GRAND SWAMP
Disney Wilderness Preserve, Florida, US.A. ©1998
"The Disney Wilderness Preserve is the result of an innovative agreement between The Nature Conservancy, government regulatory agencies, and Disney, which may change the course of restoration and mitigation practices in Florida. I was curious to see what it was that Disney and The Nature Conservancy had worked to protect, so when I was invited to photograph the Preserve, I jumped at the chance. The 12,500 acres contain some of the most beautiful country I have seen. It does my heart good to know this part of Florida will still exist in its natural state years from now, because Disney and The Nature Conservancy cared enough to save it. "

CLYDE BUTCHER
THE NEW MILLENIUM

"AIl primeval areas of landscape have the same essence, no matter where they are located," says Clyde. After a decade of photographing Florida, Clyde wanted to express this feeling by

reaching beyond the primeval swamps of Florida into other areas. He's chosen to go beyond Florida in order to help show people that there is a unity between all undisturbed naturaI places, whether the peak of a renowned mountain range, a stream-bed in an urban watershed, or a wetland in his beloved Florida. Clyde's hope is to educate and inspire; to let people know our undisturbed natural land is a special place and to reinforce the message that the way we take care of it determines the future quality of life for our society.

In 1997, Clyde began photographing other areas of the country. He was invited to photograph in Rocky Mountain National Park. "I spent two weeks as'Artist in Residence.'The rangers kept apologizing for the poor weather, but I thought it was wonderful. Every day brought rolling thunderheads that gave me dramatic skies and fresh, clean air. What more could I ask for?"

Since then he has photographed in Washington's Olympic National Park, Utah's Escalante Canyon, the Smokey Mountains and, most recently, the forests of South Bohemia in the Czech Republic. His images of the Czech countryside will go on exhibit this summer at the National Gallery of the Czech Republic in Prague.

But Clyde's first love is here in Florida. Florida is where his heart is. So, if you happen by a big burly man standing waist deep in the swamp, perched high on a ladder above the sawgrass, or precariously perched over the center console of a flats boat - know that you have seen the artist at work. For Clyde, the swamp, the bay and the hammock have become part of him; without them he would be incomplete. And, just perhaps, without Clyde, our vision of Florida would be incomplete.

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