Hernando de Soto's "Piggy Banks" & Other Such Disasters
On Hurricane Damage to De Soto National Memorial, Hernando Himself, Payeng's Bamboo Plants vs. The World & How Razorbacks Can Teach Us About the Compounding Effect of Environmental Impacts
I had the chance to sit down with a friend and Park Ranger, who is currently stationed at the De Soto National Memorial in Manatee County, Florida. In lieu of Hurricane Milton impacts, their visitor center, grounds, and facilities are all closed - and may remain so for up to three years. This closure raises concerns about the renewal of employment contracts, as the National Parks budget for staffing faces potential cuts.
The National Park Service (NPS) is struggling. The House of Representatives recently passed a spending bill for 2025 that slashes over $200 million from the NPS budget, a 6% reduction from previous years that could result in the loss of 1,000 employees. This comes at a time when national parks are already understaffed, with a 23% decline in staffing levels since 2010 despite increased park visitation.
Less funding will eventually lead to reduced visitor services, maintenance backlogs, and challenges in protecting natural and cultural resources. Local economies that rely on park visitation will also be at threat.
The situation at De Soto National Memorial, where potential job losses and a prolonged closure are anticipated, illustrates the severity of the challenges facing our NPS. Advocates are urging Congress to reconsider these cuts and provide adequate funding to ensure the preservation and enjoyment of America's national parks for future generations. If you would like to contact your members of Congress on this issue, use the Legislator Lookup Tool (provided by the National Parks Action Fund) to quickly find your representatives’ contact information. And if you’re not really sure what to say, message me and I’ll provide you with the copy of what I sent.
The De Soto National Memorial may not be open at the moment, but we can still appreciate and reflect on the insights this park has to offer. It is known most for its historical significance, as it marks the first extensive organized exploration by Europeans of this region.
The Sordid History of Hernando de Soto
Hernando de Soto was born in Spain around 1496-97, leaving his semi-noble (but relatively unwealthy) family at the age of fourteen to seek fortune and glory - a little soon if you ask me, but alright. Out in Central America, he joined an expedition and participated in conquests, gaining a reputation as a skilled horseman and fighter. His conquest of the Inca Empire gained him the wealth and notoriety he had been looking for, and eventually he led an expedition of his own circa 1539.
Hernando de Soto's expedition through the southeastern United States was undoubtedly marked by brutality and exploitation. King Charles V instructed him and his men to treat the native populations with respect while attempting peaceful conversion to Christianity; de Soto's actions were a stark violation of this mandate.
His forces engaged in widespread violence, including the massacre of villagers, enslavement of native people, and the destruction of their homes and sacred sites. De Soto employed tactics of terror, often taking chiefs hostage to extort food and supplies, and meting out brutal punishments for any perceived resistance.
Throughout de Soto’s pursuit of gold, riches, and remote locations, he also brought “piggy banks” from Cuba to the southeastern United States.
In other words, he would leave groups of Iberian pigs behind along the way to ensure food for the return journey. The pigs reproduced and spread throughout the area, eventually becoming feral. Today, Florida has an estimated population of over 500,000 feral hogs, making it one of the states with the largest populations.
Feral Hog Ecology: Global Impacts of an Invasive Species
Ecosystem Disruption: Feral hogs root around in the soil, bulldozing through plants, habitats, and entire ecosystems. This disrupts the natural balance, making it harder for native species to thrive.
Competition with Native Wildlife: Hogs compete with native animals like deer and turkeys for food and resources. This can put a strain on those populations, making it harder for them to survive.
Water Quality Impacts: Their rooting behavior can also pollute water sources. They stir up mud and sediment, making water unsafe for drinking and harming aquatic life.
Agricultural Damage: Hungry hogs can decimate crops, causing huge economic losses for farmers. Imagine spending months carefully tending your fields, only to have an army of pigs come in and devour everything in sight!
Disease Transmission: Feral hogs can carry diseases that are harmful to both humans and livestock. They can spread diseases like brucellosis, pseudorabies, and even E. coli.
Carbon Emissions: A new study published in Global Change Biology reveals that wild pigs are a significant contributor to climate change. When they disrupt the earth, they release stored carbon dioxide into the atmosphere - up to 4.9 million metric tons of CO2 annually, which is equivalent to the emissions produced by 1.1 million cars.
Hernando’s conquering was cut short when he died of fever three to four years later along the Mississippi River. He will not be missed.
The “piggy banks” he left throughout Florida remain, however, and they have much to teach us about how one individual choice can have a lasting impact on the environment, ecosystem, and natural order of events.
Are You Calling Me A Pig?
