Saving Cypress Swamps

MORE THAN 100 YEARS AGO, 40 MILLION ACRES OF CYPRESS SWAMPS STRETCHED ACROSS THE UNITED STATES TODAY. MERELY A FRACTION OF IT REMAINS. A NEW BOOK CAPTURES STUNNING IMAGES OF THE DWINDLING NATURAL HABITATS. WGCUS GULF COAST LIFE HOST. MIKE KINIRY CAUGHT UP WITH THE AUTHOR AND AWARD WINNING CONSERVATION PHOTOGRAPHER MAX STONE. >> THIS IS GULF COAST LIFE. I'M MIKE KINIRY. THANKS FOR JOINING US. MAX TONE GREW UP IN AND AROUND. GAINESVILLE ONCE BEEN A WHOLE LOT OF TIME OUTDOORS. AND IN CYPRESS, SWAMPS IN NORTH CENTRAL FLORIDA AS A KID GOT HIS FIRST CAMERA FILM. SLR KNOW D IN HIGH SCHOOL AND THAT SENT HIM DOWN. THE ROAD IS STILL ON TODAY. AS WORK FOCUSES ON SWAMPS AND WETLANDS. HE SAYS HE'S TRYING TO CHANGE PUBLIC OPINIONS TOWARDS THESE OFTEN MISUNDERSTOOD AND MALIGNED ECOSYSTEMS. HIS WAY TO COFFEE TABLE, BOOK EVERGLADES, AMERICA'S WETLAND WAS PUBLISHED IN 2014 AND NOW HIS NEW ALSO WEIGHTY BOOK IS CYPRUS. THE LAST OLD GROWTH SWAMPS THAT COMES OUT NEXT MONTH. BUT WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT ITS DAY. WELCOME BACK TO THE SHOW. MAC. >> MY THANKS FOR HAVING ME. GREAT TO BE HERE. >> IN THE PREFACE YOU TALK ABOUT HOW THE SWAMPS YOU GREW UP IN, WHICH SEEMS SO ANCIENT AND MAJESTIC AT THE TIME TURNED OUT TO BE KIND OF BABIES ARE AT LEAST NOT ALL THAT OLD RELATIVELY SPEAKING ONCE YOU'VE GOT A LITTLE BIT MORE EXPERIENCE WITH WHAT A CYPRESS WANT COULD BE. CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT? >> SURE. I MEAN, ANYONE WHO'S BEEN AND A CYPRESS WALK PEN. I'VE BEEN LOTS OF THEM IN PARTICULAR WHERE I GREW UP IN GAINESVILLE. WE HAVE SWAMPS ALL OVER THE PLACE AND JUST BY THE WAY, THAT CYPRESS TREES, LOOK, THEY LOOK VERY OLD. YOU KNOW, THEY'RE CONTORTED AND THEY HAVE NEEDS THAT KIND OF THESE GOTHIC STRUCTURE SURROUNDING THEM DRAPED IN SPANISH MOSS AND BOWS. AND THEY REALLY JUST LOOK LIKE PRIMEVAL ECOSYSTEMS. AND SO, YOU KNOW, AS A KID, YOU NEVER REALLY CONSIDER WHEN YOU'RE WALKING THROUGH. THE WOODS ARE SLOGGING THROUGH THIS MALL. THAT THAT SECONDARY OR TERTIARY GROWTH AND THAT IS, IN FACT, WHAT ALMOST ALL OF IT WAS BECAUSE THE MAJORITY OF AND THE FAR, FAR, FAR MAJORITY, THE CYPRESS LEADERS AND SWAMPS ALL ACROSS THE SOUTHEAST WERE CLEARCUT. HAVE ONE POINT. THEY'RE HARVESTED FOR THEIR WOULD. SO ALL OF IT, NEARLY ALL OF IT EXCEPT FOR WHAT IS HERE IN THIS BOOK. IT WAS CLEAR CUT. AND TIM BYRD TO MAKE WAY FOR PILINGS, DECKING SIGHTINGS, ROOF. ALL THE OUTDOOR, A LUMBER THAT CYPRUS FOR THE 20TH CENTURY. >> I GOT AN ACTUAL CHILL. WHEN I READ THE CAPTION BINNUI BENEATH THE FIRST IMAGE THAT YOU HAVE RIGHT