Dan Carns
Imagine for a moment that you want to go to paradise, so you begin to conjure up a map of this place in your mind and it begins to unfold all around you. It’s subtropical and warm, has miles upon miles of pristine barrier islands with sandy shell strewn beaches being held together by only the hardiest lush green plants and tall golden sea oats. The upper beaches are home to trees that must stand year round against the forces of nature and stand watch over huge numbers of shore birds, crabs, and even the diminutive Beach Mouse with an occasional visit from raccoons in search of a seafood dinner. These beaches are bathed in gentle, warm, sea mist colored waters flowing up and around them through deep water passes that hold masses of fish, some little, by the millions and some large solitary predator types like the mighty tarpon, who themselves succumb to attacks from even larger predators. Sea turtles as large as a bathtub visit these beaches every year, leaving behind a new generation to fend for themselves and begin the long journey to adulthood.
This barrier island chain is strung out for fifty miles or so and is the armor for an even more spectacular inland waterway that includes marshes and flats, harbors and bays, all of whom share in the gifts that the gulf water delivers to them twice a day on the incoming tide. This watery paradise is the estuarial home to an even greater number of species both terrestrial and aquatic as it is the nursery of the ocean where baby shrimp and larval fish are born and learn how to survive, mangrove seedlings take root and countless roosts hold flocks of birds safely overnight. As you travel farther inland the salty water slows down and takes on a stained tannin color as a whole new feeling begins to emerge; tall trees bend down from their dry banks, ducks are dipping and diving as water from enormous inland rivers pour precious nutrient-rich cargo mixing with salty water to form a brackish backwater playground for you and all manner of wildlife. Playful dolphins, usually in small family groups, probe the coves and canals for breakfast, occasionally asking for handouts from fishermen while manatee graze on unseen forests of seagrass seemingly unaware of the hazards of boat traffic overhead.
Slowly you begin to emerge from this imaginary trip to paradise only to realize that you’re in S.W. Florida! Visitors and residents alike share in this watery world that we call home and there are endless ways to access this playground, by boat or kayak, by car, bus or bike and even by foot. The rules that govern your newly imagined paradise are entirely independent of our input and without us would continue unobserved hour by hour, year after year, following the rules of nature. Although ungoverned buy us it is affected by us, so care must be given in all the ways we engage with our Paradise!
It’s a Wild World-Get Out There!
Dan Carns
