Author FOF

Author FOF

20 Years of the Friends of Fakahatchee

Talk Given in Celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the Establishment of the to Friends of the Fakahatchee on December 7, 2018

by Franklin Adams, Everglades City, 

Good Afternoon Everyone. The Friends of Fakahatchee celebrated the dedication of the Big Cypress Bend Boardwalk Project this morning. The dedication was a testament to the incredibly dedicated and hard-working group of the Friends of the Fakahatchee.

We should recognize people like Tom Maish, the driving force on the new boardwalk quest, Patrick Higgins & Glen Stacell to name a few. Glen Stacell is our incoming president of the FOF and I share with you how Glen came to be a volunteer with the Friends. The Friends were seeking new board members. Knowing of Glen’s science/biology background I asked him if he would be interested in joining the FOF board. His response was, “well what would I have to do?” My response was, “you will be an unpaid volunteer and you can do as much or as little as you care to do.” All I can say is, Glen, you have made me proud. There are many others of you each contributing in your own way to the common cause.

Having Eric Draper, the Director of Florida State Parks, with us is a genuine pleasure and is greatly appreciated. Many of us in the environmental community were delighted when Eric Draper was chosen to head the Florida Park Service. His interest bodes well for the Friends as the organization continues to work to make the Fakahatchee experience available and an enjoyable and educational experience for all. We also thank State Senator Kathleen Passidomo for her vital support for Fakahatchee and look forward to continuing to work with her. Longtime Collier County Commissioner Donna Fiala continues, as always, to support wise and needed environmental projects here in Collier County. Thanks again to you all for being our Friends in conservation efforts.

With us this afternoon is the lady from Naples who was instrumental in helping Mel Finn and others save the Fakahatchee, Jane Parks. Mrs. Parks was President of the Florida Federation of Junior Womens’ Clubs back when the Save the Fakahatchee fight was going on.

We are gathered here to Celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the establishment of the Friends of the Fakahatchee as a Citizens Support Organization, a partnership with the State of Florida Park Service. The Florida Park Service was established in 1935 by the Florida legislature with the annual budget of $25,000. WOW! (well back then 25,000 went a lot further than it does today). Over the years the annual budget has increased considerably but many feel that the budget is still inadequately funded by the legislature. Because of this shortfall Friends groups or CSOs are critically important to the Florida State Parks system. Friends of Fakahatchee and other Friends groups pick up the slack, fill in the holes, open trails and advocate for improved educational opportunities like the Big Cypress Bend Boardwalk. I am talking about you folks. You make the difference by your dedicated efforts and support at all levels of the Friends of Fakahatchee.

Well how did this Friends group come about? I was not involved but this is what I have been told by a few of that small group of individuals who were there when it happened. Some are in the room with us and we owe them a debt of gratitude for coming together to help establish the Friends in 1998. I have communicated with some of those original supporters who are still with us. It is from them that I am able to share a little of the story of our Friends beginnings. Two of the dedicated original founders have passed on. But we remember Alan Caldwell and Bill Mesce for all their contributions to the Friends over the years.

It all began with Mr. Greg Toppin who was the Manager of the Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park in 1998. We are delighted that Greg and Joann are here with us this afternoon to celebrate. It’s been awhile. Like other Florida Park Managers, Greg was short on needed staff and funding and realized that he needed a Friends group to help out. (Especially since the Fakahatchee was the largest unit in the Florida Park System). I was told by Barbara Lewinski that Greg Toppin put up a notice in the Everglades City post office asking that anyone interested in the Fakahatchee attend a meeting at the Copeland Baptist Church to discuss establishing a Friends group.

Those attending that first meeting were Alan and Elsie Caldwell, Bill and Pam Mesce, Barbara Lewinski, Cindy Hackney and Roger Dykstra (and there may have been others). The decision was made to form the Friends.

On May 4, 1998, the articles of incorporation were signed by Alan & Elsie Caldwell, Greg Toppin, Barbara Lewinski, Brian Donohue & Roger Dykstra.

On June 10, 1998 the CSO agreement was signed by Fran P. Mainella, Director of the Florida Division of Recreation and Parks who later went on to become the Director of the National Park Service. Barbara Lewinski was the new Secretary, and Roger Dykstra the first President of the Friends of Fakahatchee. Elsie Caldwell was a founder would later become president of the FOF.

The new Friends group wasted no time in getting to work. Establishing a visitors center at S.R. 29 & Alligator Alley was on the new wish list. Its day is coming but not there.

