Marjory Stoneman Douglas

Marjory Stoneman Douglas spent the early part of her writing career advocating women's suffrage and rights for the poor living in South Florida. In the '20's, her focus shifted to preserving the Everglades. Her 1947 book, Everglades: River of Grass, changed the conversation about South Florida's wetlands. Up to that point, folks had perceived them as a useless marsh that was best dried out and developed. She led the charge to restore the Everglades and in 1970 founded Friends of the Everglades, a group that still works to preserve that fragile ecosystem