Guide to the Collection

Prepared by: John Marshall, Arthur R. Marshall Foundation

This collection of papers from Arthur R. Marshall starts with Marshall's March, 1972 Proposal for a Florida Environmental Institute (FEI) . The questions raised in the proposal are very contemporary, and indicate Art Marshall's appreciation for the system approach, and the system scientist, or "generalist" which he was. The particular copy digitized in this collection was found with papers establishing a Marshall Foundation in 1982, with the assistance of Marjory Stoneman Douglas, and her organization, Friends of the Everglades.

The next few items in the collection represent a series of "Petitions" entitled For the Future of Florida, REPAIR THE EVERGLADES, published quarterly from 1981 to 1983, by the Friends of the Everglades. The essense of this four page petition, known as the"Marshall Plan", makes for interesting comparison to The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) of the C&SF Project authorized by Congress in 1992, and now under consideration. Art Marshall has penned his approval on the 1982 edition, which appears virtually the same as the 1983 edition.

Art and Marjory took this petition to the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) per the June 11, 1981 Statement to the SFWMD Governing Board. This was not the first time, nor the last time, the Marshall Plan would go to SFWMD, per the 20 Nov 1980 Critique of Water Management in South Florida paper. A current perspective of the "Marshall Plan" and the interaction of Art & Marjory, as well as Johnny Jones, Art's legislative partner, is provided in the Spring 1988 issue of the Everglades Reporter.

The Kissimmee Basin - Lake Okeechobee restoration was and remained Art's primary focus. The issues were presented to Governor's conferences in 1972 and 1973, as indicated in the Energy & Growth, and the 1971-72 Water Management Bulletin autographed by Art Marshall. He had a way of circling things, his sign of unity. His short paper of 26 March, 1982, Another Prediction for the Everglades System, indicates his growing concern that his favorite project would not be completed in his lifetime. Art passed away in March, 1985. The fate of Kissimmee Basin restoration is still uncertain.

The Marshall Plan was also presented to the Florida and U.S. Congress per Statement to the Joint Committee of the Florida Legislature 17 Jan 72, and Statement to the Subcommittee on National Parks and Recreation, 15 Feb 72. An Arthur R. Marshall Foundation founder provides an historical punctuation mark: "We have not acted on it [the Marshall Plan] 26 years later", per the April 6, 1998 Palm Beach Post Article.

The initial collection is rounded out with a few more papers. South Florida - A Case Study in Carrying Capacity released 29 Dec 1972, is an overview of growth problems that also reads very contemporary, and answers many of the questions posed in the March 1972 FEI Proposal.

Also included is the document The Environmental Impact of the Big Cypress Swamp Jetport, released by the Dept of the Interior, for which Art was a major contributor. The lessons-learned here apply to the current Homestead Airport Controversy as a local issue and how it affects the current plans for Everglades restoration, in general.