Marta identifies the plants along the banks for us--that's part of her project.  Kelly clarifies some of Marta's plant identifications--some are exotics and some are native.  Exotic plants are "outsiders" in this region.  Strong stands of cattails are exotics which harm the river: Carin explains how this happens from the research she did for her paper last semester. LINK TO CARIN'S PAPER

The water here is 30 feet deep and dark with tannic acid; the flow is strong.  Cattle graze along the banks.  There is no plant obstruction in the water, but along the banks the plant growth in wild, irregular, with few trees.  A huge mound, like a hill, borders the water on one side.  On the mound there is grass, but little else.  The mound is the bottom of the river, dredged years ago, now part of the landscape.

Along the way, we test water samples for oxygen and acid--a complicated process--and compare our results.  We discuss our findings with the crew, who are very familiar with the research and data.

We see an alligator.

Far upriver, now, we pass through another lock.  The keeper was watching for us because he got a call from his friend down river. He promises to show us his dogs on our return.

The crew makes an announcement: Girls on the left, boys on the right; this is your chance to take care of the necessaries.  None of us dared.

Along the path we see evidence of wild hogs.  We also see wild hog traps on the ranch land. 

Robert, Alex, and Carin have gotten way ahead of us on the walk inland. Suddenly, Robert yells and the girls scream--a wild cat has jumped in front of them.  By the time we arrive running the creature is gone--no trace.  Bruce and I suspect it was really a Cane Toad that crossed their path.

We come to the site of a recent burn to compare the managed land and the ranch land.  Nichola is doing special studies and directing incentives toward eco-agriculture, merging the interests of ecology and business.  She describes how these efforts are manifesting in the state and introduces us to the concepts which guide the eco-agricutlure ranch we will visit tomorrow.  Bruce and I both wished for Kevin, Kofi, and Susan at this point, because so many of the discussions we had in class seemed relevant to the issues Nichola was investigating.  I must admit, the LC IV students put forth some challenging questions informed by those class discussions: 
"Who decides what is exotic in this place and how do they decide?"
"How will we avoid a sort of 'Busch Gardens' approach to nature?"
"Can we ever expect to return nature to its original state?"
"Is it wise for us to do so?"
"How do we determine what harm is--humans or wild hogs?"

We march back to the boat and the burdens begin to show in our demeanor.

Along the way back we stop to gather samples of life from the river bottom and pick up some camper's debris.  We catalogue our findings. We see an old fisherman working the river in solitude.

As we reach the reclamation area, the water trail for clear passage is not clearly marked.  Robert heads down a few dead ends and has to run us around and take us back to the channel.  We are fascinated by the flora and fauna, unmindful of the impending deadline with the Lock Keepers.

We see a family of alligators.

As we finally wind our way through the swampy ox bows, we come into the channel again down river from the reclamation site.  Once in the channel, the boat opens up and races toward the dam--about an hour away from here.  The motors scream as the boat races on; we brace ourselves against the biting wind.  Shadows are growing along the river's edge.

The sun is setting; we quietly watch.

"Hey! Look everybody! A dead cow in the water!"

EEEEWWWWW! 

We end our voyage back again at the dock.  We meander towards the lodge/lab and fall onto the couches in the white room.  We are collecting our thoughts, reclaiming our energies.

The front door flies open and a familiar voice shouts, "There you are!"  Mike found us--in the middle of nowhere.  He unloads his stuff, burritos and all, and joins us with an enthusiasm and energy we could only remember.

After the videos and short discussions, everyone else went outside for a bonfire.  They can fill in those details.  I crashed into my pillow.

I didn't bring enough coffee.

We haven't seen a grocery store or gas station for half and hour.

The ranch hands meet us with their families: Eugene Lawless, the ranch manager; an environmental biologist; and a water quality biologist.  Other researchers came and went--some of them were in those videos last night.

The ranch fellows take us into an office/conference room where they explain their project and invite us to ask questions. A map of the ranch demonstrates its vastness.  The goal is to manage the land and make a profit while ranching ecologically--a sort of low impact ranching practice.  The scientists monitor some of the "peripheral" effects of their ranching practices, such as the return of certain wild life to the area and water run-off statistics.

• herd maintenance--extending the breeding and calving times for the herd; 
• land use--using sheep to "cut" the grass in areas not grazed by the cattle during certain seasons and along canals (cutting the grass increases the protein value for the cattle); 
• wildlife management--return of the endangered BARRED OWL indigenous to the region;
• water management--controlling water quality, run-off, and water vegetation by remote, computer-controlled data collection;
• controlled burns.

Of key interest to LC IV students and faculty (Carin says, "That is so big!!") was Eugene's comment that ecologically managed cattle ranches could replace the spontaneous burn in the balance of Florida eco-culture.  Bruce really responded to the concept. We want to hear more about this.

We stop at a water measurement site to check the equipment and discuss the statistics from the ranch.  In the conversation, we begin to understand the community's reactions to the ranch's activities: mixed.  Ranchers have not yet endorsed the practices on the ranch, but seem to appreciate the positive effects on the environment, particularly the water quality.

We observe a small orange grove on the property; the sheep are currently grazing that area.  Orange groves are not the ranchers' particular interest, but they began to discuss eco-tourism as one use to which they could put the grove.

Canals are allowed to become overgrown until the water cannot pass through because the plants help clean the water of cattle waste.  Herbicides are not used on the water plants, but they are "harvested" every 5-10 years.

In a secluded hammock, we meet the Barred Owls: a pair which responds to a simulated bird call from the researcher.  He is hoping that they have developed a nest in the area.  The owls seem disappointed that he didn't bring them a mouse, but pose for our cameras, anyway.