Everglades Patrol

Author: Tom Shirley with Foreword by Patsy West

As law enforcement officer and game manager for the Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission, Lt. Tom Shirley was the law in one of the last true frontiers in the nation--the Florida Everglades. 

In Everglades Patrol, Shirley shares the stories from his beat--an ecosystem larger than the state of Rhode Island. His vivid narrative includes dangerous tales of hunting down rogue gladesmen and gators and airboat chases through the wetlands in search of illegal hunters and moonshiners.

During his thirty-year career (1955-1985), Shirley saw the Glades go from frontier wilderness to "ruination" at the hands of the Army Corps of Engineers. He watched as dikes cut off the water flow and controlled floods submerged islands that had supported man and animals for 3,000 years, killing much of the wildlife he was sworn to protect. Tom Shirley is an active advocate for the protection and restoration of the Everglades wetlands to its original ecosystem and for acknowledgment of the Gladesmen's "traditional use" rights. In 1999, he received the Francis S. Taylor Outdoorsman of the Year Award for his efforts to conserve and protect the Everglades.

"Offers rare insight into the dangers, thrills, and uncertainties of resource management when people and politics collide. Tom Shirley writes with sincerity and dedication about the wildlife he pledged to protect over fifty years ago."--Laura Ogden, coauthor of Gladesmen: Gator Hunter, Moonshiners, and Skiffers

"A must-read for any person truly interested in the Greater Everglades Ecosystem. Tom's book allows the reader to gain a better understanding of how important the Everglades are to sportsmen and society."--Jack Moller, officer, Florida Wildlife Federation

Hardcover; 6 x 9

Pages: 288