The club was formed in
1950 by eight men, interested in conserving the wildlife population in
the Big Cypress and Everglades. At the time the State of Florida had only
recently established the Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission.
The club is located
at Monroe Station, 40 miles due west of Miami, immediately south of the
western intersection of the Tamiami Trail and Loop Road (state road 94).
The club property consists of 80 acres, the clubhouse and service buildings
plus a camp ground. A paid custodian maintains the grounds at all times.
There are only about 150 members, the club membership is kept small, because
the club wants to insure that it is composed only of those people that
have worked for the clubs objectives.
The most important thing
about the Club membership is that virtually everone truly loves the Everglades
and the Big Cypress and is personally prepared to work hard to protect
it. Members work closely with the Game Department officers in reporting
game violations, assessing game populations and water levels. The club
has supported projects to propagate game through releases into under-populated
areas. It has dug water holes in dry weather and fed animals in wet
and flooding weather. We have supported Youth Camps and both Boy Scout
and Girl Scout clubs. A number of club members have assisted law enforcement,
fire and emergency forces in performing rescue work when airplanes have
crashed or have been forced to land in the deep swamp and to fight fires.
The club holds an annual
"Wild Hog Barbecue", its sole fund raiser to cover its expenses and conservation
efforts.
This information is excerpted from the book "Forty Years In The Everglades", By Calvin R. Stone, a founding member of the club.
Mailing Address: ECSC, P.O. Box 524005, Miami, Florida 33152