Tag: CREW Trust

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A Brief History of Bird Rookery Swamp

by Nan Mattingly

Hike the Loop with CREW. Photo by Bill Zaino

As you set out to enjoy the riches of Bird Rookery Swamp (BRS for short) think of the people who have used this land before you.  Some highlights:

From approximately 500 BC to 1600 AD, the fierce Calusa tribe traversed this huge swamp from their home base on the southwest Florida coast (in the vicinity of what is now Ft. Myers Beach) to their hunting and fishing camps at Lake Trafford in Immokalee. Waterways (rivers, streams, even sheet flow) were so plentiful that the Calusa traveled in canoes hollowed out from giant bald cypress trees harvested in Bird Rookery Swamp. They made use of what they found at Bird Rookery Swamp for their daily living needs; they ate the hearts of sabal palms and used the fronds to weave floor mats and to roof their dwellings. They harvested the fruit of cocoplums and pond apple trees, they fished the waters, and they used plants for medicinal purposes.  

Dugout Canoe found at Lake Trafford. Photo by Andrew West

The bird plume trade drew feather hunters to Bird Rookery Swamp from the late 1800s to the early 1900s at which time state and federal laws were enacted to protect the birds. At the height of the trade, a pound of bird plumes was more valuable than a pound of gold, and the white ibis (known as the Chokoloskee Chicken) was considered a delicacy. Today Bird Rookery Swamp provides sanctuary for at least 45 kinds of birds, including some protected and threatened species.

Rosette Spoonbill

The timber trade brought the next economic exploitation of Bird Rookery Swamp. In 1934, cypress wood sold for $60 to $100 per 1,000 board feet. Over 40 miles of elevated trails (called trams) were constructed to run a narrow-gauge train to extract harvested trees, which were sent to a mill in central Florida. Those trees, generally around 130 feet tall and 25 feet in girth, were 500 to 600 years old. Cypress was a hard, durable wood resistant to water and bugs. Cypress trees harvested at Bird Rookery Swamp were used to build PT boats during World War II, to rebuild war-torn Europe and to provide wood for homes sold through the Sears catalog. The last surviving steam engine used on the Bird Rookery Swamp trams is on display at the Collier County Museum. A court order in 1957 ended logging at Bird Rookery Swamp.

Farmers and ranchers have used Bird Rookery Swamp lands since the late 1800s to grow orange trees and to plant field crops such as tomatoes, melons and potatoes. If you look carefully into the Bird Rookery Swamp forest, you’ll see a few derelict barbed wire fences, relics of the cattle ranching that ended in the mid-1970s.

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At Home with the Florida Duck

Volunteer Perspective Series

Written by Nan Mattingly

How Florida mottled ducklings helped this CREW Trust volunteer survive quarantine.

Before the governor of Florida imposed a safer-at-home order, I had been experiencing flu symptoms and decided to self-quarantine. So I’ve been pretty isolated since early March.

Fortunately my house is situated on the edge of a fairly large lake, so I’ve long been in the habit of watching activity on the lake. Herons of all types come here to work the banks for small fish; anhingas dive for fish, which are plentiful, and then alight on the banks to dry out their feathers; occasionally I see an osprey snatch up a fish and run; and from time to time I watch long-time resident Wally Gator make his stately way up and down the lake. And of course we have the requisite Muscovy duck population, begging at doors for bread and showing off their unique brand of ugliness. 

Right about the time I decided to voluntarily quarantine and cope with what felt like murderous viral symptoms, a miracle occurred: a pair of Florida mottled ducks emerged on my lake with a brood of ten tiny ducklings, just little balls of downy feathers. Though their nest wasn’t very near my house, the whole group took to hanging around my neighbor’s house and mine. Before they showed up, I had only a casual interest in ducks (and a decided dislike for Muscovys). Virus fatigue and a lack of other distractions, I guess, allowed me to become fascinated with the mottled family. Now, about two months after their debut, the ducklings are still a mob of ten and the parents are nowhere to be seen. How they evaded predators is a mystery. Over time I’ve had the privilege of watching them grow, develop their voices, and learn to fly. At the end of May, they’re still there, and behaving like adolescents – chasing each other around, pecking each other on the head and occasionally making test flights across the lake.

