Category: Land Management

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CREW Begins Aerial Treatment of Willows in Marsh

written by Deb Hanson and Kathleen Smith

Willows growing in marsh
Willows growing in marsh

If you’ve ever stood on the observation tower at the CREW Marsh Trails and looked out over the 5,000-acre marsh, you may have noticed that the sawgrass marsh is being overtaken by coastal plain willow shrubs. While coastal plain willow is a native species, under certain conditions it becomes invasive – out-competing the sawgrass, taking over the landscape and reducing open water habitat for wading birds. The Corkscrew Marsh at CREW has experienced this phenomenon and much of the 5000-acre marsh is now covered with willow.

Open Water Corkscrew Marsh
Open Water Corkscrew Marsh

The invasion of the Corkscrew Marsh by coastal plain willow (Salix caroliniana) has altered the structure of the marsh community. Marshes dominated by coastal plain willow inhibit nutrient cycling and the maintenance of diverse biological communities as well as the use of prescribed fire as a management tool for controlling exotic plants and maintaining open-water habitat for wading birds (Frederick and Spalding 1994). So, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC) and the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) jointly applied to the FWC Aquatic Habitat Restoration and Enhancement (AHRE) Sub-section for funds for the treatment of approximately 1,075 acres of willows in CREW. The objective of the project is to decrease coverage of undesirable willow in the marsh to allow herbaceous vegetation to increase in coverage, enhancing fish and wildlife habitat and creating more open-water marsh.

The application was funded, and aerial treatment (via helicopter) began at CREW on August 26th. Three different ratios of Glyphosate and Imazapyr are being used, tested and analyzed to determine which is the most effective treatment and what herbacious vegetation returns to the marsh post-treatment. The goal and performance standard that will be used to assess success of the project is less than 50% coverage of willow within the treatment site two years post-treatment.

Helicopter loading for aerial spraying
Helicopter loading for aerial spraying

The treatment area is in the central eastern and southern parts of the marsh. Aerial photomonitoring at 3-month intervals after initial treatment will be used to evaluate the response of the willow. Georeferencing markers have been established in the marsh to spatially reference aerial photos taken at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months post-treatment (we may also supplement with on the ground photos).  This will be a long-term maintenance project with re-treatments and potential native plantings for years to come.

Helicopter taking off to go to marsh
Helicopter taking off to go to marsh

So, when you look out over the marsh during the next couple of years, watch for changes in the plant composition on the horizon to the east. Hopefully it will open the marsh and encourage new native species of plants to grow, providing better habitat for fish and wildlife and water storage and filtration for our drinking water supply.

 

 

(Thanks to Kathleen Smith of FWC for providing the photos and facts for this article!)

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Eagle Scout Project Beautifies Cypress Dome Trailhead

Eagle Scout candidate, Kevin Link, completed an outstanding project at the CREW Cypress Dome Trails last week. Here, he shares some of the process via video. Thanks to Kevin and all of his team for an extraordinary project to help beautify and provide shade and seating at the Cypress Dome Trailhead and parking area and to help educate people about native plants and landscaping.

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CREW Trust Celebrates 25 Years of Conservation

CREW Marsh after a Tropical Storm
CREW Marsh after Tropical Storm Faye in 2008 (Photo by Deb Hanson)

Happy New Year, and welcome to 2014. This is a watershed year for the CREW Land & Water Trust as we celebrate our 25th Anniversary! The CREW Trust was formed in 1989 by Joel Kuperberg (a former Naples City Councilman, botanist, head of Florida’s Internal Improvement Fund, and later Director of the Trust for Public Land) as a public-private partnership to coordinate the land acquisition, management, and public outreach for the Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed (CREW). Since then, this watershed stewardship project has accomplished much that it set out to do, including protecting over 45,000-acres of land within the established boundaries of the watershed.

This accomplishment has been the result of efforts by multiple agencies, organizations, landowners, businesses, and private citizens. The CREW Land & Water Trust’s strength over the years has been to build partnerships and bring people together with the vision of protecting this watershed which provides drinking water for residents and visitors to southwest Florida. Some of the main partners are:

  • The South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) – the primary landowner and land manager within CREW.
  • Lee and Collier Counties – both of which have purchased land within CREW
  • The Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) – which oversees wildlife management, hunting, and law enforcement on CREW lands
  • Audubon’s Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary – which is located in the heart of the CREW and whose former Director, Ed Carlson, helped write one of the initial proposals requesting the SFWMD to purchase Bird Rookery Swamp
  • ALICO – which sold the first land to the CREW project – the Corkscrew Marsh unit off of Corkscrew Road.