Invasive exotic plant removal began soon and continues today. Barbara recalls them doing a trailer take down of an old trailer that a ranger had resided in, removing the furniture and contents in preparation for an improved residence. What that small dedicated group began is carried forward by you all today. Raising funds for equipment, a swamp buggy, a much needed pole barn, maintaining Janes Scenic Drive, hand clearing trails and trams, educational swamp walks, moonlight tram adventures and the Big Cypress Bend Boardwalk to name a few. Keep it up Friends.

Since Founders Alan Caldwell and Bill Mesce are no longer with us I want to mention their past dedicated efforts for the Fakahatchee. Alan was a microbiologist married to Elsie who was a chemist. They loved to be camping in the swamp. Alan served as chair of the By-laws and nominating committees, treasurer, vice-president and all around longtime faithful friend and glue to the Friends of Fakahatchee. The Friends honored Alan with a plaque at the gator hole at the end of the Big Cypress Bend boardwalk, thanks to Jim Woodard and Howard Lubel and Steve Korney.

Bill Mesce, married to Pam, was a Viet Nam veteran. Quiet, thoughtful and totally captivated by the Fakahatchee, he delighted in sharing his love, photographs and knowledge of the swamp with others on his Swamp Walks. Doing so was therapeutic to this former Marine who served our country so well. Bill and Pam lived just outside the swamp and often shared their Copeland retreat with the Friends on special occasions. About two weeks before Bill’s passing I drove to Copeland and picked him up at his Mother’s home. We just drove Scenic Drive down to one of Bill’s favorite areas , West Slough. Bill knew that his time was near and he could not walk much, so we just sat in my truck and talked about the good times in the swamp. The Friends have honored Bill Mesce with a memorial picnic area on a swamp tram. A place to sit and contemplate the peace and serenity that Bill Mesce valued so dearly. Thanks again to Howard Lubel and Jim Woodard for bringing it about.

In closing we remember nature photographer and Fakahatchee Friend Saul Friess who left us recently.

We also remember Nathaniel Nat Reed who left us back in July at the age of 84 while fishing. Some of you will remember that Nat came over and spent the day and evening with us in December 2011. Nat paved the way at the Florida State level for the acquisition finally of what became the Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park. Nat made Mel Finn’s long pursued dream to save the Fakahatchee a reality. As we know, sometimes a lone individual can make a significant difference and Mel Finn and Nat Reed did. We owe him our gratitude and honor his memory. Tomorrow morning Kathy and I will travel to Jupiter Island to attend Nathaniel’s Memorial service with his family and friends.

And now finally, I would like the original Founders to stand proudly and receive our grateful thanks for their efforts 20 years ago in founding the Friends of the Fakahatchee . THANK EACH OF YOU!

Thanks to each of you, and now let us visit, ask questions of the Founders and keep up the good work and enjoy our time together.

Annual appeal to fund pole barn for Fakahatchee

by Patrick Higgins

Ranger Steven Bass and Paul Joslyn clear fire trail using one of the vehicles to be stored in the pole barn.

The Park and your Board is really grateful for your past generous response to our annual appeals. This has allowed us to provide much needed material and equipment to fulfill our mission of preserving and maintaining the Fakahatchee’s unique ecosystem.

Over the past few years we have provided the extra funds so the Park Biologist could upgrade to an ecofriendly hybrid Ford Explorer. We also purchased a FOF pick-up truck, a tram for our tour programs, an ATC, 2 UTVs, and a wood chipper. In addition, the Park has all manner of large equipment from road graders, tractors, grass cutters and some very large trailers.

We have now reached the stage where we need to provide covered storage for this donated equipment, and for the Park Service’s other vehicles to protect them from the elements. This will in turn reduce annual maintenance costs, much of which is funded by FOF as part of our direct park support budget.

This year we are therefore proposing a major annual appeal project to build an approximate 6,720 square foot (70 x 96ft) open-sided pole barn in the vehicle park area for this purpose. This may seem large, but with just the equipment the park and FOF has now, 70% of its capacity would be filled. Our estimate of $50,000 for this is a bigger ask than we have ever made before, but the pole barn is the top of our Park Manager’s wish list, and will have benefits for years to come.

Because this year’s target is higher than usual we are also going to seek matching funds, but we need to raise at least half from our membership. Between this and your continued generosity I am confident that we can make this happen.