Once the little ducklings had attracted my feeble attention, I developed the habit of looking out at the lake first thing every morning to check on them. They tended to arrive in my backyard around 6:30 a.m. Until a few weeks ago, they made tiny little peeping noises, which were charming, but unfortunately they are now developing that distinctive duck voice. On Memorial Day I was awakened early by a chorus of quacking before they did a very patriotic flyover of my lanai.   

Anticipating the sad day that my ducklings depart for bigger things, I checked the FWC website to learn when I can expect to become an empty-nester. It was mostly good news. First, I learned that we in south Florida have the pleasure of hosting these ducks year-round; they tend to live south of Tampa and are non-migratory. They are a member of what is called “the mallard complex” which includes about 20 species of ducks, all alike in body shape but distinguished by their feather characteristics and colors. FWC noted that the Florida mottled duck is also known as the “Florida duck” or the “Florida mallard” because they are found only in Florida.  

Some people might find a mottled duck’s grey and brown coloring a little boring compared to the mallard, which I now consider to be the designer version of mottled ducks. The mallard has that showy display of teal bordered with white on their wings. Mottled ducks, male and female, have a more subtle version of that coloring on the wings with almost no white showing.  

There’s little difference in coloring between male and female mottled ducks, so you have to look at the bills to distinguish them. The male has an olive green-to-yellow bill while the female has an orange-to-brown bill. 

Watching the ducklings peck in the grass and dip their bills into the water, I tried to figure out what they were eating. FWC supplied the answer: about 40 percent of their diet comprises insects, snails, mollusks, crayfish and small fish. For the other 60 percent, they eat grass seeds, stems and roots, the seeds of other marsh plants, and bayberries.

I knew that my particular ducklings were special not only for their  survival skills and playful personalities, but according to FWC, a female produces only one brood a year and typically lays eight to ten eggs. The mother of my ducklings must have produced a pretty big clutch of eggs, and she must have protected them well. For the first two months or so, the parents hovered over the ducklings and shepherded them around the lake, giving them a good start in life.

It’s not all good news for the Florida mottled duck, however. Go to the FWC website and read about the challenges to the long-term survival of our unique south Florida duck. Loss of wetland habitat, of course, is a big threat. And what FWC calls “feral mallards” have been mating with mottled ducks and producing hybrid offspring. 

Having relied on my mottled ducklings to keep me distracted and happy during a tedious quarantine, I’m sorry to contemplate the threats to this special south Florida dabbling duck. We’re still looking for a cure for Covid-19. Watching ducks grow up won’t cure anyone, but it’s a great distraction. Today I’m as healthy as those ten beautiful mottled ducks, and I thank them. 

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All CREW Trails Closed Effective April 4th

April 3, 2020

As part of ongoing efforts to help prevent the potential spread of COVID-19 and protect public safety, the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) will temporarily close the all CREW trails, effective at 6 p.m. on Saturday, April 4, 2020.

Closure includes Bird Rookery Swamp, Flint Pen Strand, Cypress Dome and CREW Marsh trails.

The District follows the lead of local governments that have issued Safer at Home orders in their communities and guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Florida Department of Health.

Read the official post from South Florida Water Management District blog: https://www.sfwmd.gov/news/sfwmd-temporarily-closing-crew-lands-southwest-florida-reduce-potential-spread-covid-19

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CREW Trust Thanks Our Concert Sponsors

Your contributions have already helped to get the ball rolling on our newest programs developing at the Flint Pen Strand Trails. Environmental education for all ages is always a priority for the CREW Trust and I think you’ll agree that together we’ve made a huge impact in our community, one that continues to grow each year with your help.

Thank you for supporting  environmental education! We’re happy to have seen so many friendly faces at our CREW Concert this year. We really cherish our annual “friend-raiser” because it’s such a great place to get to talk with you, our sponsors. We sincerely hope you all had a fabulous time and hope to see you on our trails soon!

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CREW and You, part 5 and 6: WHY and HOW

This is part 5 and 6 of our six-part series on the Who, What, When, Where, Why and How of the CREW Trust.

The trestle bridge at Bird Rookery Swamp

In our previous posts, we’ve talked about the 60,000-acre Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed (CREW) and the role of the CREW Land & Water Trust.

Our nonprofit is dedicated to the preservation and stewardship of the water resources and natural communities in and around CREW.

We do this through assisting with funding and land acquisition and through environmental education.

