Join us for a virtual event with Florida author Doug Alderson.
Crowdcast Link: https://www.crowdcast.io/e/meet-doug-alderson-
People have long been fascinated by the American alligator. Ever since humans arrived on the continent more than 15,000 years ago, the American alligator has been both feared and revered, celebrated and scorned, and often hunted for food and hide.
Once tourism began to take hold in the South as a real industry, especially in Florida, the alligator took on iconic and even mythical status. “One of the most picturesque features of Florida has always been that uncouth and fierce-looking reptile called the alligator,” wrote Nevin O. Winter in 1918. “Everybody who comes down here to the peninsula has an ambition to see one in the wild.”
Seminole Indians wrestled alligators for show. Alligator souvenirs and mascots often took what people feared—a sharp-toothed predator—and made it into something cute and cuddly.
Alligator-themed songs were recorded and released, including “See You Later Alligator” by Bill Haley and His Comets. Hollywood into created alligator-themed movies such as Alligator People. Alligators were also reportedly kept in the White House under two presidencies. And perhaps the most unusual alligator story was one that helped to nab Ma Barker and her son Fred when they were hiding out along Florida’s Lake Weir.
America’s Alligator examines the colorful and sometimes conflicted relationship our species has had with Alligator mississippiensis. Doug Alderson explores the country’s rich alligator mythology and how it inspired various forms of art, stories, photography, tourism and even humor.
Doug Alderson's articles and photographs have been featured in Native Peoples, Wildlife Conservation, American Forests, Sea Kayaker, Sierra, Mother Earth News, Shaman's Drum, Campus Life, America, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Florida Naturalist, Florida Sportsman, Tallahassee Magazine, Florida Wildlife and several others. He has won two national writing awards for his magazine features and several Florida writing competitions.
In addition to newspaper and magazine articles, Doug has authored several books including America's Alligator, A New Guide to Old Florida Attractions, Wild Florida Adventures, Simon's Wondrous Garden, The Great Florida Seminole Trail, Wild Florida Waters, Waters Less Traveled, The Ghost Orchid Ghost and Other Tales From the Swamp, The Vision Keepers: Walking For Native Americans and the Earth, New Dawn for the Kissimmee River, Encounters with Florida's Endangered Wildlife and Seminole Freedom.
Doug is the former associate editor of Florida Wildlife magazine, and he edited A Florida Wildlife Anthology: 1947-2003. Doug has also worked as a lobbyist for several environmental groups and as a naturalist for the Tallahassee Museum of History and Natural Science. In between jobs, he hiked the entire Appalachian Trail, coordinated a group walk across the United States, and he backpacked across Europe.
Doug worked for the Florida Office of Greenways and Trails for more than 15 years. In that job, he scouted the 1,515-mile Florida Circumnavigational Saltwater Paddling Trail, coordinated the state paddling trails system and served as assistant bureau chief. In 2015, Paddle Florida awarded him their first ever Environmental Leadership Award. He is currently the Outreach and Advocacy Director for the Apalachicola Riverkeeper.
He lives south of Tallahassee with his wife, Cyndi, and adult daughter, Cheyenne.