Apalachicola River: An American Treasure Book

"Clyde's awe-inspiring photographs offer a window into many wondrous aspects of the river. . . Clyde has immortalized another piece of Florida's natural and cultural heritage for generations to enjoy."--from the Foreword by Governor Jeb Bush

"Clyde Butcher and the Apalachicola River are a perfect marriage . . . In this book, Clyde's classic black and white photographs of natural Florida are joined with the mystical beauty of the Apalachicola."--from the Introduction by Senator Bob Graham

Clyde Butcher's photographic journey along the Apalachicola and its tributaries captures a special, little-known part of Florida where much of the environment is still in its natural state. This hundred-mile waterway from the Georgia border to the Gulf of Mexico winds between steep bluffs, through rich cypress forests, and across grassy glades to provide the lifeblood for a vast expanse of undeveloped country. Fed by the larger Chattahoochee and Flint Rivers, the Apalachicola and its surrounding environment are acutely vulnerable to the impacts of upstream development, and they still bear scars from decades of dredging along the middle section of the river.

Moving with an artist's eye through this landscape, Butcher documents the river's blackwater grandeur as well as the quiet beauty of individual locations--waterfalls, cypress-filled creeks, spreading wetlands, a striking array of rare plants, and the turbid, serpentine tributaries of one of the richest estuarine systems in the northern hemisphere. From uplands to Apalachicola Bay, Butcher's remarkable images share the beauties of a very special region with an uncertain future.

Apalachicola River--An American Treasure is the companion to a PBS documentary by Elam Stolzfus of Live Oak Productions.

Clyde Butcher has recently been honored by the State of Florida with the highest award that can be given to a private citizen, the Artists Hall of Fame Award, for his photographic excellence. He has also received the Conservation Colleague Award from The Nature Conservancy, and the Sierra Club's Ansel Adams Conservation Award, given for excellence in photography and contributions to the public awareness of the environment. He was also chosen Person of the Week on the ABC Peter Jennings Evening News program, and has received the Heartland Community Service Award from the State of Florida.