing through many PLC protected properties on dirt roads. Unfortunately the route was never fully protected-- parts of the trail had to remain on roads rather than in the forest. Around that time, an opportunity presented itself to relocate the trail onto an adjacent land parcel that was permanently protected by an access easement. While the easement is for access only, the property is also protected by a conservation easement held by the State of Florida. The deal was a very good opportunity for the permanent protection of the FT and the trail was moved

FloridaTrail.org


to the property boundary of Mondex and the neighboring land. Currently, the FT crosses only a single PLC property at the south end of Mondex. The USFS is currently in the midst of signing a partnership agreement with the PLC. This will solidify the partnership between PLC, the USFS, and the FTA. The partnership is currently based on recognition only which carries a mutual understanding of what the values of each organization are. While the trail only crosses one property, PLC continues to work hard to protect the land in this area which has a direct impact on the scenic quality of the FT route. TThe pro-tection of land adjacent to the trail ensures no nearby development and protects the viewshed, or what can be seen from the trail. To date, PLC has protected 284 parcels, totaling 300 acres in Mondex. This is in addition to 233 parcels totaling 250 acres

owned by the Robinson family for the pur-pose of conservation. In total, 550 acres out of a possible 980 acres have been protected with many more to be added in the future.

OTHER LAND TRUSTSThroughout its history, the Florida Trail has benefited from the partnership and generos-ity of several other land trusts and organiza-tions, some of them operating on a national scale. The Trust for Public Land (TPL) is one of the largest and oldest conservation land trusts in the United States with more than 5,000 successful projects under its belt. In 2002, TPL successfully purchased Mills Creek Woodlands, which protects a two-mile section of the trail that links the Little Big Econ State Forest to the north-west and Seminole County's Chuluota Wil-derness to the southeast. Formerly jointly owned by Pineloch Management Corpora-

tion and the Murray family, the beautifully wooded 470-acre site is located 25 miles northeast of Orlando in Seminole County. Once a family farm with orange groves and grazing cattle, the site also features a small creek and undisturbed woodlands. Once acquired, TPL immediately sold this proper-ty to the USFS. This is a common practice in the land trust world in which land trusts assist with the purchase of a property but are either unable or unwilling to manage the land in perpetuity. Another land trust that has partnered with the FTA is the Alachua Conservation Trust (ACT). While their lands do not touch the FT, they now operate in counties where the trail lies, which opens up the possibility of future partnership. Our friendship may not yet be trail related, but ACT has gener-ously donated the use of their Prairie Creek Lodge to the FTA in the past. This standout organization deserves high accolades for their amazing conservation work!

NOKUSE Twenty years ago, entrepreneur and conservation-ist M.C. Davis purchased more than 54,000 acres of Florida’s Panhandle. He had a dream of restoring what had become pine plantations and sod farms back to the sweep-ing longleaf pine forests that once dominat-ed the Southeast. He called it Nokuse (black bear in the Muscogee language) Plantation, which is the largest privately owned nature preserve in the Southeastern United States. The plantation worked with the US Forest Service and the Florida Trail Association soon after purchasing the land to establish a permanent conservation easement across the landscape. This easement will forever protect the Florida Trail corridor through the region. Using that conservation easement as well as adjacent public lands in the North-west Florida Water Management District, the Nokuse section of the Florida Trail spans 27.7 miles, all roadless, from the Choctawhatchee River to US 331 north of Freeport. Sections of Nokuse include: Lafayette Creek, Forgotten Creek, and the Choctawhatchee River. As an entrepreneur, but also a con-servationist, Davis saw the opportunity to fund his restoration efforts on his massive landscape. Davis sold a 9-mile conservation

Mondex


easement to the US Forest Service on the Lafayette Creek and Choctawhatchee sec-tions for over $4 million dollars and donated an 8.25-mile easement at the same time. His idea was to take advantage of the cash value of recreational opportunities on his land and immediately redirect it towards the betterment of that very land.

FLORIDA TRAIL LAND TRUSTFrom the early 1990s to 2000, The Florida Trail Land Trust existed as a separate 501c3 non-profit organization working alongside and within the Florida Trail Association. The focus of the

Florida Trail Land Trust’s work was to serve as a lobbying organization that researched and put forward proposals to state and federal bodies that had the funds to purchase and protect the trail corridor. The Land Trust was never well suited for raising its own funds. During its tenure, the Trust negotiated land sales in St. Marks, the Apalachicola National Forest, and in Hamilton County near Bell Springs. Only one time in its history did the Florida Trail Land Trust purchase property using its own funds; a small parcel adjacent to the TPL purchased Mill Creek property. This was transferred to USFS ownership from the FTA. Beginning around 2000, the USFS started receiving earmarked acquisition funds for land along the Florida Trail. And so, the trust slowly dissolved back into the parent organization and into an official Trail