One thought is that at this time of year some of you with IRAs may be planning to take required 2017 distributions. A tax efficient way of charitable giving can be to allocate and transfer a portion of this distribution directly to a qualified charity of your choice such as FOF. This is known as a Qualified Charitable Distribution or QCD. Based on your specific tax situation you may find this affords you a tax savings while fulfilling your charitable giving goals. Of course you should talk with your tax advisor to see how this can be a win-win for both you and FOF.

In any case, any donation large or small to help us meet this important need would be most welcome. You are an amazing group. On behalf of the resource that we all cherish, thank you for your support.

The Friends of Fakahatchee, Inc. is a 501(c}(3} not-for-profit Citizen Support Organization providing financial and volunteer support to preserve the unique ecological and cultural heritage of Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park and to educate the public about its importance.

Some Effects of Irma on the Fakahatchee’s Ecosystem

by Patrick Higgins

Irma

John Kaiser, Francine Stevens and Tom Maish on Sunday, October 15. Amazingly, debris from Irma had already been cleared up to gate 12 except for this pile. Photo by Patrick Higgins.

After devastating the Florida Keys on the morning of September 10th and wreaking havoc on Everglades City and the Fakahatchee as it moved north, Hurricane Irma’s eye made a second U.S. landfall on Marco Island around 3:30 PM as a category 4 storm with sustained winds of 130 mph. Irma had been swirling at hurricane strength since August 31st and had been a major category 3 or above for nearly all of that time. It battered both coasts of southern Florida, swept up the peninsula and produced high seas and storm surges as far north as South Carolina.

We don’t have a recording for Irma’s wind strength in the park because the anemometer failed and even an accurate rain gauge reading was not possible because much of the rain was horizontal. Although the park recorded some 12 inches of rain it probably received closer to 20. The tremendous destructive force of the hurricane was obvious to all from the downed trees, ruined powerlines, damaged roofs, collapsed structures, and flooding and debris everywhere. At one stage water was even flowing over Highway 41 and State Road 29. But there are many more subtle effects on the natural world which may not be as immediately apparent.

For instance, Hurricane Irma will have affected birds in the eastern flyway on their autumn migration from northern breeding grounds to their winter homes in the tropics. Not only will many have been blown perhaps hundreds of miles off course, and some even drowned at sea, but the landscape they traversed would have been substantially altered and in many cases denuded. Food sources like berries and insects may have been eliminated and flooding would have reduced foraging opportunities on the ground. Certainly in the storm’s immediate aftermath in my own yard I saw the few butterflies that had survived desperately searching for nectar sources. All the blooms had been blown away.

But there will be some winners too. Driving down San Marco Road to Goodland a few days after the storm, our vultures had clearly benefited. Hundreds lined the causeway feasting on the fish that had been trapped on the road when the tidal surge receded.

Irma’s path across Cuba may have transported a fresh infusion of orchid and bromeliad seeds to the Fakahatchee. Tropical storm winds are how many of our epiphytes originally arrived. Who knows, maybe some lost species could even reappear?

Toppled trees in our swamp will have created more horizontal habitat suitable for skinks and reptile sunning. Snapped tree trunks may have opened-up cavities in which small animals can make homes. Uprooted trees will also have left depressions which may later become ephemeral ponds which will be safe from predatory fish and available for tree frogs to spawn. The same uprooted trees will have exposed bare earth making it easier for seeds to sprout. Ground birds will benefit from increased shelter, and highly adaptable raccoons will find new food sources by scavenging Irma’s debris.

When the water subsides, the dead material littering the forest floor will decay and the newly abundant sunlight streaming through gaps in the canopy will promote lush new growth in which small herbaceous seedlings will compete – ultimately probably unsuccessfully – with fresh vertical shoots from now horizontal trees. In this race vigorous vines may smother some of the defoliated trees before they have fully recovered, producing a dense secondary jungle-like habitat.

Openings in the canopy will allow formerly shaded saplings to make a dash for the Sun. Unfortunately some of these opportunists may be invasive species. A week after Irma, I already noted Brazilian pepper rushing into bloom.

Some trees in exposed locations would have had their bark entirely stripped off and will die standing up, turning them into snags ripe for colonization by fungi and invertebrates. However, the many downed trees, broken branches and stripped leaves will increase the fuel load and the future risk of wildfire.

Wounded trees may also be more susceptible to future insect infestation and disease as happened in Everglades National Park following Hurricane Andrew. A few months after Andrew many pines began to yellow and die as they succumbed in their weakened condition to pine bark beetles and weevils.

Endangered species with small residual populations nearly always fare badly from catastrophic events like hurricanes. A huge number of epiphytes will have been torn from their perches. Some of the rarer species may take years to recover or disappear.