At the heart of our WHY is this: we care passionately about the water, the land, and the flora and fauna within the watershed.

We care.

Part of protecting anything, from land to water to animals, is getting people to care. We know that, when someone is out on the trails and learns about how a drop of water moves through the watershed and is filtered by the 5,000-acre sawgrass marsh and helps fill our aquifer, we are helping them care about where their water comes from.

When a student learns about the palmetto berries and the bears that feed on them, they have an understanding of why we protect both the berry and the bear and how they (including the human) are all connected in our ecosystem.

Because we know that, when someone cares, they then ask HOW. How can they be part of protecting and preserving water? How can they work towards making sure that our future generations have clean water to drink?

How can they help protect endangered species like the Florida Panther?

game camera image by Tom Mortenson

All of us here at CREW Land & Water Trust – from staff to interns to volunteers and Trustees – we are all part of this nonprofit because at some time, we learned, then cared, then felt called to do something.

And if you have attended a program and learned about the watershed, or wandered the trails and watched a swallow-tailed kite soar overhead, you probably care, too. You are part of our why, and you can be part of our how.

Become a member. Our members help support our environmental education programs, not just through their membership dues, but also through attending our programs as paid participants.

Volunteer. Our volunteers do everything, from trail maintenance and exotic plant removal to assisting with field trips and leading guided walks. We simply could not educate the over 49,000 people who visited the CREW Trails or participated in a CREW Trust program last year without our volunteers.

The reality is, no one person started the CREW Project, and no one person founded the CREW Land & Water Trust. It took a few people caring a lot to start the process of acquiring and preserving land within the 60,000-acre border. Their WHY led to their HOW and it’s up to us to continue and carry the passion they had 30 years ago into the years to come.

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CREW and You, part 4: WHERE

Map of CREW

This is part 4 of a 6-part series on the Who, What, When, Where, Why and How of the CREW Land & Water Trust.

Map of CREW
The CREW Project

It’s pretty often that we get a phone call at our office and someone says, “Where are you located?” or “Where is the trail?”

So let’s cover that today.

WHERE, exactly, is the CREW Land & Water Trust located?

At a field station. A super, top-secret field station, with radiactive sandhill cranes that guard the entrance. (Just kidding about all of that except for the field station part.)

The CREW Trust shares an office with two of our partners in the CREW Project – South Florida Water Management District and Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission. Because this is a shared office, and we have no trails (really, none – it’s very boring), we use our address for mail only. If you do look us up on Google maps based on our mailing address, we appear to be somewhere in the middle of some strange fields off of Corkscrew Road.

Basically, where WE are isn’t as important as where the CREW Project is.

The CREW Project is a 60,000-acre watershed that spans Lee and Collier Counties. There are four trail systems that are open to the public for various recreation opportunities.

The CREW Trail Systems: A – CREW Marsh Trails; B – Cypress Dome Trails; C – Bird Rookery Swamp; and now a trail has opened in Flint Pen Strand.

The CREW Marsh Trails (4600 CR 850 (Corkscrew Road), Immokalee, FL 34142 ) were the first trails to open within the CREW Project and feature 5.5 miles of looped trails. The trails are located in Collier County and meander through pine flatwoods, sawgrass marsh, oak hammock and popash slough ecosystems.

CREW Marsh Trails MapDownload

The Cypress Dome Trails & Caracara Prairie Preserve (3980 CR 850 (Corkscrew Road), Immokalee, FL 34142) are located in Collier County near the Lee County border. The Cypress Dome Trails offer 6 miles of looped trails and connect to the Caracara Prairier Preserve, which is owned and managed by Conservation Collier.

Cypress Dome Trails & Caracara Prairie Preserve MapDownload

Bird Rookery Swamp Trail (1295 Shady Hollow Boulevard, Naples, FL 34120) is an approximately 12 mile trail located in Collier County. The trail features a shell path, short boardwalk and grassy tram – a remnant of its logging history.

Bird Rookery Swamp Trail MapDownload

The first trail in Flint Pen Strand opened in November 2018 and more are in development. The 1.5-mile red trail offers views of the Kehl Canal along with sections of seasonal marsh and hydric pine.

Flint Pen Strand Trail MapDownload
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CREW and You, part 3: WHEN

This is part 3 of a 6-part series on the Who, What, When, Where, Why and How of the CREW Land & Water Trust.

