Year

1983

Video Details

16:25; color; sound; V-258; DA146

Description

This film examines the negative impact humans have had on Florida's environment. The soundtrack begins with gentle flute music as scenes of swamp grasses, flowers and birds at dawn grace the screen. The music soon switches to up-tempo pop as the footage shows surfers, sailboats and sunbathers on the beach. The narrator emphasizes the importance of balancing the environmental needs of humans with the needs of endangered wildlife species through land conservation and wildlife management programs.

A female loggerhead turtle lays eggs on the beach and baby turtles hatch and crawl toward the sea. The film shows a variety of birds, including limpkins, anhingas, hawks, ducks and a red cockaded woodpecker. A gopher turtle eats and burrows in scrubland pine forests, which the narrator describes as "part of an important ecosystem." Through burrowing, the highly adaptable turtle provides habitats for the endangered indigo snake. Footage shows a manatee and her babies swimming as the narrator explains that they are vulnerable to speeding motorboats.

The narrator discusses environmental success stories, such as the passing of laws that protect alligators and the decreased use of pesticides, which improved the health and viability of Brown Pelican eggs. According to the narrator, the best way to protect our "wildlife heritage" is to work together to set aside parcels of land for wildlife and create wildlife parks and wildlife sanctuaries. The film ends with shots of Apalachicola National Forest and Edward Ball Wildlife Foundation signs and additional scenes of animals, flowers, rivers and beaches. This film was produced by the Ed Ball Wildlife Foundation.

Corporate Creator

Ed Ball Wildlife Foundation

Corporate Subject

Apalachicola National Forest
Edward Ball Wildlife Foundation

Geographic Subject

Apalachicola National Forest

Coverage

Late 20th-Century Florida (1968-2000)

Subject

Wildlife conservation
Flora and fauna
Marine animals
Coastal animals