Big Cypress Swamp

Clyde Butcher and Elam Stoltzfus met during the filming of Visions of Florida for a Public Television program in 1989. Their passion for the Florida environment bonded them together over the years as they worked together on projects educating people about Florida through both film and photography. Clyde jokingly says, “I have known Elam long enough that we have gone gray-haired together.”

Elam Stoltzfus is a nationally acclaimed award winning master cinematographer. When he learned he had earned the bid to create the film for the Big Cypress Swamp, he invited Clyde to host the film. “Joining with Elam to create a film about the Big Cypress Swamp was a dream come true,” said Clyde. “For years I have wanted to see a replacement for the very old, 1970’s film that is shown in the Oasis Visitor Center of Big Cypress National Preserve. When Elam told me that the new film would not only replace the old film, but that it would air on Public Television, I was so excited I could hardly contain myself! I was also very glad it was Elam who was creating the film. There are not many people who are willing to brave the difficult swamps and cypress strands in order to understand the beauty and peace found in Big Cypress Swamp. His skill and our common view of the environment made working with him a pleasure.”

For two years Elam and his crew lugged the heavy equipment required to make the film through the swamps, cypress strands and sawgrass prairies of the Big Cypress Swamp. “My journey through Big Cypress always seemed like a gift to me,” Elam commented. “Every day nature provides its gifts in sunrises, animal behaviors, changing weather patterns, landscapes and sunsets. This is our gift back. We hope that viewers will experience and enjoy a small taste of the beauty and fragility of the deep swamps of south Florida as they view Big Cypress Swamp – The Western Everglades.”

Big Cypress Swamp – the Western Everglades, is a documentary film for the Welcome Center at Big Cypress on Tamiami Trail (US 41) as well as a 57 minute film airing on Public Television. The film is also available on DVD. The documentary explores the mysterious and secretive environment of the Big Cypress Swamp. Viewers are treated to the rare and primeval sights and sounds of swamp expeditions by foot, airboat, swamp buggy and helicopter through the richly diverse wilderness of subtropical flora and fauna found in the Big Cypress Swamp. The film also tells the stories of the tireless efforts to preserve and manage the Big Cypress region.

The Big Cypress Swamp: Western Everglades

Today over a million acres of the richly diverse Everglades in Southwest Florida is protected in a variety of public lands. But in the 1960s this land was slated to be drained and developed, just like many areas of Florida had been over the decades. Through the efforts of those who have a deep connection to this land and had a vision of seeing it protected for years to come this unique region of the Greater Everglades remains intact, a natural area where rare plants and animals can be found and where people can recreate, escape the hustle and bustle of congested coastal cities, and enjoy the wilds of natural Florida in the Big Cypress Swamp." The Big Cypress Swamp: Western Everglades" documentary and exhibit is a collection of visual images wrapped around narrative stories of how the Big Cypress Swamp preservation almost didn't happen, how the vast land holdings are currently being managed, an overview of animals behaviors, stunning landscape scenes and a cacophony of sounds blended into a musical score.

Elam Stoltzfus and Clyde Butcher have been working together for the past 20 years on documentaries that have helped educate the public about Florida through the visual arts. With their photographic skills they have collaborated in a collection of award-winning documentaries, Visions of Florida: the Photographic Art of Clyde Butcher, Living Waters: Aquatic Preserves of Florida, Apalachicola River: an American Treasure and now the Big Cypress Swamp: Western Everglades.

Elam and Clyde sought out the knowledge of South Florida National Parks Trust, Big Cypress National Preserve, 10,000 Islands National Wildlife Refuge, Rookery Bay National Estuarine Reserve, Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge, Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park,Big Cypress Basin-South Florida Water Management District, Corkscrew Swamp Audubon Sanctuary, Okaloacoochee Slough Wildlife Management, and Collier-Seminole State Park in creating this documentary to educate the public about the Big Cypress Swamp: Western Everglades and to help promote the new welcome center.

The visitor center is intended to orient visitors on the Tamiami Trail to the resources of South Florida, the Big Cypress Swamp, and the Greater Everglades Ecosystem. Visitors to the center will be able to plan their tour in the area, and gain a greater appreciation for the purpose and significance of the Everglades ecosystem.