Travel with filmmaker Elam Stoltzfus along the Kissimmee River and surrounding regions. Meet the “Keepers of the Land” and experience a sense of place in the vast open spaces in the cattle country of Florida‘s private and public lands.
Throughout the centuries, the Everglades have inspired strong emotion and debate among soldiers and poets, politicians and citizens. Its history is as broad and sprawling as the River of Grass itself. Although many stories have been told about the Everglades – from drainage to restoration – few have been told about where it all begins: the Kissimmee River Basin. Restoration and protection of the natural values of this vast, watery landscape may well hold the key to restoration of the Greater Everglades ecosystem.
The Kissimmee Basin: The Northern Everglades invites you to take a trip up the Kissimmee Valley back through time to discover the well-reasoned, yet unforeseen, consequences of a flood control project that turned the 103-mile long meandering river full of life, into a 52-mile long, multi-million dollar over-engineered channel that drained the surrounding wetlands, caused the disappearance of large flocks of wading birds, and a significant decline of an abundant freshwater fishery.
“Kissimmee Basin area … that’s one of the areas of Florida that you can still go to and, if you look for it, it’s there. You can see Florida just like it was seventy-five, a hundred, or more years ago.” Patrick Smith, Author, A Land Remembered.
Producer, Director and Cinematography: Elam Stoltzfus
Associate Producer: Kimball Love
Host: Clyde Butcher
Narrator: Jim Fowler
Music: Ian Weir
Script: Matthew Porter
Editor: Joe Davenport
Consultant: Rick Smith
In the documentary, “Kissimmee Basin: The Northern Everglades”, cinematographer Elam Stoltzfus captures the magnificent beauty of Florida’s heartland. This story documents the unique history of the region and succinctly states contemporary issues that affect this area. By the end of the video, viewers are left with a better understanding as to what they can do to preserve the Kissimmee Basin for future generations.
- - Rick Dantzler, Co-chairman, Northern Everglades Alliance
With Kissimmee Basin: Northern Everglades, Elam Stoltzfus uses magnificent imagery and compelling testimonial to tell the story of the least understood and appreciated facet of Everglades restoration. The film is a must see for anyone seeking to better understand this extraordinary landscape, the innovative strategies to achieve its restoration, and the people who have banded together on its behalf.
- - Evan Hirsche, President, National Wildlife Refuge Association
The recently released
Kissimmee Basin: the Northern Everglades documentary is a compelling story
about people and the resilience of nature: the power of what we can do when we
all work together. Elam Stoltzfus has
captured the heart and soul of this under appreciated part of the Everglades
watershed. The Nature Conservancy has worked with ranchers in this landscape
for more than 30 years and even their colleagues from around the country are
surprised to hear that Florida’s cattle industry is one of the largest in the
U.S. It is important to tell this untold story, about the valuable role
of these ranch lands for storing water, providing clean air and sheltering an
amazing array of wildlife that benefits the millions of people who mostly live
along the coasts. It is exciting that this story is being told not just in
Florida but around the country. Thank you to everyone involved in making this
documentary.
- - Tricia Martin, The Nature Conservancy, Central
Florida Conservation Director
