Outside the Oasis Visitor Center, a sign angles along the boardwalk's wooden railing. To the right, a measuring pole stands in the water and is attached to the side of the railing.
The title appears over a photo of a yellowish-brown Florida panther peering down from the branches of a pine tree, an inset aerial map, and an illustration of the measuring pole.
Sign Text in English and Spanish:
"What does a Florida panther need? Dry ground for resting, denning, and hunting — like the hardwood forests of the Big Cypress. In this flat landscape, sea level rise threatens to force panthers from these protected lands to agricultural and suburban landscapes farther north. As Earth's warming temperatures melt glaciers and expand ocean waters, it's important to curb activities that cause sea level rise, like burning fossil fuels."
A map shows the Cypress Habitat towards the southwestern tip of the Florida peninsula. The Cypress Habitat is surrounded by Agriculture to the north, Everglades to the southeast, Mangroves to the southwest, and Urban to the northwest. An arrow points to a location in the southern part of the Habitat: You Are Here.
Caption:
"Rising seas will shrink panther habitat as they engulf Florida's coastline."
On the map, a white dotted line labeled "future projected coastline after 3 feet of sea level rise" shows how the southwestern coastline will move inland through the mangroves to the edge of the cypress habitat.
On the left side of the panel, an illustration shows rising waters on a tall pole over time, with colored marker points—just like the pole in the water. From bottom to top:
Blue zero marker: Average sea level in 2000. Although this marker is on the sign, Zero is not shown on the nearby pole because average sea level is underground.
Red three foot marker: Projected sea level in 2100, which is also below ground level.
Yellow marker: Average elevation of cypress stand across the highway is about five feet above current sea level, which is just a few inches above ground where the pole is attached.
Another yellow marker: Average elevation of pineland habitat north of visitor center is about six feet above current sea level which is just below the floor of the boardwalk where you are standing.
Red 12 foot marker: Projected sea level in 2300, which is a few inches above the boardwalk railing.