 The remnants of the thick hardwood forest of cypress, hickory and sweetgum that once lined the historic Ocklawaha River before the Rodman Reservor was built over 70 years ago. The inudation of 9,000 acres of the river's floodplain killed everything growing there. Once every three years, the reservoir is drawn down to control aquatic weeds. We paddled there in Feb. 2008 and this is what we saw.  Another view of the normally submerged trunks that used to be a hardwood forest. The spinning reel rig attached to my hull was lost by a fisherman. Reservoir level is down about 8 feet during this visit.  A juvenile wood stork or "iron head" in the dead forest during the Rodman draw-down. Water level is usually at the top of the tree trunks.  A Gulf Fritillary, one of our Florida butterflies that migrates from the north to the south in the fall and early winter here. There's lots of wildflowers, berries, nuts and critters simmering in the woods at this time, and with the glorious weather, it's a blessing to be able to be out in the midst of it all. (This little guy paused just long enough for me to get the shot.)  Here we are in the JSL submersible under 2,000 feet worth of Cuban sea during an expedition there by Harbor Branch Oceanographic. |
Just the Facts, Ma'am A Caribbean Reef Shark & me. (Thanks to old friend and pro Norbert Wu for the use of the image.) Bill Belleville Environmental Writer & Documentary Filmmaker Themes: nature, wildlife, conservation, adventure-travel Email: Bill@ ARTICLES: Over 1,000 published in OnEarth, Sierra, Audubon, Outside, Sports Afield, Oxford American, Salon.com, WorldHum.com, Islands, Aqua, Sea Frontiers, American Way, New York Times Syndicate, Parade, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Denver Post and Newsday Travel, Reader’s Digest, Destination Discovery, Fast Company, Christian Science Monitor, Southern, Newsweek (as special correspondent) et. al. NON-FICTION BOOKS: • "Rediscovering Rawlings, a River and Time: The Making of In Marjorie's Wake on Florida's St. Johns River" (Feb. 2008) • "Deep Cuba: The Inside Story of an American Oceanographic Expedition (University of Georgia Press. 2002). [Kirkus Reviews: ‘Engaging…Eloquent"] • "Sunken Cities, Sacred Cenotes and Golden Sharks: Travels of a Water-Bound Adventurer" (University of Georgia Press.Spring 2004) [Anthology of adventure-travel essays and articles] • "Losing it All to Sprawl: How Progress Ate my Cracker Landscape" (University Press of Florida. Spring 2006). A chronicle of my experiences living in an Old Florida homestead that became threatened by sprawl. • "River of Lakes: A Journey on Florida’s St. Johns River" (University of Georgia Press 2000). [Miami Herald: The ‘definitive book on the St. Johns] CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHOLOGIES: • "Best Travel Writing of 2006". ("A Million Years of Memory") • "Salon.Com’s Wanderlust" (Random House 2000) ("Searching for Mr. Watson") • "Wild Heart of Florida" (University Press of Florida 1999) ("Whales Once Breached Here") • "The Year’s Best Stories of Adventure" (Adrenaline Press 2001) ("Diving with Sharks") • "Elemental South: Earth, Air, Fire, and Water" (University of Georgia Press. Fall 2004) • "Naked: Writers Uncover the Way We Live On Earth" (Everglades) (Four Walls Eight Windows) NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO DOCUMENTARIES & COMMENTARY via WMFE-FM, NPR affiliate Multi-part Serial Reports: "The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park: Put Another Coral Polyp on the Barbee, Mate" "Nicaragua’s Miskito Coast: Turtles or Turmoil?" "The Florida Keys: Can Margaritaville Manage a Marine Sanctuary?" "Environmental Notebook" (A regular series of environmental commentary) NPR'S "LIVING ON EARTH" "Manatees & Blue Spring". Associate Producer/ PUBLIC TELEVISION DOCUMENTARIES "Searching for Xanadu" (co-produced and scripted) "Conch Cowboys" (co-produced and scripted) "Wekiva: Legacy or Loss?" (co-produced and scripted) OTHER DOCUMENTARIES "Off the Map", a 13-part series on kayaking rivers and waterways of Florida broadcast on the Sunshine Network. TEXTBOOKS & OTHER • "Elements of Literature" ("Inside a Blue Hole") Holt, Rinehart & Winston • "Sustainable Travel Handbook 2006" (www.travelearning.com) • "From Eden to Sahara" reprint. Foreword. • "Naturally Central Florida" report by MyRegion.org ('St. Johns Mosaic') FILM AWARDS: Suncoast Emmy (2001), Telly Award Finalist (1999, 2000, 2001), Aurora Award Platinum Best of Show (2002) For writer & co-producer of each film. OTHER AWARDS & HONORS * "Losing it all to Sprawl" named one of "Best Books of 2006" by the national Library Journal * "Losing it all to Sprawl" given the 1000 Friends of Florida's Al Burt Award for Excellence in Journalism in 2006. * "Losing it all to Sprawl" named to the "Just Read, Florida!" recommended curriculum list by the Florida Commissioner of Education * "Losing it all to Sprawl" First Annual Florida Book Awards 2007. (Bronze) * Carol & Bob Grimes Environmental Award. 