It’s National Invasive Species Awareness Week and today we're highlighting one invasive species in the Everglades that some people might not be too familiar with.

Photo by Kevin Sunderland The Asian swamp eel (Monopterus spp.) is a drought-resistant fish which was first found in Florida in 1997 and a population found in a canal in Homestead Florida in 1999.

Attention! We want your input. But act soon, the public comment period closes in a few days.

NPS Photo by M. Collier

#Everglades #EvergladesNationalPark #NPS #FindYourPark #EncuentraTuParque We wanted to remind everyone that the Environmental Assessment (EA) for the Gulf Coast site of Everglades National Park is available for review and comment through Feb. 26 at parkplanning.nps.gov/document.cfm?p…

Today is World Migratory Bird Day!

Did you know, that one of the park's largest migratory bird visitors is the American White Pelican?

Photo by Mac Stone (@MacStonePhoto ) White Pelicans have one of the largest wingspans of any bird in North America, measuring approximately 9-9.5 feet. Those long wings are needed to support their body which can weigh between 10-13 pounds.

It's that time of the year again... We're referring to National Hurricane Preparedness Week.

How does this monument in Islamorada relate to the Everglades?

NPS Photo by Rachel DiPietro Both locations were devastated by the great Labor Day hurricane of 1935.

Like all natural areas on our planet, the Everglades and @HaleakalaNPS were born from Earth’s changing climate over vast periods of time. Earth's climate is always fluctuating between glacial cycles that both alter the terrain and influence sea level over thousands of years. Over the last 150 years however, scientists have observed an increase in global temperature and consequentially, a rise in global sea level.

We wanted to remind everyone that the Environmental Assessment (EA) for the Shark Valley Site Plan is available for review and comment through March 11 at parkplanning.nps.gov/sharkvalley.

Learn more and submit comments directly on the project website. The Park proposes to enhance visitor experience, safety and park operations at Shark Valley by providing on-site overflow parking, installing shade structures along the Shark Valley Tram Road, and reducing flooding at the Entrance Road, Tram Road and the Administration Complex.

In 1928, when the Tamiami Trail was completed, people could finally travel easily by car from Tampa to Miami, hence the name "Tamiami." Also known as U.S. Highway 41, the road was considered a feat of engineering at the time.

NPS photo

#EvergladesNationalPark #Everglades It took over 11 years, $7 million and more than 3 million sticks of dynamite to complete the 264-mile roadway and adjacent canal.

The road was great for the economy of Southwest Florida and enabled this part of Florida to become a center for real estate, business, and tourism.

Did you know an Underground Railroad route ran through what is today Everglades National Park? Here's the story of how abolitionist Jonathan Walker smuggled 7 enslaved people from Pensacola to the Bahamas, a British colony at the time, and thus free. In 1844, the group departed in a small sailing vessel, following the Florida coast south toward Cape Sable in present day Everglades National Park.

Active shooter incident happening at Everglades NP. Main park road (SR 9336) closed for public safety. Visitors/residents in Flamingo should shelter in place. Suspect is a 33 y.o. white male. Federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies are coordinating the response. @wsvn @CBSMiami @KeysInfoNet @WPLGLocal10 @MiamiHerald @SunSentinel @AP @KeyWestCitizen @WLRN @keysweekly @nbc6 @palmbeachpost

Spring has sprung, and it's wading bird nesting season!

We just closed access to Paurotis Pond in the park, but for good reason: wading birds, including Wood Storks like the ones pictured here, are doing what they're supposed to do and are raising babies.

Pic: Anthony Sleiman This closure will help limit human disturbance to these threatened birds as they nest.

Two of the larger bird colonies we watch in the park are Broad River and Cabbage Bay colonies, both located in western Everglades National Park.

Let's take a peek into the future... that is the Flamingo Visitor Center's future!

Swipe to see the "before and after" of the main entrance and one of the exhibits. The "afters" are renderings, as the center is in construction.

NPS Images This historic visitor center is undergoing a complete rehabilitation and is expected to reopen to visitors later this year.

Wherever there were enslaved African Americans, there were people eager to escape. One such attempt in 1844 brought 7 freedom seekers in a sailing vessel through, what is today, Everglades National Park. Abolitionist Jonathan Walker smuggled 7 enslaved people from Pensacola to the Bahamas, a British colony at the time, where slavery had been abolished since 1834.

Following the coast southward, they rounded Cape Sable on the southwestern tip of the Florida peninsula.

If you have been patiently waiting for the answer to yesterday’s post about which animal needs the coontie to survive, get ready! (And if you missed the post, check it out.)

*Drum roll* … it's the rare atala butterfly (Eumaeus atala)!

Photo courtesy of Dylann Turffs The coontie serves as the one and only host plant for atala caterpillars, so they need it to eat. The orange-red caterpillars with yellow spots have evolved to handle the coontie’s natural poison (cyasin). They can incorporate it into their tissues, making them poisonous too.

May your 2021 be filled with hopeful new beginnings, just like this coontie plant regrowing after a prescribed fire in the park last year!

Coonties, or Zamia integrifolia, are small shrubs.

NPS Photo by Yvette Cano This plant has underground stems and leaves that grow to about eighteen to twenty-four inches tall. It is native to much of Florida, and its range also includes the Bahamas and the Caribbean, with a limited amount found in Georgia, too.