Beaver eerU. bvO Net Urb lek? iN 3 
to children and adults. Dr. J. J. Shomon was the cha.rman cf this session; 
he is Director of the Nature Centers Division of the National Audubon 
Society. 
Two exciting bus trips were conducted — cne «0 the world-famous 
Corkscrew Swamp, and the other to Everglades Nat-onal Fark. Over 429 
persons made the first trip on Sunday, while 389 attended the second bus 
trip two days later. The heavy downpour on Sunday con .rasted with the 
sunny weather of the Tuesday trip. When traveling by cus over the 
Tamiami Trail to Corkscrew, we saw Cattle Egrets and American Egrets 
in huge numbers. A visit to this sanctuary will make anyone proud of the 
National Audubon Society. This wilderness area of 6,080 acres, containing 
the largest remaining stand of virgin bald cypress trees, is located near 
Immokalee, Florida. Many of the trees rise above 130 feet, with a girth 
of over 25 feet; some of these giants are over 700 years old — ancient before 
Columbus landed in the New World. 
In 1954 this area was on the logger’s list, but the National Audubon 
Society raised over $200,000 at the last minute to purchase over 2,240 acres. 
The Lee Tidewaters Cypress Company donated 640 acres to the Society; 
another 3,200 acres of buffer lands, with pine, cypress, and small ponds, 
were leased by the Society. Sandy Sprunt IV and his fellow workers 
stood in water up to their shoulders to help build the convenient board- 
walk for present-day visitors. It is estimated that the N.A.S. will need 
a maintenance fund of $500,000, yielding an annual income of about $20,000, 
to provide for regular operating costs. Among the permanent residents of 
the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary are the Anhinga, Common Egret, Wood 
Duck, Limpkin, and American Bittern. 
Everglades National Park, a vast wilderness lowland of over 1,400,000 
acres, was formally dedicated in 1947 by President Harry Truman. The 
State of Florida donated over 805,000 acres of state-owned land, plus 
$2 million to purchase privately-owned lands within the area; hence Florida 
made a substantial contribution to our 28th National Park. The park 
encompasses the former Royal Palm State Park, established over 30 years 
earlier. Going to the Everglades is like making a pilgrimage, because it was 
in this area that the plume hunters slaughtered the egrets. This plunder 
led to the formation of the National Audubon Society and greater protection 
for wild birds, through state and federal legislation. One of the most un- 
forgettable views at this park for many of us was the sight of the graceful 
landing of the White Pelicans and the soaring flight of the Man-o-war 
Birds. The field trip leaders, Allen Cruickshank, Roland Clement, and Sandy 
Sprunt IV — made the trips delightful, because like all good teachers, they 
assumed that nobody knew everything or saw everything, and they pointed 
out all unusual sights. An Audubon Wildlife Film on the Flamingo taken 
in the Bahamas and soon to be released was previewed by the delegates 
in the hotel after the field trip to the park. 
The Illinois Audubon Society was honored by several courtesies ex- 
tended by the national staff to me as president of our state group. We had 
on opportunity to talk with Dr. Edward Crafts and Mr. Zahniser at Mr. 
Buchheister’s suite; we later met U.S. Senator Ernest Gruening and Con- 
gressman Claude Pepper, both conservation-minded legislators. We shared 
the “‘speaker’s table’ with almost two dozen others. Later we were treated 
to a showing of “Wilderness Trails,’ a new Adubon Wildlife Film narrated 
by Charles Hotchkiss. 