2006 * Certificate of Award of the Order of the South (The Southern Academy of Letters, Arts and Sciences, Inc.) 2006. * Award of Excellence: Outstanding Journalist 2006. The Florida Planning & Zoning Association. * Environmental Writer of the Year respectively from Florida Audubon & Florida Wildlife Federation. * Michael J. Shaara Outstanding Writer (2000) for ‘River of Lakes.’ * Excellence in Column Writing (Florida Magazine Association) * 2004 'Champion of Sustainability (Nature) named by the Healthy Community Iniatives of Orlando (2004). * "River of Lakes" selected as the choice for Central Florida Reads program for the region sponsored by the Orlando Sentinel and the Orlando Public Library for 2005-6. "Losing it all To Sprawl"; "Sunken Cities"; and "River of Lakes" named to national ASLE recommended curriculum reading list for the study of literature and the environment. OTHER: * Co-founder of Equinox Documentaries, Inc. (EquinoxDocumentaries.org), a non-profit 501.c3 dedicated to using films & related media for environmental education * Member: Speakers Bureau. Florida Humanities Council. (FlaHum.org) * Member: Author's Guild * Guest lecturer: Rollins College, University of Central Florida, University of North Florida, Stetson College, U of Florida's School of Law, USF, SCC, VCC, Emory University, Jacksonville University, Steinhart Aquarium (San Francisco); New England Aquarium’s Lowell Lecture Series (Boston), et. al. * Speaker: Miami International Book Fair; Earth Kinship Conference, First Coast Writers Festival, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Writers Workshop, Much Ado About Books (Jacksonville), Amelia Book Island Festival, Sarasota Festival of Books, St. Pete Times Festival of Reading, Vero Beach Book Festival, Indian River Literary Society, Naples Book Festival, Natural Lands Acquisition Conference, Natural Areas National Conference, Florida Native Plant State Conference, et. al. * Keynote speaker: Turks and Caicos; first annual eco-tourist conference. Providenciales, T&C, West Indies. * Keynote speaker: First Annual Marine Ecotourism Symposium, International EcoTourism Society, Hawaii. * Facilitator; speaker. Inagural St. Johns River Classroom, Blue Spring, Fla. St. Johns River Alliance. * Speaker, Eco-heritage Seminar, Trinidad, West Indies. GRANTS: Florida Humanities Council (Water essay in Forum; Public presentation of oral history of Dessie Smith) Caribbean Conservation Corporation (For "Images of Miskito Coast) Florida Wildlife Commission (for "Wekiva: Legacy or Loss?") River Branch Foundation (For Equinox Documentaries) PROFILES OR NEWS ABOUT BILL BELLEVILLE (a partial listing): C-Span Book Channel Associated Press Earth Island Journal Bob Edwards Show (XL Radio) Daytona Beach News Journal Halifax Magazine Rodale's Scuba Diving Radio Havana Daily Times (Salisbury, MD) Sanford (FL) Herald WMFE-TV (PBS Affiliate) WKMG-TV (CBS Affiliate) WFTV-TV (ABC Affiliate) WMFE-FM's Arts Connection Florida Humanities Council Radio Contentious.com Tampa Tribune Miami Herald Tallahassee Democrat Florida Times Union Florida Today Southern Living International Travel News Folio Weekly Orlando Magazine Orlando Business Journal Orlando Weekly Orlando Sentinel WMFE-FM Arts Connection Milkweed's 'World as Home' web series Library Journal Kirkus Reviews Publishers Weekly Booklist Sport Diver E Magazine H-Net South Florida Sun-Sentinel Lakeland (Fla.) Ledger Natural History magazine Florida Review ACADEMIC CONTRACT WORK: Writer-in-Residence for 2004-2005 at the University of South Florida (St. Petersburg, Fla.) in its Florida Studies program. AS VOLUNTEER: • Reef Relief, Key West, Fla. Member, Board of Directors • St. Johns RiverKeeper, Jacksonville, Fla. Advisory Board • Friends of the Wekiva River, Inc., Longwood, Fla. Member, Board of Directors. 2008-9 Vice President. • Volunteer Media Director: Natural Lands & Trails Committee (Seminole County, Fla.) • Adult Literacy Tutor: American Literacy Program, SCC • Co-Founder: Backcountry Flyfishing Association (Central Florida) NON-RELATED PROFESSIONAL WORK: School Social Worker (SSA), Baltimore City Public School System in Inner City. (Two years). COLLEGE: B.A. English OTHER Instruction a/ SCUBA Basic; Open Water; Advanced; Cavern Dive Certification for Oceanographic cruises (HBOI) CPR |
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