“We try hard to preserve old furniture that our ancestors sat and slept in, but neglect the things that can never be replaced or even imitated.” John Kunkel Small

This quote is from the book From Eden to Sahara – Florida’s Tragedy written in 1929. John Kunkel Small was a botanist in the early 20th century who traveled in Florida and documented the plant life found there.

He wrote this book after seeing the destruction caused by digging canals and burning land to clear it. Fortunately we haven’t made it to Sahara yet. A lot of good things are going on like the wetlands purchases along the St Johns, efforts to return the Kissimmee River to its natural course among others, but there is a long way to go.