Protection Program of the FTA. Over the course of approximately 5 years, the USFS received and spent 17 million dollars! The end of the Trust also meant simplified adminis-tration for an already small FTA staff and the elimination of one 501c3 designation. Complete with a Trail Protection Committee and designated land acquisition fund, the goals and central ideas of the land trust became absorbed into the FTA’s gener-al operating procedures. The land acquisition fund and trail protection committee still ex-ist today, and were recently tapped into for the first time in many years for the purchase of a trail easement along the Withlacoochee River in Hamilton County. As federal funds are not always readily available for Florida Trail land acquisition, the future of trail gap closure and trail protec-tion will lean heavily on financial self-reliance on the part of the FTA but also partnerships with private organizations such as land trusts. The good and bad news is that with every passing year, the relevance and importance of the trail grows as the state becomes evermore fragmented and developed. As time moves on, it will become increasingly difficult to purchase land for the trail as ac-quisition dollars are needed all over the state to protect conservation based resources from rampant development. There is a lot of reason for optimism though! We can celebrate the recent pas-sage of the Great American Outdoors Act which fully and permanently funds the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) and provided nearly $10 billion dollars to cover backlogged maintenance in the National Park System. The Land and Water Conser-vation Fund is a federal program that was established by an Act of Congress in 1965 to provide funds and matching grants to federal, state and local governments for the acquisition of land and water, and easements on land and water, for the benefit of all Americans. The main emphases of the fund are recreation and the national protection of natural treasures in the forms of parks, pro-tected forest and wildlife areas. The Great American Outdoors Act is a major accom-plishment, years in the making, and creates a new environment where conservation and recreation are seen as something that needs to be funded wholly. Your tax-deductible donations to the Florida Trail Associaton allow us to be ready when opportunities arise to secure additional lands and easments. Your donations allow us to travel and lobby at both the state and federal level for the FTA's priority landscapes and these newly available funds.

FloridaTrail.org


NATIVE AMERICAN HISTORY ALONG THE FLORIDA TRAILExploring the Byrd Hammock Archeological Site

The Florida Trail is well known for its unique natural environments and subtropical scenery. No other National Scenic Trail offers anything like it; hikers encounter cypress domes and moss-draped live oaks, rolling wiregrass savannah and pine flatwoods, dark swamps and emerald gulf waters. Hiking along the FT, it's easy to imagine that you’re exploring a landscape untouched by people, and a key part of our mission is protecting these places from further human development. But the idea of a primitive Florida, a wilderness without people, is a myth. For thousands of years before European colonization, the Native people of Florida lived in these environments. They built their homes and villages, hunted and fished, and practiced their religions. While the history of these civilizations can be difficult to trace—we have no written record or oral history to rely on—the archaeological record can be surprisingly illuminating. A key to understanding this history has been the excavation of Native American villages. One area in particular—the Byrd Hammock site near Wakulla Beach in the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge—has emerged as an important place along the Florida Trail to highlight this history. The Byrd Hammock site consists of two adjacent villages dating back to 400-850 AD. Both villages were laid out with a large central plaza surrounded by wooden shelters, with ring middens encircling the living areas and a burial mound nearby. A midden is the accumulated debris left behind by human activity. The inhabitants of these pre-historic villages would carry out shells, bones, pottery fragments, and other waste to pile up along the outskirts of the village. These dumping sites would eventually take the form of a ring surrounding the homes

and plaza. Even after a village was abandoned and its structures had decomposed, the midden rings and burial mound would remain. Over time they would slowly be covered by vegetation and soil, and then weathered by wind and rain. From an onlooker's perspective today, the Byrd Hammock site appears as a series of low scattered humps of earth within a hardwood hammock. On an otherwise flat forest floor, these mounds offer the first clues that this landscape has been impacted by human activity. Looking closer, one can see other signs: rich, dark soil stands out from the surrounding white sand, a sign of decomposed organic materi-al. Within the soil are accumulated bits of shell, bones, and pottery fragments. These fragments provide hints about what the lives of these people were like; what they ate, the tools they used, even their religious and cultural practices.

