Field Trips

Longleaf pine woodlands were one of the dominant upland forests of the southeastern U.S. Today, less than 5 percent of these majestic forests remains, and only a small portion are managed with prescribed fire regimes that approximate natural conditions. The extent of losses from conversion and mismanagement makes old-growth longleaf forests one of the most endangered ecosystems in North America.

The Wade Tract Preserve is a 200-acre (85 ha) old-growth longleaf research site near Thomasville, Georgia. The Wade Tract is one of only a few old-growth tracts that have been managed with fire for decades. It is also the only tract dedicated to long-term research. The history of research coupled with the extreme rarity of this old-growth forest type make the Wade Tract one of the most important ecological research sites anywhere.

Tall Timbers Research Station has three primary goals for the Wade Tract Preserve: (1) maintain the old-growth structure and species composition, (2) use the tract as an example of old-growth forest conditions in the southeast, and (3) provide an example of how the natural landscape may have appeared prior to European settlement. The preserve is on private property and is not open to the general public.

Proclaimed a National Forest in 1936, the Apalachicola National Forest is the largest forest in Florida at 571,088 acres, which includes 2,735 acres of water. At time of acquisition, the natural landscape was altered due to timber- and turpentine-producing practices. The Apalachicola is now a healthy, diverse, productive forest with the largest Red-cockaded Woodpecker population in the world. Located in Florida’s Panhandle, southwest of Tallahassee, the Apalachicola National Forest is well-known for its spectacular botanical diversity, including colorful pitcher plant prairies and one of the last extensive longleaf pine and wiregrass communities still in existence. Two wilderness areas will give visitors a demonstration of the impact of past fire exclusion, while adjacent areas with a longer prescribed burning history demonstrate what Florida might have looked like before civilization arrived.

Tate’s Hell State Forest, due south of the Apalachicola National Forest, is one continuous tract of land comprising more than 202,000 acres. During the 1960s and 1970s, the hydrology was substantially altered in an attempt to establish extensive tracts of pine plantations and to enhance the production of pine timber. These alterations involved the construction of roads and associated ditches, followed by the planting of large dense stands of slash pine that were fertilized with phosphorus and nitrogen. The network of roads has increased public access to the area, making it a popular location for local residents to hunt and fish. To protect the Apalachicola Bay from severe freshwater runoff, the state began purchasing the majority of the property in 1994 and has continued to purchase additional lands. Past management practices have disrupted the function of the natural ecosystems on Tate’s Hell State Forest. The restoration of these ecosystems is a primary objective of the Florida Forest Service.

More than 700 karst (artesian) springs occur in Florida, including 33 first-magnitude springs—more than any other place on earth. Springs have been used by humans for thousands of years for water supply and recreation. All of Florida’s springs are under threat: from excess nitrogen loading to degradation from recreational use to development in recharge areas. Since 1992, the Northwest Florida Water Management District has acquired more than 41,000 acres of property along Econfina Creek to protect its springs and the water supply of Panama City and the surrounding Bay/Washington County area.

In early 2011, the District completed spring restoration and protection measures at Pitt/Sylvan Springs and enhanced public access and recreational use. Engineering designs for spring restoration and protection of Williford Spring (second magnitude) are currently underway and degradation is evident. Participants will also have the opportunity to tour Gainer Springs (first magnitude) and discuss challenges to the restoration and protection of privately owned springs.

This trip includes visits to three spring study sites, where participants will be shown the following: 1) Pitt/Sylvan Springs: completed spring restoration and protection techniques; 2) Williford Spring: proposed spring restoration and protection designs and; 3) Gainer Spring: view first-magnitude spring and natural features. We will be hiking in all three study areas, but traveling by bus to each site to save time. Field trip stops and discussion topics will include: spring restoration and protection measures, public recreation impacts, sovereign land issues, sensitive habitats, hydrology, geology, aquifer protection, etc.

The St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1931 to provide wintering habitat for migratory birds and to conserve other native wildlife. Subsequent legislation has expanded the refuge purposes to include fish-and-wildlife-dependent recreation, conservation of endangered species, and management of wilderness areas. It is one of the oldest refuges in the National Wildlife Refuge System and encompasses nearly 70,000 acres of coastal Wakulla, Jefferson, and Taylor counties along Florida’s Big Bend. The refuge includes fire-maintained pine forests, diverse hardwood hammocks, coastal marshes and estuaries of seven North Florida rivers. The refuge’s rich flora and fauna includes approximately 1,400 species of plants, over 300 species of birds, 44 species of mammals and over 100 amphibian and reptile species. The refuge also has strong ties to a rich cultural past, and is home to the St. Marks Lighthouse, which was built in 1832 and is still in use today.

This trip includes visits to a broad representation of the refuge’s pine-dominated habitats, including sandhills, scrubby flatwoods and mesic flatwoods. We will be caravanning in an open-air people-mover trailer on interior refuge roads and minor public roads between sites where we will stop for short hikes of under a half-mile each. Points of interest will include stops to view Red-cockaded Woodpecker habitat, recruitment sites and discussions of management techniques including artificial cavity installation. Additionally, we will visit occupied habitats of the gopher tortoise and discuss tortoise conservation measures, the federal listing process, and line transect distance sampling methodology recently used to estimate the refuge’s population of this imperiled species.

The field trip will conclude with a trip to the refuge’s visitor center and the opportunity to learn about management of waterfowl, wading birds and shorebirds in the brackish wetlands near the St. Marks Lighthouse.

The Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail (GFBWT) is a program of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. At its core is a network of nearly 500 sites throughout Florida selected for their excellent birdwatching, wildlife viewing or educational opportunities. This trip includes visits to three locations in the Panhandle section of the Great Florida Birding Trail: Bottoms Road Boat Ramp, Bald Point State Park and Ochlocknee River State Park. These three sites are located in Wakulla and Franklin counties, which offer some of the best birding in Florida’s Panhandle.

