Restoring Habitat for Florida’s Endangered Species

Ten miles inland from Florida’s Gulf of Mexico coast is an island—at least in name. Panther Island is a 2,775-acre success story. The land used to be mostly cow pasture and farm fields. Today its restored native habitats are part of a very special place—Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary. The sanctuary provides habitat for many threatened and endangered animals. There are birds such as wood storks, sandhill cranes, and snail kites; big cypress fox squirrels, a small black-capped squirrel; big burrow-building gopher tortoises; and others. Even Florida panthers sometimes show up.

The big cat that gave Panther Island its name is one of the most endangered animals in the United States. By 1995, only 20-30 Florida panthers roamed in the wild. Thanks to wildlife conservationists, today there are three times those numbers, making it even more important to protect their habitat. The tan-colored, 100-plus-pound predators need a lot of space. Males can roam a 200-square-mile area! In crowded Florida, places like Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary are needed to protect the state’s endangered panthers and other native wildlife.

Panther Island has a mix of habitat types. There’s pine flatwood forest where slash pine trees, sabal palm trees, and fan-shaped palmettos grow. In the fall, all sorts of animals can be seen feeding on palmetto berries—deer, raccoons, and even Florida black bears, a threatened species. The largest part of Panther Island has been turned back into freshwater marsh. The soggy wetland of sawgrass, pickerelweed, fire flag, arrowhead, and other water-loving plants attracts everything from diving birds called anhingas and perching birds such as vireos to sleek-furred, swimming river otters.

Returning Panther Island to marsh does more than provide habitat for wildlife. Marshes and other wetlands make water cleaner, including water that flows into the Gulf of Mexico. Polluted water from nearby farm fields, citrus tree groves, communities, and homes is filtered as it passes through marshes like those at Panther Island. This helps protect endangered sea animals, such as sea turtles and manatees! Marshes also help store and filter water that ends up in the underground aquifers where Floridians get their drinking water.

Where Will Your Pennies Go?

Restoring Panther Island to a healthy native ecosystem that benefits wildlife and humans has been hard work. Ditch systems that once drained pastures and fields were removed and rerouted. This returned the natural flow of water, creating wetland. Exotic non-native plants had to be cleared from the land, too, so native plants could take root. Unfortunately invasive plants keep coming back, so it’s an ongoing battle. Your pennies will help Corkscrew staff get rid of pesky exotic plants, paying for tools like chainsaws and machetes as well as environmentally-friendly herbicides. Donations will also help buy fire equipment needed to manage carefully controlled fires that mimic natural fires. These controlled fires get rid of exotic plants and burn off dry grasses and leaf litter that can dangerously flare up when natural wildfires happen. Your pennies will help provide educational programs at Panther Island, too. These will show how, with hard work and careful planning, places once completely changed by humans can again become amazing natural habitat for wildlife.

For more information, visit: www.corkscrew.audubon.org, http://pantherisland.blogspot.com, and http://pantherislandadventures.blogspot.com/

PHOTO CREDITS: (top, l to r): Larry Richardson, USFWS; Allyson Webb, Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary; Allyson Webb (left): Allyson Webb (right, t to b): Allyson Webb; Robert Blanchard/iStock; Allyson Webb. (bottom): all Allyson Webb.