Here’s a very abbreviated timeline of some of the highlights of our 25 years….

CREW Timeline

The CREW Trust has multiple events planned throughout the year to celebrate its 25th Anniversary. Registration is required for all of these events. You can register at http://crewtrust.eventbrite.com

  • January 16 – CREW Wine & Cheese Social (Invitation Only -Members and Volunteers)
  • February 1 – Hike the Loop: 12-Mile Hike at Bird Rookery Swamp
  • February 14 – Love in the Wild Hike
  • March 1 – CREW Concert & Silent Eco-Auction – tickets at http://crewconcert2014.bpt.me/
  • March 21 – CREW Horseback Ride from Flint Pen to Bird Rookery Swamp
  • April 5 – Butterfly Hike with David Cooper @ Marsh Trail
  • April 5 – Geocaching with The Unusual Suspects @ Cypress Dome Trail
  • April 12 – Wildflower Hike with Roger Hammer @ Marsh Trail
  • October TBD – CREW Golf Tournament
  • October TBD – 10K Trail Run
  • November 15 – Vitamin N Hike for Families
  • December 6 – Bike the Loop: 12-mile Bicycle Trail Ride at Bird Rookery Swamp

We hope to see you at one of our events. Come celebrate with us!

And thanks to Chad Gillis and Andrew West for the article in today’s Fort Myers News-Press about the CREW Trust’s 25th Anniversary.

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New Bluebird Boxes at CREW

Brian Beckner, owner of Native Bird Boxes, has generously donated four new hand-crafted bluebird boxes to the CREW project and is installing them today at the CREW Cypress Dome Trails with the assistance of FWC biologist Kathleen Smith and CREW Trust Executive Director Brenda Brooks. These boxes will enhance habitat and encourage bluebird nesting on CREW properties. If you’re hiking at the Cypress Dome Trails, keep your eyes open for bluebirds in the coming seasons and report any activity you see to us here or via email to crewtrust@crewtrus.mystagingwebsite.com.

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Brian Beckner and Kathleen Smith place a new bluebird box on CREW lands

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Lost Grove Mine Application Closed

Post by Brenda Brooks, Executive Director, CREW Land & Water Trust 

CREW Marsh Trailhead signYou may recall that Alico Land Development was seeking approval from Collier County for development and operation of the Lost Grove Mine. The mine was to be located directly across Corkscrew Road from the CREW Marsh Trails.  Since 2011, there have been many panel discussions, neighborhood information meetings and public hearings on the proposed 1,383-acre mine. The CREW Land & Water Trust participated in many of these meetings due to our concerns with the mine’s impact on CREW.

Lost Grove Mine Location Map
Lost Grove Mine Location Map

We just received an update that Collier County has closed the Lost Grove Mine application due to inactivity of the applicant. At this time if Alico Land Development decides to move forward with this proposed mine, they will be required to submit a new application and begin the process all over again.

We will continue to update you if we get any additional news on the Lost Grove Mine.

Until then, come on out to the trails and enjoy a hike in this beautiful weather.

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SFWMD Land Assessment Draft Recommendations Ready for Review

As you know, most of the CREW lands are owned by the South Florida Water Management District. The District is currently conducting a Lands Assessment of all the lands they hold within the 16-county region they govern. The assessment is to determine if there are some parcels that could be surplused.

Back in May, we told you about the opportunity to provide public comment on the Lands Assessment. You all did a fabulous job of submitting comments. You can see them here. You can also download additional documents from here.

Today (July 30), the District is holding another public hearing for comment on the DRAFT staff recommendations which resulted from your earlier public comment. The meeting will be held at the SFWMD West Coast Service Center Office on McGregor Blvd. in Ft. Myers at 10 AM this morning (July 30). If you cannot make the meeting, additional public comment will be accepted online between now and August 12th.

Thank you all for your participation in this important process and for submitting your thoughts about CREW. It takes everyone’s participation to make sure sound decisions are made.

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Deb Hanson in News-Press video on Rainfall

Deb Hanson in water (Photo by Andrew West/News-Press)
Deb Hanson in water (Photo by Andrew West/News-Press)

The CREW Land & Water Trust’s environmental education specialist, Deb Hanson, went for a rainy season walk through the White loop at the CREW Cypress Dome Trails last week with news-Press reporter Chad Gillis and photographer Andrew West. Today, the News-Press published the article about rainfall in southwest Florida, and Deb is featured on the front page of the print paper and on a video here on the News-Press website. Nice to see CREW in the newspaper. Thanks to Chad and Andrew for both the fun walk and the great spread in the paper!

