Johnny Jones, executive director of the Florida Wildlife Federation in the 1970s and 1980s, has passed away. He was a leader in combating the environmental destruction that confronts Florida today: ill-conceived drainage plans, the over development of marginal lands, and the destruction of the Everglades ecosystem. Jones spearheaded the major effort to address the ecological disaster inflicted on Lake Okeechobee when the once-meandering Kissimmee River was channelized.

Jones was a leader in the effort to highlight this threat to, in Nat Reed’s words, “the liquid heart of south Florida,” and his efforts led the legislature and finally the Congress to acquire thousands of acres of land to restore the Kissimmee River as a functional part of the Okeechobee basin ecosystem. His vision for this ecosystem included expanding restoration lands in the EAA in order to reconnect the lake to the Everglades. He was also influential in securing protection for the Big Cypress Preserve despite the fact that his constituency had serious concerns about ORV use in the area.

Johnny Jones was the unique leader, passionately devoted to the Everglades and wildlife conservation.  He will be greatly missed, but is still an inspiration to all persons determined to save the Everglades for future generations.