The number one question we are getting, whether by phone, email, or social media, is “are the trails wet?”
The answer is a resounding YES!
After such a dry end to our winter season, June brought us a refreshing dose of rain – over 20 inches. That’s a lot of rain!
And while it has meant a change in some of our visitor’s hiking plans, we are excited about the rain for a lot of reasons. The main reason is that, when you visit, you get to see our watershed at work.
The water that you see on the CREW Marsh Trails and Cypress Dome Trails is doing exactly what we want it to do – slowly move south through all of the vegetation on the CREW Project’s 60,000 acres, giving the water ample time to seep through the limestone and recharge our aquifer. And that means more water for us, the residents of Southwest Florida, and the plants and animals that call the Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed home.
A Band-winged Dragonlet at the Cypress Dome Trails. Photographed by volunteer Dick Brewer.
We hope you’ll enjoy a few wet walks on our trails this summer and would love to see your pictures on our CREW Land & Water Trust Facebook Page! Or tag us on Instagram. See you on the trails!
Bird Rookery Swamp is closed for boardwalk construction, so today’s critter count from Dick Brewer comes to us from Caracara Prairie Preserve. Brewer noted it is very wet in some areas and that he was knee deep in one small marsh.
At last week’s family fun day, two of our volunteers taught my children how to geocache. We decided Spring Break was the perfect time to hit the trails and get a little lost in the woods. Thinking of doing some geocaching of your own, maybe with kids or grand kids? I’ve got a few suggestions that might make your trip go more smoothly.
Download a geocaching app on your smartphone. We used Geoacaching which was very user-friendly; I opted to purchase a one month subscription. You can also get the coordinates from a geocaching website, like geocaching.com. The smart phone app was nice because it helped me lure the teens into going with us.
Wear long pants and long socks. This seems like common sense but my 7 year old was more than happy to wear a pink fluffy skirt and her ladybug rain boots. After tromping off the trails and searching for our first two caches she understood why long pants were a better option.
Let the kids do the leading and the finding – within reason. I insisted on being in the front whenever we ventured off the trails and everyone followed that rule. But once the app alerted us that we were close, I let the kids take over and start searching for the caches.
Make sure you bring trinkets. Some caches have goodies inside and the kids can take something, like a really gorgeous marble, and leave one of their trinkets behind. Also bring a pen to sign your name on the list in the cache, and have the kids come up with a cool geocaching name for your group.
Set a reasonable goal. I said we would try to find four caches, and after our third one (which was a bit difficult, but probably our best memory of the day) the kids were ready to go home. I reminded them of our goal and we trudged on, finding two more caches on our way back to the trail head.
6. Bring water and snacks. A stack of graham crackers can be a lifesaver after you spend twenty minutes off-trail and end up on a service road (that you could have taken the whole time).
7. Be ready to get lost. Not really lost, just enough that the children start to doubt that you actually know what you are doing. My favorite memory of our first geocaching trip was the kids complaining about how certain they were that we were lost. I may have accidentally taken us very far off course but the end was worth it. The cache was in the middle of a beautiful cypress dome and I’d like to think they were thankful (but see tip #6 about why you should bring snacks).
8. Have fun. We identified wildflowers along the way, spotted a lot of lubbers on one section of the trail and definitely learned what poison ivy looked like (and tried to avoid it). Even the complaining was fun mainly because it made me laugh.
So, how much fun did we have? The kids asked to go again. And no one got poison ivy.
Interested in learning how to geocache? Come to the Cypress Dome Trails on April 22 and learn how to geocache. For more information, visit eventbrite.com.
National Walking Day is the first Wednesday in April, and the CREW trails are a great place to get out and walk, no matter what your fitness level may be. Check out our suggestions for a few spots to celebrate with some fresh air and sunshine.
CREW Marsh Trails
Location: 4600 Corkscrew Road (CR 850), Immokalee, FL 34142. Approximately 20 minutes east of I-75.
Cost: Free; donations accepted
Difficulty: Easy
Wear: Closed toed shoes and socks
Bring: Water, snacks, binoculars and cameras
Take a stroll on wide, hard-packed, mowed trails to the observation tower, where you can view the 6000 acre sawgrass marsh that helps clean the water that flows south and replenishes our aquifer. On the way to the tower, you will travel through pine flatwoods and an oak hammock. You may see butterflies, dragonflies, swallow tailed kites, red shouldered hawks, palm warblers, gopher tortoises and wildflowers in bloom. Approximate distance: 1.4 miles to the tower and back to the parking lot.
Cypress Dome Trails
Location: 3980 Corkscrew Road (CR 850), Immokalee, FL 34142. Approximately 15 minutes east of I-75.
