The Last Green Thread

2018 Heartland to Headwaters

About the Expedition: 2018 Heartland to Headwaters

The mission of the 2018 Florida Wildlife Corridor Expedition was to navigate and document one chokepoint of the Corridor that can possibly still be saved. By exploring this narrow, but critical, connection we issue a call to action for additional conservation to protect and restore this remaining wild thread within a growing urban interface. Through Florida's Everglades Headwaters, three friends embark on a journey to survey a fragile wilderness corridor before it disappears forever.

Expedition Name

2018 Heartland to Headwaters

Expedition Goal

To navigate and document one chokepoint of the Corridor that can possibly still be saved. By exploring this narrow, but critical, connection we issue a call to action for additional conservation to protect and restore this remaining wild thread within a growing urban interface.

Start & End

Everglades Headwaters to the Green Swamp

Expedition Team

Carlton Ward Jr. Conservationist Photographer

Mallory Dimmitt Conservationist

Joe Guthrie Bear Biologist

Expedition Route: 2018 Heartland to Headwaters

The Importance of The Last Green Thread

Why the Expedition?

This central Florida region may be the greatest risk to survival of the Corridor, a crossroads in the center of the peninsula with an already weak connection. Re-visiting this nexus was a strategic check-up on the health of the ecological “heart” to ensure the flow of wildlife and water to all parts of the Corridor.

A critical freshwater resource

As the headwaters for the five central Florida rivers, this area supplies flow to residents in all directions throughout the state, connecting to Tampa Bay, the Nature Coast, Jacksonville and Miami. The Greater Green Swamp provides the headwaters four major rivers – the Hillsborough, Withlacoochee, Peace and Ocklawaha, crucial to 3 million residents in the greater Tampa Bay area and a million more in greater Ft. Myers and Charlotte Harbor. The Ocklawaha feeds the St Johns River and populations in central and eastern Florida, from Ocala to Jacksonville. Via the Everglades Headwaters at the edge of Orlando, the Greater Green Swamp also connects to the Greater Everglades – the largest watershed in Florida that serves as a freshwater source for more than 8 million residents.

Leveraging citizen science for action

The Expedition informed ways to enhance or restore connectivity for wildlife and water supply. Using data from daily ecological wildlife and water surveys, the team strove to identify local biological hotspots and suggest ways that others can help monitor the health of the Corridor in years to come.