| Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary | |
|---|---|
IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape) | |
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| Location | 375 Sanctuary Rd W, Naples, FL 34120Collier County, Florida, United States |
| Nearest city | Naples, Florida |
| Coordinates | 26°22′32″N81°36′15″W / 26.37556°N 81.60417°W /26.37556; -81.60417 |
| Governing body | National Audubon Society |
| Designated | 23 March 2009 |
| Reference no. | 1888[1] |
| Designated | March 1964 |
Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary is aNational Audubon Society sanctuary located in southwestFlorida, north ofNaples, Florida and east ofBonita Springs, in the United States. The sanctuary was established to protect one of the largest remaining stands ofbald cypress (Taxodium distichum) andpond cypress (T. ascendens) in North America from extensive logging that was ongoing throughout the 1940s and 1950s.
The Corkscrew Cypress Rookery Association was formed in 1954 to protect the area. The National Audubon Society accepted responsibility for management and started constructing the firstboardwalk through the swamp in 1955. In all, nearly 45 km2 (17 sq mi) of wetland was purchased or donated, most of it from or by the owners, Lee Tidewater Cypress Center Co. and Collier Enterprises. Some of the funding that went to preserving the wetland was donated byTheodore Miller Edison, youngest son of the inventor Thomas Edison.[2]
In 2018, researchers at the Sanctuary determined that beginning around the year 2000, the amount of groundwater in the park began to diminish. Records have been kept of water levels beginning in 1957, and analysis determined that previous changes in the landscape – such as the building of Immokalee Road, the use of canals to drain land for real estate development, the increase in agriculture in the area, the installation of electrical and telephone lines, or the paving over of neighboring wetlands – had not altered the water levels, which are measured at Lettuce Lake, the park's deepest standing water. But since 2000 or 2001, despite the same amount of annual rainfall during the wet season, during the dry season the water now drains away quickly instead of slowly receding as it had done in the past. The cause of the change is unknown – there was no major topographical change at the time – but the cause and the effects of the drier dry season for the Sanctuary and surroundingCollier County are under investigation.[3]
A boardwalk of a little over 3 km (1.9 mi) length provides walking access throughpine flatwoods,wet prairie, stands ofpond cypress andbald cypress, andmarsh ecosystems within the sanctuary. In 2017, some parts of the boardwalk were damaged by bald cypress trees knocked over byHurricane Irma. Most of the damage was repaired, but several small sections have been permanently closed.
The sanctuary is a gateway site for theGreat Florida Birding Trail. It is an important breeding area for the endangeredwood stork and other wetland birds. It also has wintering passerines, including thepainted bunting. Numerous wading bird species can be found in the wetlands of the sanctuary, including theyellow-crowned night heron,black-crowned night heron,tricolored heron,great egret, andsnowy egret. Specialist birds includelimpkin,barred owl and, in summer,swallow-tailed kite.
American alligators andcottonmouth snakes are also inhabitants of the sanctuary.
The sanctuary visitor center is aLiving Machine demonstration site.
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Notes
Further reading
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