Copeland in Collier County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)

"Father of the Fahkahatchee"

Mel Finn

— 1916-1971 —

"Father of the Fahkahatchee" Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, April 15, 2009

1. "Father of the Fahkahatchee" Marker

Inscription. Georgia native, adopted son of Florida, U.S. Army Air Corps veteran, U. of Miami graduate, attorney, founder of the Florida Nature Conservancy, member of Tropical Audubon, South Florida Orchid Society and self-trained field biologist, he criss-crossed the cutover Fahkahatchee, identified 45 varieties of orchids, nine found nowhere else.

Mel was the Fahkahatchee’s voice, dogged, persistent, abrasive, whatever it took; he badgered nature groups, led chest-deep field trips, wrote appeals to preserve this once mightiest of South Florida cypress strands. An ailing heart took him before his dream was realized but he had made his point. Florida funded acquisition, a buy-back program still underway.

Today, because of Mel Finn’s vision and persistence, you enjoy the recovering Fahkahatchee, main artery in the circulatory system of Southwest Florida. Outgrowth of Mel’s dream, a wilderness greenway now stretches fifty miles from the southeast corner of Lee County to the waters of Florida Bay — Gulf of Mexico. Greenway links are Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed, Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge, Fahkahatchee State

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Reserve and the Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge.

Mel, you made believers out of the rest of us and
were a pioneer in Florida’s land conservation efforts.
Friends of Mel Finn — 1998

Erected 1998 by Friends of Mel Finn.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Environment • Horticulture & Forestry • Parks & Recreational Areas.

Location. 25° 57.081′ N, 81° 21.612′ W. Marker is in Copeland, Florida, in Collier County. It is on Coast Line Drive just east of Janes Memorial Scenic Drive. Marker is mounted at ground-level, on a large limestone boulder, in front of the Fakahatchee Strand Preserve Park Office/Ranger Station. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 137 Coastline Drive, Copeland FL 34137, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is on Florida’s Gulf Coast.

It is also in the American South

and on the Gulf Coast.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Marker detail: Ghost Orchid — Polyrrhiza lindenii image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, April 15, 2009

2. Marker detail: Ghost Orchid — Polyrrhiza lindenii

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 7 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Tamiami Trail (approx. 2.9 miles away); The Cypress Swamp (approx. 4.4 miles away); Ochopee Post Office (approx. 5.2 miles away); Joanie's Blue Crab Cafe (approx. 5.3 miles away); Old Railway Depot (approx. 6.6 miles away); Old Collier County Courthouse (approx. 6.6 miles away); Hurricane Wilma (approx. 6.6 miles away); Rod & Gun Club (approx. 6.7 miles away).

Also see . . .
1. Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park. Beginning in the early 1940s the logging of cypress trees became prevalent in the Big Cypress Swamp. During the period between the early 1940s to the late 1950s the Fakahatchee Strand was also logged for its valuable bald cypress trees. Cypress logging was very successful and profitable until the late 1950s. (Submitted on March 24, 2021, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

2. Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park.

Fakahatchee Strand State Preserve Kiosk<br>(<i>located near marker</i>) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, April 15, 2009

3. Fakahatchee Strand State Preserve Kiosk
(located near marker)

Endangered and Threatened Species
(animals)
Florida Panther • Mangrove Fox Squirrel • Florida Black Bear • Everglades Mink • West Indian Manatee • Wood Stork• Peregrine Falcon • Red-cockaded Woodpecker • Florida Sandhill Crane • Eastern Brown Pelican • Southern Bald Eagle • Osprey

(plants)
Bird's Nest spleenwort • Narrow strap fern • Nodding Catopsis • Fuch's bromeliad • Hidden Orchid • Tall liparis • Fakahatchee orchid • Lipped orchid • Dwarf epidendrum • Snake orchid • Rat-tail orchid • Tiny orchid • Pendent orchid • Cone orchid • Leafless orchid • Cow-horn orchid • Night-scent orchid • Twisted air-plant • Fuzzy-wuzzy airplant

Natural Communities
Pine Flatwoods • Cypress Swamps • Mixed Pine and Cypress • Mixed Hardwood Swamps • Wet Prairies • Marshes • Mangrove Swamps • Bays, Creeks and Mudflats

ProtectionAll plant and animal life is protected in state parks. Do not remove, deface, mutilate or molest these natural resources. Regulations are strictly enforced.

Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park is the largest state park in Florida and is home to a variety of plant and animal species that can be found nowhere else in the continental United States. All of the trails in the park are cleared tram roads that were created when the land was logged in the 1940s through the 1960s. (Submitted on March 24, 2021, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

3. Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park (Wikipedia). Popular culture: The swamp, home of the rare Ghost Orchid (Dendrophylax lindenii), was featured in the novel The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean. The book was the source for Charlie Kaufman's screenplay for the movie Adaptation. (Submitted on March 24, 2021, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

Copeland Fire Tower image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, April 15, 2009

4. Copeland Fire Tower

(located near marker)

Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park Entrance image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, April 15, 2009

5. Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park Entrance

Red-Shouldered Hawk image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, April 15, 2009

6. Red-Shouldered Hawk

(spotted along park trail near marker)

Credits. This page was last revised on March 24, 2021. It was originally submitted on March 23, 2021, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 774 times since then and 33 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on March 24, 2021, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.