How a detention center awoke a decades-old environmental fight

An immigrant detention center dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” sits in the middle of the Everglades. Several environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe are suing to close it.

But this is not the first time the land under the detention center has been at the heart of environmental controversy.

In the 1960s, plans to build the world’s largest jetport there took shape. An environmental awakening led to new laws and agencies, the creation of Big Cypress National Preserve, Regional Planning Councils, and may have sparked the first Earth Day. The public pushback ultimately stopped all construction at the site. One of the only things left was a single runway to be used as a training airport.

Now, the airstrip has been converted into a detention area with rows of tents to hold thousands of immigrants. The lawyers fighting in court to shut down the detention center are using the same laws enacted after construction of the jetport was stopped.

Your Florida presents this full-circle story told through an audio feature and a five-part digital spread. Follow along in the fight to preserve the Everglades through this comprehensive timeline highlighting key moments that reignited the conservation effort.

Environment

How the 'Alligator Alcatraz' detention center stirred up a decades-old environmental fight

The immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades has been embroiled in controversy even before it opened last summer. But a key component is how environmentalists are fighting to shut it down.

Environment

‘Unfinished, but not abandoned’: The Everglades Jetport that never was

In the 1960s, a proposal was made to build the world's largest jetport in the heart of the Everglades. It was a battle fought and won by environmentalists — leaving a single runway as a lasting reminder.

Environment

She fought to save the Everglades. Now, she'd be 'outraged' about a renewed decades-old battle

Activist Marjory Stoneman Douglas formed Friends of the Everglades to fight against a proposed jetport in the late 1960s. Now, the group is involved in a lawsuit over development on that same property.

Environment

He's spent years photographing the Everglades. Now, he's fighting to save the place that rescued him

Clyde Butcher said photographing the Florida Everglades saved him after his son died. Now, he's advocating to preserve the ecosystem, calling it a "place to renew your soul."

Environment

Silver linings from the Everglades Jetport: How an environmental battle spurred new laws and designations

The battle to prevent the Everglades Jetport may have influenced some important laws and events aimed at protecting the environment, wildlife, and parks.