Potsherd from the Byrd Hammock site

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SEAC Excavations of the Byrd Hammock Site

by Adam Fryska, Panhandle Trail Program ManagerHistorical Byrd Hammock

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By examining the artifacts found within the Byrd Hammock mounds and other sites throughout the Southeast, archaeologists have concluded that they actually belonged to two separate cultural groups, the Swift Creek People and the Weeden Island People. One seems to have superseded the other, although for a time the villages existed side-by-side. The Swift Creek people came first; their pottery features a prominent stamped pattern created by repeatedly pressing a carved wooden paddle into wet clay. In contrast, the Weeden Island people would directly inscribe their pottery, creating more intricate designs. The burial mounds of the Weeden Island people also suggest a change in religious practices. Their mounds have a solar alignment; a person standing within the plaza of a Weeden Island village would see the sun set directly over the mound on the winter solstice. While there’s much we don’t know, these clues hint at social changes within these communities, as one village was abandoned and new cultural practices emerged. The Byrd Hammock site was first excavated in 1918 by an explorer named Clarence B. Moore. Moore traveled throughout the southeast on a mission to document and excavate prehistoric Native American villages. He correctly theorized that many of the structures he found were burial mounds. Archaeologists built upon his work in

Layout of the Byrd Hammock Archaeological Site

the 40s and 50s, making discoveries about the middens and their significance. Unfortunately, these early excavations also helped to popularize the location of these sites to people less interested in academic discovery and more invested in making a profit. Over the last hundred years, looters and pothunters have repeatedly pillaged the site, searching for burial pottery and stone tools such as arrowheads. Without protection by state or federal authorities, the site was wide open for exploitation. To safeguard the future of the Byrd Hammock mounds, the FTA has partnered with the US Forest Service, the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge, and the U.S. National Park Service's Southeast Archeological Center (SEAC) to develop a plan to protect and share this site with the public. This is an exciting development for the Florida Trail; in St. Marks alone, there are four prehistoric village sites directly along the FT, none of which have been opened for public interpretation. Like any large conservation effort, the project has taken many years and the combined efforts of many partner groups. In 2013, SEAC first began working with county officials and local partners to acquire the land containing the Byrd Hammock site. The land was ultimately purchased and then donated to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to become part of the St. Marks Refuge.

Stone tools recovered from Byrd Hammock

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FloridaTrail.org


Examples of Swift Creek Pottery

Close View of some Byrd Hammock Pottery

As a first step in developing this site for interpretation, the FTA was awarded a grant from the State of Florida’s Division of Historical Resources to coordinate the creation of an interpretive website about the Byrd Hammock site. SEAC collaborated with the Florida Center for Interactive Media to create the website. This portion of the project was recently published and can be viewed at byrdhammock.floridatrail.org. SEAC also created 3-D scans of many artifacts recovered from the site, along with a virtual reality artifact explorer program to allow users to interact with the models. Owners of virtual reality (VR) head-sets can download this software from the Byrd Hammock website, and the FTA will be showcasing a VR headset with this software at future outreach and tabling events. Of course, these digital resources are only the first step in a larger plan to open this historical site for public access. Our next step will be working with the St. Marks Refuge to build a short spur trail that will connect the Florida Trail to the village site. National Park Service (NPS) archeologists will help us to prepare the site, both to

ensure future protection of the resource and to maximize visibility of the mounds and middens. Some of the trees and undergrowth from the plaza sites will be cleared, allowing visitors to imagine the scale of the vanished settlements. We'll also work to create signage, kiosks, and other interpretive tools to help tell the story of the people who lived here. Once all of the improvements are complete, the FTA is looking forward to collaborating with SEAC and the St. Marks Refuge on school programs and educational trips to the site. With its close proximity to the Wakulla Beach Trailhead, we anticipate that Byrd Hammock will become a popular landmark along this section of the Florida Trail. Stay tuned to our Eblaze newsletter for further developments!

Leave No TraceTM

Center for Outdoor Ethics | LNT.org

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http://byrdhammock.floridatrail.orghttp://byrdhammock.floridatrail.orghttp://LNT.orghttp://LNT.org


Volunteer Spotlight: Angie VasquezBy Community Outreach Manager, Van Tran

by Van Tran, Community Outreach ManagerVolunteer Spotlight

Our experiences in nature build on themselves—each adventure contributing to more lessons learned and each immersive experience feeding a growing curiosity and sense of wonder. As we set off on adventures, some of us carry with us distant memories of being introduced to the outdoors from a young age. Glimmers of the past enter our minds like dappled light shimmering through tree canopies. Those who have identified with being in the outdoors for a lifetime often walk these natural paths with confidence and ease. While many are bestowed an early gift of familiarity and belonging to outdoor spaces, there are many who are bravely working to blaze those paths and shed that light for themselves and for others. Angie Vasquez is one of these trailblazers. A California native who grew up in San Diego, Angie relocated to Florida as an adult to attend culinary school for restaurant

management and later, a graduate degree in business. Prior to moving to Florida, she served three years in the army before she was medically discharged due to a meniscus injury. After completing her MBA at the University of Phoenix, she briefly pursued a career in hospitality management in Las Vegas. It was there in Nevada that Angie began actively hiking. She explored Red Rock Canyon and other trails outside of Las Vegas as a mental and physical escape and form of exercise for her and her dog. As a novice hiker, Angie did not hesitate to form a hiking community, seek out advice and learn from others. To accomplish this, she started a Meetup group called Angel’s Excursions.

