In 1905, the sprawling estuaries of South Florida were a hotbed of sinister activity. Men with shotguns quietly skulked around the mangroves, marshes, and bays of present-day Everglades National Park, staking out rookeries of birds to kill and sell for their feathers. Plume hunting had just been outlawed, which made plumage all the more coveted. So the Florida Audubon Society hired a family man from the small town of Flamingo to be the region’s official bird guardian. Guy Bradley was America’s original game warden, and he was the first to…