Stop 1: Bottoms Road Boat Ramp: Bottoms Road extends out through salt marsh to a county-owned boat launch on the Gulf. Along the way, watch and listen for Clapper Rails, Virginia Rails (winter) and wading birds in the marsh, plus Northern Harriers cruising the flats in winter. The marsh is also a good place to look for Nelson’s Sparrow (winter) and Seaside Sparrow (year-round). From the shoulder along the road, scope the offshore sandbars for loafing terns, gulls and shorebirds. From the boat ramp, scan the waters for ducks and scoters.

Stop 2: Bald Point State Park: The park’s geography and location provide a prime vantage of the raptor migration in October, as Peregrine Falcons, Northern Harriers and others cruise down the beach. Overwintering shorebirds like Black-bellied Plovers and Dunlin use the beach and estuary, and when horseshoe crabs are spawning, large numbers of shorebirds gather to feast on the crabs’ eggs. Year-round, listen for raucous Clapper Rails and Marsh Wrens from the observation boardwalk, which overlooks pristine marshes near the upper parking lot. Groove-billed Anis are rare winter visitors.

Stop 3: Ochlockonee River State Park: This park is well-known for its “snow white” Eastern Gray Squirrels (no, they are not albinos). Prothonotary Warblers and Wood Storks may be seen along the river, as well as skulking Green Herons, Limpkins and Least Bitterns in the brushy margins.

November is a great time to experience the phenomenal fall flush of flowering plants on recently burned habitats of upland pine (clayhills), sandhills, mesic and wet flatwoods, and wet prairies in Florida. Most herbaceous species that make up these habitats flower profusely after fire has consumed their aboveground parts, taking advantage of the opened-up habitat to flower and set seed in.

This trip includes botanical forays into well-burned areas of the Apalachicola National Forest, from its xeric uplands south of Tallahassee and ending up in the wetter, “pitcher plant bogs” found closer to the Apalachicola River. This area is a center of biodiversity in Florida and has many endemic and rare plants that add to the stunning arrays of floral displays that occur here in the fall.

This field trip will focus on interagency springshed management. It will begin in Tallahassee, 15 miles from Wakulla Spring, at an elevation of 200 feet. We will follow the water on its surface and underground journey to the spring, dropping to an elevation of 3 feet above sea level. We will visit city and county stormwater and wastewater facilities designed to remove pollutants. We will also visit a sinking stream and a sinkhole lake that feed water to Wakulla Spring. You will see karst windows where cave divers enter the aquifer to explore Florida’s largest and deepest underwater cave system. We will discuss water quality and consumptive use challenges and successful strategies for protecting one of Florida’s largest springs. The tour will end at Wakulla Spring, the source of the Wakulla River, and a premier wildlife observation area.

At Wakulla Springs State Park you will be able to enjoy lunch at the Historic Wakulla Springs Lodge and then go on a boat tour down the Wakulla River. The park offers spectacular wildlife interactions along the river.

One of the most diverse places in Florida, Torreya State Park was established in 1935, making it one of the first state parks in Florida. At 14,000 acres, Torreya is the largest state park in the Florida Panhandle. Its namesake, the Torreya taxifolia, is one of the rarest trees in North America. Torreya State Park is currently undertaking a 4,000-acre upland/groundcover restoration. We are partnering with The Nature Conservancy to complete the project. Currently, the uplands have closely planted sand pine planted by previous land owners.

This trip includes visits to study sites showing the different stages of restoration on state park and Nature Conservancy land. We will be hiking in these areas to get a better feel for the process. Field trip stops and discussion topics will include ecology, steephead ravine systems and the importance of the upland areas surrounding.

Falling Waters, located in northeastern Washington County, is composed of various natural communities, including Sinkhole, Slope Forest, Upland Pine Forest, Seepage Slope, Seepage Stream and Terrestrial Cave. An outstanding feature of this park is its system of sinkholes, one of which contains Florida’s tallest waterfall: a huge chimney sinkhole into which cascades a small stream fed by seepage springs. Another feature of the park is the upland pine forest that has the distinction of being the site of the first Florida State Park prescribed fire. Although small in size, this park is abundant in natural beauty.

Florida Caverns, situated in the Marianna Lowlands province, is the only state park in Florida to offer cave tours. The caves contain dazzling formations of stalactites, stalagmites, soda straws, columns, rim-stone pools, flowstones, and draperies. The caves are also home to unique species such as blind salamanders, cave crayfish, and the endangered gray bat. The park protects 10 distinct natural communities with extremely rare habitat types, such as Bluff, Upland Hardwood Forest, Upland Mixed Forest, Upland Pine Forest, Alluvial Stream, Spring Run Stream, Floodplain Swamp, Floodplain Forest and Upland Glade. Upland Glade is one of only three Critically Globally Imperiled (G1) terrestrial natural communities in Florida and is arguably Florida’s most endangered upland habitat.

Apalachee Wildlife Management Area provides the scenic backdrop for a look at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Habitat Assessment and Restoration Program (HARP). Nestled along Lake Seminole, Apalachee is co-managed with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and harbors Florida Natural Areas Inventory reference sites for Upland Pine and Upland Mixed Woodlands. The latter natural community includes the largest known population of the federally listed Spigelia gentianoides, or Gentian Pinkroot.

This trip includes visits to natural community reference areas and restoration sites for focal vertebrate species. Discussions will include setting desired future conditions for vegetation structural attributes, monitoring plant community and animal responses to management treatments, integrating conservation planning, and applying comprehensive strategies at the management unit, natural community and landscape levels.