Cost: Free; donations accepted
Difficulty: Medium
Wear: Closed toed shoes and socks
Bring: Water, snacks, binoculars and cameras
Start on the yellow loop from the parking lot and follow it around to the green loop. You’ll walk through pine flatwoods, cypress domes and you can stop to rest on a small bench overlooking one of our seasonal marshes. The end of the green loop takes you past Jim’s Pavilion, a great spot to sit and enjoy a snack or lunch. You may see butterflies, red shouldered hawks, wildflowers, warblers, woodpeckers, yellow rat snakes and box turtles. Approximate distance: 2.4 miles; if the distance is too much, use one of the two blue short cut trails.
Become a “Looper” and hike the entire loop at Bird Rookery Swamp! You’ll walk on wide, grassy raised trams and share the trail with wildlife, including alligators, otters, banded water snakes, red bellied turtles, barred owls, roseate spoonbills, egrets and more. Approximate distance: 13 miles; if the distance is too much, head back to the parking lot before you begin to feel tired. The loop may take six or more hours; it is very important to bring food and water with you and to check your energy levels often to determine if you can make the full loop or not. as there are no shortcut trails.
For the last two weeks, the CREW Trust staff and FWC biologists have been anxiously watching the skies.
Why?
It’s Swallow-tailed Kite time.
photo credit: Dick Brewer
Reports trickled in from our volunteers. Jayne posted on Facebook that she saw kites during a hike with students from FGCU on the Marsh Trails . Peggy sent us an email that she saw two at the observation tower at the same trails and they were “calling like crazy!”
I led a small group of volunteers through trail steward training on Sunday and kept one eye on the sky but still, no sightings.
Swallow-tailed kites come to SWFL to breed and are always spotted mid-February, right around Valentine’s Day. Sightings are not limited to our trails, but the birds do require tall trees for nesting and tend to choose open pinewoods near marshes or cypress swamps as their habitat.
photo credit: Dick Brewer
In other words, CREW is great breeding spot for them.
The kites will be here until late August. If you’re eager to spot one or two, head out to Cypress Dome Trails (3980 Corkscrew Road) or CREW Marsh Trails (4600 Corkscrew Road) and keep your eyes on the skies!
Christmas is just days away and, once the wrapping paper settles and the cookies disappear, it’s time to start thinking about New Year’s Resolutions. We’ve got a few ideas for last minute holiday gifts and ways to make 2017 the best year yet.
Give the gift of guided walks
Our guided walks are free, but the knowledge of our volunteer leaders is highly valuable. Sign yourself up and head to Bird Rookery Swamp for two hours of George’s or Bobby’s stories or go out with Dr. David Cooper for a tour of CREW Marsh Trails. Better yet, sign up a friend. Guided walks are a great way to build confidence in new CREW visitors, and that confidence level increases the chances that they will return to explore more of the trails.
Share nature with kids and grandkids
The electronic hatching egg everyone is clamoring for will only engage kids for so long, and by New Year’s Day, it will be forgotten in a pile of toys. Memories last much longer, so give the gift of time and take your kids or grandkids out to your favorite trail.
The going may be slower as they stop to see every tiny flower or search for animal tracks, but it’s the memories that count, not the miles. And if they ask a question and you don’t know the answer, give them homework and tell them to google it, then get back to you with the answer.
If you are looking for a way to wrap up that idea, make a coupon for one guided hike with Nana or Uncle Todd (insert your name) and give it with a field guide or binoculars or kid-sized hiking stick. (Hint hint, we sell those at the CREW office).
They’ll talk for years about seeing one-eyed Ida and completely forget about whatever game they got for their NintendoDS.
This holiday season, hit the trails with friends and family and help us spread our mission of protecting and preserving our watershed.
Honor a loved one
While Christmas and New Year’s is a time of celebration, it can also be a time of reflection for those that have lost loved ones and friends this year.
Consider making a donation to CREW as a way to memorialize a grandparent who first introduced you to birding or always remember a sun-filled day when you spent the morning identifying butterflies with your visiting best friend.
New Year, new you
The top New Year’s resolution each year is fitness. Gym memberships surge and by mid-February, everyone is back to their old habits.
At CREW, we’ve got a great way for you to get active and stay active all year long: volunteer as a Trail Steward.
After a short training session, you’ll have a snazzy blue volunteer shirt and be ready to hit the trails, acting as an ambassador for CREW and answering questions as you stroll your favorite trail system. There are no set hours; we just ask that you wear your volunteer shirt when you go hiking, then log your volunteer hours when you get home.
You’ll not only stay committed to your resolution, but you’ll be sharing your love and passion with others while helping CREW continue our mission of protecting and preserving our watershed. It’s a gift that keeps on giving!
It is important to know where you’ve been in order to better understand where you are going. The CREW lands have an interesting past. Below are 10 events in CREW’s history:
The Corkscrew Marsh and adjacent lands were acquired by Atlantic Land and Improvement Company (now known as ALICO, Inc.) from Empire Land Company in 1914.