The average American's day is filled with actions that, while seemingly mundane, contribute to environmental problems. We wake up in climate-controlled homes, powered by electricity often generated from fossil fuels, and hop in our cars, releasing greenhouse gases with every mile driven. We grab coffee in disposable cups, packaged in plastic and lined with non-recyclable materials. Our workplaces are filled with single-use plastics, from water bottles to individually wrapped snacks. Evenings might involve ordering takeout, delivered in excessive packaging, or heading to the mall to purchase cheaply made, trendy clothing that quickly ends up in landfills.
These everyday choices, multiplied across millions of people, contribute to a cycle of waste, pollution, and overconsumption that has far-reaching environmental consequences. When a person believes it’s not up to them to reduce waste or adopt sustainable practices into their everyday lives—because it’s “industry” and “big corporations” who are doing all the polluting—they neglect to consider the magnitude of compounding effect:
Small Choices + Consistency + Time = Significant Results
While it's true that industries and corporations have a massive impact, millions of individual choices, when added together, create a significant force.
Think of it like this: if everyone throws a single piece of plastic on the ground, it won't seem like much at first. But imagine millions of people doing that every day – the result would be disastrous. If that were the “extreme” on the spectrum of pollution worldwide, right now, we’re somewhere in the middle… and trending south fast.
Jadav’s Bamboo vs. The World
The same principle applies to positive actions. Jadav Payeng, a forestry worker and environmental activist, lived on a river island in India's Assam region. He was deeply affected by the sight of dead snakes piled on the sandbar after a flood. The barren landscape, stripped of vegetation, offered no shade and led to the snakes' demise.
So, he started planting bamboo saplings.
This simple act, repeated day after day, year after year, transformed the once-bald sandbar into a lush forest within decades. The Molai forest, as it is now known, covers over 1,300 acres and is home to a diverse range of flora and fauna, including Bengal tigers, Indian rhinoceros, and elephants. He even posts pictures of them, and much more, on his Instagram page!
Payeng's dedication to this personal project not only revitalized an entire ecosystem, but also brought attention to the importance of afforestation and individual action in combating environmental degradation. His story highlights how seemingly small efforts, driven by passion and perseverance, can have a profound and lasting positive impact on the environment.
The Environmental Danger Zone
There will be skeptics; people who don’t believe lasting cultural shifts can stem from one small, seemingly innocuous action. They clearly haven’t been paying attention. We live in the age of the internet, with viral content and political upheavals and social movements and media influence. Along with it, experience has taught us that reliance on any one thing (in this instance, the off-chance that corporations will just take it upon themselves to stop polluting) is not the answer. It’s like expecting Hernando de Soto to come back from the dead and round up all those feral hogs; it’s not going to happen.
You may be thinking, "That's all well and good, Freda, but how do we inspire others to take similar action? How do we make this a global movement?"
And I get that—completely. But as you know, change often begins with small steps, gradually gaining momentum. Over time, it becomes a multifaceted force of nature, with the ability to grow, adapt, and overcome obstacles. If you think back on all of the paradigm shifts that we’ve witnessed just in our own lifetimes, you will start to see our potential to manipulate and direct them.
Change is inevitable; how we let it play out is not.
If you think there’s something small you can do today to plant that seed of change in your own life, I say go for it. Reuse plastic bags and keep a stockpile in the car for the next time you go to the grocery store. Carry a reusable water bottle or coffee cup. Seek out products made with compostable, recycled or recyclable materials. Minimize food waste by planning meals. Walk, bike, or use public transportation every once in a while.
And lastly, talk to your friends and family about environmental issues. We have the power to support policies that promote sustainability while holding corporations and governments accountable for their environmental impact. Every small step our culture takes towards a more sustainable lifestyle contributes to a larger movement.
With that in mind, consider the impact of protecting the places that bring us together and inspire us to care for the environment. If you love our parks and believe in their power to inspire, educate, and connect us to the natural world, now is the time to act. Our national parks are more than scenic backdrops; they hold stories, histories, and habitats that deserve to be preserved and appreciated by future generations. They are refuges for wildlife, sanctuaries for biodiversity, and spaces where people can reconnect with nature and the legacy of conservation.
Our parks protect America’s favorite places. You can protect them with your vote.
To keep these spaces open and accessible, we need voices—yours included. Reach out to your representatives, support sustainable policies, and take small steps in your own life that honor the land we share. Every action counts, just as the smallest seed of bamboo can grow into a forest, creating lasting change. Together, we can protect these irreplaceable spaces and ensure that parks like De Soto National Memorial remain part of our story for years to come.
Nobody gets it right 100% of the time, but there will always be an opportunity to try again. When in doubt, remember de Soto’s pigs — or Payeng’s bamboo.