- Artist Clyde Butcher held an event at his Big Cypress National Preserve gallery to celebrate the Everglades and protest the nearby migrant detention center, dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.”
- Butcher and other speakers voiced concerns about the environmental impact of the facility, built on ecologically sensitive land previously slated for an airport.
- Members of the Miccosukee Tribe, whose sacred lands and burial grounds are near the center, also protested its construction.
- Critics questioned the lack of public input and environmental review, citing the emergency order used to bypass traditional development processes.
- The detention center, when fully operational, will hold up to 5,000 detainees, raising concerns about the impact on the small nearby town of Ochopee.
The Clyde Butcher Gallery in the Big Cypress National Preserve hummed with hundreds of visitors July 13 as the artist opened his shop to celebrate south Florida’s ecosystem while speaking against a nearby migrant detention facility some call Alligator Alcatraz.
Dozens of cars lined the remote stretch of the Tamiami Trail, just inside the Collier County border.
Environmental groups such as Friends of the Everglades hosted booths for visitors, while Butcher and others addressed the crowd inside the studio…