Pine timber was first harvested in the 1930’s in a “clear-cut” fashion that left the land virtually bare. (see top right)
From 1948 to 1952, pine trees were replanted. (see right)
1970-1974 the pine trees were finally mature. (see left)
In 1989, Southwest Florida faced a serious drought which shook people to action, resulting in the formation of the Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed (CREW) Land & Water Trust.
Joel Kuperberg spearheaded the land trust idea, and a public/private partnership was formed to protect the land for water. “ In Southwest Florida preserving land means preserving water” -Dave Allen
In 1991, the South Florida Water Management District used funds from their Save Our Rivers program to purchase 6,779.95 acres in and around the Corkscrew Marsh.
With the help of Lee County, South Florida Water Management District, Florida’s Conservation and Recreation Lands Program and Collier County, more land around the Corkscrew Marsh was purchased
In 1995, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission designated parts of the CREW Project as a Wildlife & Environmental Area (WEA).
The CREW Marsh Trails opened to the public in 1994. The Cypress Dome Trails opened in 2008 and the Bird Rookery Swamp trails opened in 2011. The Flint Pen trail system is coming soon.
The CREW Land & Water Trust promotes public use of CREW trails and continues to work with its partners to acquire and preserve more land. It is astonishing to hike the CREW Marsh trails and realize that the area was clear-cutted as recently as the 1980’s. When I look that those beautiful tall pine trees and the abundant undergrowth beneath them, I can’t help but think of the power we have as humans. We can create such destruction, but CREW is a living, breathing example of the healing we can do. If you would like to learn more about our partners who helped make the CREW project possible, please visit: https://crewtrus.mystagingwebsite.com/about/partners/
Never been in a Florida swamp? Well this is your chance. Sign up today to join Jessi Drummond, our Environmental Education Specialist, on a wet walk through CREW’s Cypress Dome Trails on August 11th at 9am. To preregister for this hike click here.
On this hike enjoy the White Loop at the CREW Cypress Dome Trails and experience a magical, and beautiful place. This 3+ mile hike takes you deep into the woods on a narrow trail where barred owls perch and old, curvy palm trees reach for the sun. With no boardwalks, this trail lets you get your feet wet as you slog through the popash slough and then up into some of the most gorgeous pine flatwoods at CREW.
Bring plenty of water to drink, sun protection (sunscreen, hat, glasses), bug spray or long sleeves, camera/binoculars if you like, and be prepared to get wet (and muddy) up to your knees or even thighs, depending on how much rain we get this summer.
We’ll wrap up by noon. Feel free to bring a picnic lunch to eat at the pavilion or benches in the parking area afterwards.
To register click here. CREW Members are current members of the CREW Land & Water Trust. General Public/Non-members may join CREW (and become eligible to take advantage of the member discount for this workshop) by going to https://crewtrus.mystagingwebsite.com and clicking on the DONATE button or by calling 239-657-2253.
Small Game Hunting Season at CREW opens December 6th, 2015 and runs through January 3rd, 2016 at the CREW Cypress Dome Trails, Caracara Prairie Preserve, and in portions of the Flint Pen Strand unit of CREW. Specific Small Game season regulations for CREW are listed below. Complete regs for the CREW area can be accessed at the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission website.
The Cypress Dome Trails will remain open to other users – hikers, bikers, geocachers, campers and horseback riders – during hunting seasons. Trail hikers are encouraged to wear bright colors (hunter orange) when hiking during hunting seasons or use an alternative CREW trail. No hunting is allowed at the CREW Marsh Trails or at the Bird Rookery Swamp Trails.
Small Game Season:December 6 through January 3.
Permit, Stamp and License Requirements – Hunting license, management area permit, migratory bird permit (if hunting migratory birds), and state waterfowl permit and federal duck stamp (if hunting waterfowl).
Legal to Hunt – Gray squirrel, quail, rabbit, raccoon, opossum, armadillo, beaver, coyote, skunk, nutria and migratory birds in season.
Regulations Unique to Small Game Season-
Hunting with bird dogs and retrievers is allowed.
Hunting with centerfire or rimfire rifles is prohibited.
The CREW lands are open to a variety of public recreational use activities. One of the most historical and storied recreational uses of CREW is hunting. Hunting is an important wildlife management tool and provides many sportsmen and sportswomen a way to enjoy the outdoors and put food on their tables. The Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission has designated CREW as a Wildlife & Environmental Area (WEA) and regulates the hunting rules and seasons on CREW lands. FWC law enforcement officers patrol CREW lands all year long.
Below are first hand observations from our volunteer Dick Brewer. This is a special week as we are luck to get Dick’s observations from all three trail systems. If you would like to see more of his observations visit: http://www.dickbrewer.org/CREW.html
Red Rat Snake By Dick Brewer
Monday, May 11 Marsh Trails- 6:45 am-8:30 Cypress Dome 8:35am-10:30
Great Egret………………………………………………… 6………………………………………………………………
Black Vulture……………………………………………… 3………………………………………………………….. 25