CREW Marsh Trails observation tower, overlooking the 5,000-acre sawgrass marsh

This year the CREW Land & Water Trust is celebrating it’s 30th anniversary. The “when” of our story started 30 years ago and we’ve been working hard ever since to preserve the water, land and wildlife within the 60,000-acre CREW Project.

We are proud of our history and our role in the CREW Project and encourage you to read about it in full on our HISTORY page.

It’s pretty difficult to condense all of our history into one infograph, especially considering the many names that have written this history. From founder Joel Kuperburg and our first executive director, Ellen Lindblad, to our longest-serving volunteer, Dr. David Cooper, our history includes volunteers, members, friends, land managers, biologists, students, professors, residents and visitors. We are thankful for everyone who has had a hand in the success of our nonprofit and look forward to working with you all in the years to come to preserve our watershed and its most important natural resource – water.

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CREW and YOU, part 1: WHO

This is part 1 of a 6-part series on the Who, What, When, Where, Why and Hows of CREW and the CREW Trust.

When we first meet people, whether it’s visitors, new members, new volunteers or residents, introducing ourselves (explaining who we are) can be confusing.

It’s not an easy answer.

For example, when you introduce yourself, you say “Hi, my name is Blankity Blank, and I’m a rockstar astrophysicist who enjoys entomology.”

(Also, if that is you, let’s be friends as soon as possible)

But when we, the CREW Trust meet someone knew, explaining who we are can take five minutes – and that’s the short version.

Most people check out within the first two sentences – once they realize we’re going to say a lot of really long words, some of which may be new, like “aquifer recharge” and, well, honestly even what CREW stands for trips people up.

So let’s break it down into WHO exactly we are, and how that relates to CREW.

CREW

The acronym stands for the Corkscrew Regional Ecosytem Watershed, which is a 60,000-acrew watershed that spans Lee and Collier counties in Southwest Florida.

(we will get into the WHAT of the watershed in our next post)

So, CREW is the name for the land. (super short version of the definition)

The CREW Project

We sometimes refer to the entire 60,000-acres as the CREW Project, because CREW involves multiple agencies.

Those agencies include the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD), Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), Conservation Collier, Conservation 20/20 and the CREW Land & Water Trust. Corkscrew Audubon Sanctuary is also within the borders of the CREW Project.

CREW Land & Water Trust (CREW Trust)

We, the CREW Land & Water Trust, are the non-profit agency attached to the CREW Project.

We help with funding and land acquisition and provide environmental education at the four trail systems within the CREW Project – the CREW Marsh Trails, Cypress Dome Trails, Bird Rookery Swamp and Flint Pen Strand.

The CREW Trust is often confused with CREW (as in, the names are used interchangeably) but we try to stress that we are part of the multi-agency project and NOT the land owners, land managers, biologists, law enforcement… we are helpers within the CREW Project.

We are ultimately tasked with helping each person we meet learn about WHAT CREW is (and what you can do at the trails), WHERE it is located (along with the trails), WHEN the project started and its timeline, WHY it’s important to protect the watershed, and HOW the public can help.

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CREW Concert & Auction Just Days Away: Get Tickets Now & Save!

Hurry, hurry! The CREW Concert & Silent Eco-Auction is just days away, and you can save a few bucks by buying your tickets online ahead of time! That way, you’ll have more dollars in your pocket for buying some tasty food, great beer and wine, or bidding on those oh-so-fabulous airplane rides, swamp buggy tours and 42 other one-of-a-kind silent auction items.

i love crew concert logo

Gates open at 5:00 PM at Riverside Park on Old 41 in Bonita Springs.
Music by Chain Reaction (a Journey tribute band) and The Sarah Hadeka Band.

This year’s special Valentine’s Eve Concert also features:

  • Roses for your love
  • A romantic “Sarah-nade” by Sarah Hadeka for one lucky couple
  • A kid-friendly area where children will be able to make and take Valentine-themed arts and crafts

So, what are you waiting for?

BUY YOUR TICKETS NOW!

Tickets are $15 online if purchased before noon on February 13th. Tickets purchased at the gate are $20 for adults. Children under the age of 12 are free, no pets are allowed.

All proceeds support CREW’s environmental education programs – teaching people to love the watershed by getting them out in it!

Come on out and party with us!