Geoffrey C. Smith

Dear Friends, As a 9-year-old following in my father's footsteps, we were stalking through the woods. It was a cold fall day, and we were in the mountains of Northern California hunting deer. I don't recall what made me glance at the tree, but all of a sudden, I was looking into the face of a huge male mountain lion who was looking back at me! I remember it as if it were yesterday. I watched him fly as if he were spring-loaded. He jumped away from where we were walking and was immediately...

Few landscapes in the world are as unique or as important as the Florida Everglades. Often described as a “river of grass,” this vast and delicate ecosystem stretches across much of South Florida, supporting an extraordinary range of wildlife. Wading birds, alligators, panthers, and countless other species depend on the slow movement of freshwater flowing south from Lake Okeechobee to Florida Bay. But the Everglades have not always been protected. For much of the last century, drainage...