AFTER THE PREFACE. SO IT'S I COUNTED IT UP. IT'S 80 BY 80 SQUARE OF THESE LITTLE TINY, GREAT TREES. EACH ONE REPRESENTS SOMETHING LIKE 10,000 ACRES AND THERE'S ONE LITTLE BLACK TREE DOWN IN THE CORNER AND THAT REPRESENTS OUT OF 6,400 TREES. HOW MUCH IS LEFT OF WHAT WAS THERE BEFORE, WHICH IS JUST WHO CAME UP WITH THE IDEA FOR THAT GRAPHIC BECAUSE IT WAS VERY IMPACTFUL. >> THANK YOU. I DID. AND MY HANNAH IS A BRILLIANT GRAPHIC DESIGNER MADE AND IT'S ABOUT TRYING TO PUT INTO CONTEXT WHAT WAS LOST AND WHAT IS LEFT NOW THAT GRAPHIC REPRESENTS THE. THIS STATISTIC THAT THERE WAS ONCE AN ESTIMATED 40 MILLION ACRES OF OLD GROWTH, CYPRESS AND THE AMERICAN SOUTHEAST. AND BY THE MID THAT 1930'S NIGHT BETWEEN 1930'S, 1950'S. ALL BUT LESS THAN ONE-TENTH OF ONE PERCENT IS LEFT. SO JUST 10,000 TO 12,000 ACRES, ROUGHLY OF OLD GROWTH SWAP. HER LEFT OUT OF THE 40 MILLION ACRES THAT ONCE WAS SO ABUNDANT IN THE AMERICAN SOUTH. >> SO THE PHOTOS WERE TAKEN CORKSCREW SWAMP HERE IN COLLIER COUNTY AND FRANCIS BEELER BEIDLER. >> FRANCES BEIDLER FOREST AND HARLEYVILLE SOUTH CAROLINA AND THEN KONG RE NATIONAL PARK IN SOUTH CAROLINA. BLACK RIVER PRESERVE IN NORTH CAROLINA. YOU WORKED IF I'VE GOT IT RIGHT OUT OF GRAD SCHOOL WHEN YOU'RE FIRST JOBS WAS AT FRANCIS BEIDLER FOREST RIGHT? >> TRACK UNDERGRAD AND YES. AND I WORKED AS A NATURALIST AT FRANCIS BEIDLER FOREST IN IS ACTUALLY MY VERY FIRST TIME SEEING AN OLD GROSS WALK AND IT'S WHERE THIS WHOLE PROJECT STARTED. WHEN I GOT THERE AND YOU DIDN'T MISS MUCH LIKE CORKSCREW SWAMP. THERE'S A BEAUTIFUL MILE AND 3 QUARTER BOARDWALK THAT WEAVES THROUGH THE ANCIENT CYPRESS GROVE. AND I JUST NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE IT. I MEAN, IT IS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT THAN SECONDARY GROWTH AND TERTIARY GROWTH. YOU HAVE CLEAN UNDERSTORY MASSIVE. I MEAN, MASSIVE TREES AND JUST THESE REALLY BEAUTIFUL FLUTTERING WINGS OF PERSONA. TERRY WARBLERS. AND IT JUST FEELS OLD. IT LOOKS OLD AND IT IS OLD. AND THAT'S REALLY WHAT STARTED THIS WHOLE BOOK PROJECT. AND IT TOOK SOME TIME ANOTHER DECADE FROM THAT TIME WHEN I STARTED WORKING IN EARNEST TO TRY AND IDENTIFY THE LAST OF THEIR POCKETS OF AL GROSS WALK. >> THANKS SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME. MACKEN ALL THE WORK THAT YOU DID TO PUT THIS BOOK TOGETHER. >> I THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HAVING ME. AND IF I COULD JUST SAY ONE LAST THING, I HOPE IF YOU GET THIS BOOK, I HOPE IT INSPIRES YOU TO GO OUT AND SEE THESE PLACES FOR YOURSELF BECAUSE THEY'RE TRULY, TRULY TREASURES OF THE AMERICAN SOUTH.