GLADES COUNTY -- After nearly a year of research, planning and meetings, the non-profit volunteer group Friends of Glades County Parks (FGCP) recently began implementing some of their intended projects.

The group was formed in June 2023 and has been working with Glades County to provide cosmetic upgrades and signage to its four county parks.

FGCP will provide commemorative signs that acknowledge each of the park’s namesakes as well as educational and informational signs. Other goals include invasive plant removal projects and preparatory assistance to help the county apply for state grants.

“Considering the limited operational budget available to Glades County, we believe they’re doing a good job,” said FGCP Board Member Jeff Barnes. “Our group is simply offering some cosmetic refinements to the parks.”

Glades County is the fourth least-populated of Florida’s 67 counties with a population of approximately 13,000. Its residents are concentrated primarily in six communities: the City of Moore Haven, Buckhead Ridge, Lakeport, Palmdale, Muse and Ortona. Maintenance crews must sometimes drive an hour or more to reach various county properties, many of which are 30-60 miles apart.

Contributing factors to its small tax base are the thousands of acres within conservation easements, agricultural lands, and state/federal government-owned lands that will never be developed. This puts an inequitable burden on the county to maintain its infrastructure and recreational areas.

“Glades County does a great job at park maintenance,” said FGCP President, Kate Adams. “It can be very challenging considering the great distance between the many county properties they manage in addition to the parks.”

Adams says most residents appreciate the fact that rural Glades County will never become densely-populated. She says it’s commendable that the county has four large parks given its small population.

FGCP has conducted private grassroots fundraising over the past year in order to donate supplemental signage and cosmetic improvements to the parks. It will also utilize volunteers for hand-removal of certain invasive plants from the Larry R. Luckey, Sr. Indian Mound Park (IMP).  Board members have met with the county manager and presented its goals to the Glades County Board of Commissioners in October 2023.

The 110-mile Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail is a section of the Florida National Scenic Trail (FNST) that encircles the lake. Alvin Ward Sr. Park and Margaret Van de Velde Park are both located adjacent to the lake. The FNST section between the two parks is paved and is a popular path for both cyclists and hikers. Each of these parks has free public boat ramps, picnic table pavilions and restrooms.

“Two of our parks are located in sweet spots for fantastic sunrises and sunsets,” said FGCP Board Member Debbie Clay. “Since they’re directly adjacent to Lake Okeechobee and the Florida Trail, there’s a lot to enjoy.”

Within the Van de Velde Park is the Sam Griffin Observation Tower that provides visitors commanding views of northern Lake Okeechobee and the surrounding marshes to the west. The tower’s ramps make it wheelchair-accessible.

“The Sam Griffin Tower and the entire Van de Velde Park are nice spots for early-morning bird watching,” said FGCP Board Member Garnett Ahern. “Cyclists also appreciate having county parks at both ends of the 16-mile paved section of the Lake O’ Trail.”

The Vance Whidden Park off SR 78 is also adjacent to the paved pedestrian-bike path that is part of the FNST. It’s a deliberately undeveloped park surrounded by the western marshes of Lake Okeechobee that’s been a popular airboat stop for decades. It’s also the site of daily exercise by year-round and seasonal residents who walk or bike the Whidden “figure-eight” paved trail.

The largest park in Glades County is the Larry R. Luckey Sr. Indian Mound Park (IMP) located in the community of Ortona. Developed in 1989 on the site of a former sand mine, the 60-acre parcel contains evidence of extensive earthworks constructed by indigenous people.

Archaeologists believe that the Ortona area was inhabited as early as the late Archaic Period 3,000 years ago. Using ground-penetrating radar and nearly 200 years of various records, archaeologists documented evidence of prior earthworks and canals at IMP that appear to have been built as early as 800 years ago.

Native people in many parts of south Florida built canal networks and mounds for various purposes. The structures at IMP included a temple mound that would have been the highest point in Glades County, over 22 feet tall. The mounds were largely destroyed by the 1940’s either by treasure-hunters, short-sighted explorers or modern construction projects that borrowed sand from the mounds.

The archaeologist who conducted surveys at IMP in the 1980’s and 1990’s is working with FGCP to expand the educational kiosk. It is a slow process to comply with the state’s historic preservation regulations, but they’re optimistic that improvements will materialize within the coming 12-18 months.

“First and foremost, IMP is a historic site and nature park.” said FGCP Board Member Douglas Allen. “We’ll expand the signage and educational kiosks, but our priority will always be preserving it just the way it is now.”

FGCP has recommended that Glades County eventually remove the degraded (and currently closed) boardwalk that was built over one of the mound’s remains when the park was first created. The group believes that preservation of the earthen remains is paramount, and that the boardwalk should not be rebuilt. They’ll continue to work with archaeologists to expand the educational kiosks that will explain in greater detail how the earthworks looked 800 years ago.

According to FGCP members, Glades County residents appreciate the lack of pavement at IMP. Although the land was disturbed years ago by the former sand mine, native plants are being coaxed to thrive by removing invasive ones. The Resurrection Ferns and other native plants have deliberately been allowed to take over the roofs of small pavilions and sheds. The invasive plant removal project will be gentle and ongoing.

“The trees and plants at IMP are a big part of what makes it so special,” said FGCP Board Member Karen LaPorte. “Our invasive plant removals will be conducted solely by-hand without the use of any herbicides or motorized equipment.”

IMP is the site of the Ortona Cane Grinding Festival held annually on the first Saturday of February. The historic cane grinder is a fixture at the center of the park’s main pavilion area, surrounded by moss-covered oaks.

What began decades ago as a small community enterprise by the late Vance Storter and Williams families has grown to an event that hosts dozens of vendors, a barbeque at the park’s permanent rotisserie and cane grinding demonstrations. The Williams’ extended family continues to host the festival entirely with volunteers and does not charge a fee to festival vendors.

FGCP is a non-profit, volunteer organization in which membership is open to anyone regardless of residency. Supporting members are not required to volunteer their time or labor. Annual membership dues are $20 per member.

“We’re grateful for the donations we’ve received that already funded the commemorative and other park signs,” said FGCP Board Member Margi Vanderbent. “We do, however, need more members, donations and volunteers. We can accomplish a lot for the county parks with just a little bit of help.”

For more information, contact FGCP by email: FriendsOfGCParks@yahoo.com.