 

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How to Report a Python Sighting at CREW

…or a boa, or any other non-native, invasive snake.

You’ve seen the news reports. You know they are here. But have you ever actually seen a python while out hiking in southwest Florida? And what should you do if you see one at CREW?

BurmesePython
Python photo from FFWCC

The first known sighting of a python in CREW occurred in Bird Rookery Swamp in 2005. Since then, no other sightings have been reported in the watershed – until this year. In June 2013, a 10-foot python was seen near the CREW field office off Corkscrew Road in Lee County. Last week, a 9-foot common boa was found by exotic plant treatment contractors in Flint Pen Strand off Bonita Beach Road.

These two recent sightings confirm that these large non-native snakes are moving into the CREW watershed, so we want you to know what to do if you see one while out hiking on the CREW trails.

  • First – do not approach the snake, but do confirm its identity, and if you can, take a photo and mark the GPS coordinates of the snake’s location.
  • Second – if the python or boa is still in your view and staying put, call the FWC Exotic Species Hotline number 888-IVE-GOT1 (888- 483-4681) to report the location.
  • If the snake is moving away and out of your sight, report it using the IVEGOT1 smartphone app for iPhone or Android or the website form at IVEGOT1.org (register ahead of time, so you don’t have to do that part in the field)
  • Do not attempt to remove the snake. Only permitted, trained individuals may remove pythons or boas (also known as conditional species) and even then only from certain Wildlife Management Areas and other public lands with permits/permission from both FWC and the landowner.

And if you want to get more involved, you can complete this online training course from the University of Florida that will help you recognize and report large invasive reptiles. (REDDY – Reptile Early Detection and Documentation training)

REDDY Training

Additional info: http://ufwildlife.ifas.ufl.edu/REDDy/alreadyreddy.shtml

Quick Reference guides: http://ufwildlife.ifas.ufl.edu/REDDy/resources.shtml

Reporting your sighting helps FWC, the SFWMD, and other agencies manage these invasive exotic species and determine their distribution and range. Burmese pythons and boas  are non-native snakes introduced in Florida by accidental and intentional releases by pet owners. They can be found in or near freshwater aquatic habitats like marshes and swamps and can grow up to 20 feet in length. They eat alligators, birds, mice, rabbits, raccoons, deer, and other small mammals. To learn more, visit the Python pages on the FWC website.

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CREW Water Levels Rising Fast

The Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed (CREW) encompasses approximately 60,000 acres, running from Corkscrew Road in Lee County south beyond Immokalee Road in Collier County. You can see a map of the whole watershed here. When it rains enough for the ground to get saturated, water levels rise and then the water “sheet flows” downhill across the surface of the land.

In CREW, it takes about a week for the water to flow from the north part of the watershed to the south part. With the summer rains we’ve been lucky to get this year, we are seeing that sheet flow in action. CREW volunteer George Luther installed a few water level posts at Bird Rookery Swamp last year. He’s been recording measurements regularly and recently reported the change in water levels at the parking lot pond there. Take a look at the chart below showing the rise since July 1st.

Water Level Rise at Bird Rookery Swamp July 1 - 15, 2013
Water Level Rise at Bird Rookery Swamp July 1 – 15, 2013

We haven’t seen water levels like this during the early summer months here at CREW for a long time. This is great for water recharge and our drinking water supply. And the woods are teeming with wetland critters. It’ll be interesting to see what other changes occur as levels continue to rise as the summer goes on… What’s the highest water level you’ve experienced at CREW?

Water over Shady Hollow Blvd.
Water over Shady Hollow Blvd. at the entrance to Bird Rookery Swamp parking lot – July 15, 2013 (Photo by George Luther)
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Flint Pen Strand

Cypress trees in Flint Pen StrandFlint Pen Strand and Southern Critical CREW are the Lee County portions of the CREW project, located north of Bonita Beach Road (east of I-75) and south of Corkscrew Road.

This portion of CREW currently has no officially marked trails and no recreation facilities, except for a hunter check station located at Poor Man’s Pass. The South Florida Water Management District is still working on restoration of sheet flow and exotic species control and removal here. Recreation plans are forthcoming, and include hiking trails, horseback riding, and campsites. Currently, hunting is allowed in part of Flint Pen Strand under the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission’s regulations for the CREW WEA (Wildlife & Environmental Area).

The whole CREW project map
The whole CREW project map

As the restoration process progresses, we will keep you  posted on recreation plans s they become available…