“It was great because I was able to learn a lot from many of the seasoned hikers who joined the group, but I was disappointed that it was mostly men and barely any

women who participated.”

In 2017, after moving back to Florida and settling in Deland, Angie created the Meetup group, Girls Who Hike FL (GWHFL), to get more women out on the trails in Florida. The goal of Girls Who Hike FL (meetup.com/GirlsWhoHikeFl/) is to unite women of all ages and backgrounds who love to hike and explore.

“We believe each member has something to offer the group; whether it’s your first time or hundredth on the trail. Together we can show

one another how to face our fears regardless of what the fear may be. Our community is more

than a Meetup group, we are family.”

In the initial months of the group’s formation, Angie led all of the GWHFL events on her own. The events were based throughout Central Florida, spanning from Ocala National Forest down to Blowing Rocks in Jupiter. What started as group sizes of just

Angie volunteering with the FTA for her first time during the first Girls Who Hike FL work party in Green Swamp West.

ANGIE VASQUEZ

FloridaTrail.orghttp://meetup.com/GirlsWhoHikeFl/


Volunteer Spotlight: Angie VasquezBy Community Outreach Manager, Van Tran

a handful of women has now grown into a community of roughly 20 to 25 regular participants, some of whom have stepped into leadership roles to coordinate and host trips alongside Angie. In 2019, GWHFL hosted a total of over 120 Meetup events. In addition to hiking trips, the events also included camping trips, kayaking tours and even participation in a 5k run. In response to COVID-19 this year, Angie and the other group leaders have been holding many Zoom calls to brainstorm how to continue staying active as a group while navigating COVID-19 concerns. She was relieved that COVID-19 arose in late spring at a time when their trips were starting to wind down in frequency. This allowed the group time to rethink and revise their safety protocols to prevent exposure and spread of the virus during their Meetup events. Angie is grateful she can refer to the FTA and other organizations as resources for developing these new COVID protocols. Beyond bringing together hikers of all skill levels, Angie also felt inspired to form Girls Who Hike FL as a way for women to help each other overcome any anxiety or fear they may have of the outdoors. Liz “Snorkel” Thomas, a Japanese American long-distance hiker who held the unsupported speed record for the Appalachian Trail from 2011-2015, wrote in an article published in Adventure Journal: “Real change happens when women go out and take that first step in the woods. The real empowering education and confidence comes from showing yourself that you can do something that previously seemed impossible.”

Hiking the loop trail in Blackbear Wilderness Area.

Sanford, FL.

Hiking the Trillium Falls Trail in Cali-fornia Redwoods National Park.

Photo courtesy of Angels_Excursions


Angie and GWHFL group members standing among the beautiful oak hammocks in Green Swamp West.

FloridaTrail.org


FloridaTrail.org


Group photo at the end of a successful collaborative work party with Girls Who Hike FL and Outdoor Afro.

Ocala National Forest Western Corridor.


In creating a welcoming environment and an empathetic community that embraces vulnerability as one of the first steps to overcoming obstacles, the women of GWHFL are encouraged to push outside their limits, defy stereotypes and reclaim the outdoors as a space where women can be as equally competent and capable as anyone else. She recognizes that her organization is among a vast network of others that are working to close the gender gap and bolster equity and inclusion in the outdoors, and encourages the members of GWHFL to join other groups including Women Who Hike and Hike Like a Girl.

“It is so fulfilling to me to be able to support and groom these women to become more

comfortable and confident with being on trails and in the outdoors. I love seeing them continue

to hike, even if it’s not with the group.”

Through her learning experiences and development as a hiker, Angie has felt inspired to teach outdoor skills to others as well as share the joy of discovering Florida’s diverse and abundant public lands. In 2018, a REI Winter Park outreach coordinator reached out to Angie and invited her to a tabling event at the store where she shared hiking information and ways to get involved with GWHFL. After that, she was asked to begin teaching workshops for REI Winter Park. Since then, Angie has been teaching monthly workshops at the store and in outdoor settings. The topics have included: hiking basics, how to plan and lead hikes, and top hiking destinations and trails in Florida to explore. Although she was initially intimidated by the task, Angie has discovered a newfound passion as an outdoor educator and has formed meaningful connections with many participants who have attended her classes.

Hiking in Tongass National Forest, Ketchikan, Alaska.

Assisting previous GWHFL co-leader, Eva Algermissen, in sawing and removing a downed limb from the trail in Green Swamp West.

Photo courtesy of Angie Vasquez

FloridaTrail.org


Her classes through REI Winter Park have been on pause this year due to COVID, but she hopes to soon start back up with teaching once new safety guidelines

volunteer spotlight: angie vasquez footprint...angie vasquez by van tran 49 the new normal changing...

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