Generally however, our native plant species are better adapted to hurricanes than non-natives. For instance it was very rare to see a toppled royal palm in Naples despite their huge numbers and exposed street plantings. They just shed their fronds as the wind load increased, leaving their growing tip intact. This was very evident going up Janes Scenic Drive last week. Where everything else was reduced to a tangled mass, royal palms protruded upright and only slightly frazzled all along the road north of gate 7. Most were already in flower or even fruiting in reaction to the stress. Gumbo limbos pursue a different hurricane strategy. Their limbs are very brittle and easily shed to reduce wind load and then readily root where they land.

Our southern slash pine, Pinus elliottii densa, is also adapted to the higher frequency of hurricanes in south Florida. Unlike its cousins north of Interstate 70, it doesn’t grow quite as tall and has a deeper tap root making it more resistant to extreme winds. My house is near Naples Airport where they clocked 142 mph gusts. I feared the 60+ ft pines behind my house would come crashing through the roof, but they stood firm just shedding a few limbs and masses of needles.

In the southern reaches of the park, Irma’s wind and waves will have rearranged coastal sands and inundated sea turtle nests, wiping out the last 6 weeks of our hatching season. Further out, Gulf surface waters will have been re-oxygenated by the storm’s wave action, but this could also have churned up dormant red tide cysts which may haunt us later. Meanwhile, Irma may have temporarily broken up algal blooms, but the release of extra nutrient-laden floodwater from Lake Okeechobee is quickly countering this further up the coast.

The same forces will have driven salt water into our coastal marshes leaving salt concentrations that may persist for years. Conversely, subsequent floodwater discharge through the Faka Union Canal and East River will have reduced salinity in our bays, disrupting some estuarine life cycles.

Our tidal mangrove swamps, where many of our wading birds would have sheltered in the storm, acted as a natural buffer by absorbing its energy, but may suffer delayed damage as they did from Hurricane Donna. This was as the result of extra depositions of mud as the mangroves slowed the storm’s water flow. In Donna’s case the extra layer of mud interfered with the oxygen supply to the mangroves’ roots, killing vast tracts months later where accumulations were the greatest.

But the speed of the natural world’s recovery in a tropical-like environment is remarkable. The live oaks, West Indian mahogany and gumbo limbo in my yard were almost completely defoliated, yet 10 days later were leafing out again. Fresh blooms are everywhere as plants compete to produce seeds to exploit Irma’s disturbance.

Sadly the economic loss and human recovery from the devastation takes much longer. I think we are all still a little shell shocked. The only saving grace from the prolonged loss of electrical power and a blacked-out Naples was that for the first time, I could see the Milky Way right in the city center – a reminder of the fragility of our civilization.

FOF Finds Support to Enhance Visitors’ Fakahatchee Experience

This digital rendering of the proposed Cracker Pavilion shows how placing the pavilion across the canal gives people the opportunity to experience the Fakahatchee if they choose not to walk the boardwalk.

Although we feared that damage to the State Park System by a major hurricane might suck up
funds for the Boardwalk Expansion Project, I’m happy to report that this is still full steam ahead. Permitting will probably be in place around February 2018. This includes monies for the new restrooms and the new interpretive Environmental Education Center, funded by the last Florida legislative session.

Over the summer the park received a donation from our neighbors in Big Cypress National Preserve – enough long-life synthetic wood planking to resurface the entire length of the existing Big Cypress Bend Boardwalk. It’s now all neatly stacked in pallets in the Harmon Building for when we’re ready.

FOF has also just been awarded a $46,720 grant by Collier County’s Tourist Development Council to fund wayfinding in the park. Wayfinding refers to information systems that guide people through a physical environment and enhance their understanding and experience of the space. The grants provide funds for creating a useful visitor map, as well as information kiosks/boards at our hiking, biking and canoeing trailheads. Visit our Plan Your Visit page for online information.

Friends of Fakahatchee Welcome Back Lunch Dec 16

Join us for lunch as the Friends of Fakahatchee host their annual “welcome back” gathering Saturday, Dec. 16 at noon in Kapnick Hall at Naples Botanical Garden.

“We’re excited about meeting in such a beautiful location that gives attendees a chance to tour the gardens after our lunch,” said Patrick Higgins, Friends of Fakahatchee president. “We hope the new time will encourage our members and the public to participate as we kick off our new season.”

The luncheon speaker is Nick Ewy, associate director of horticulture for the garden. A Michigan native with a degree in botany and plant pathology from Michigan State University, Nick worked at the American Orchid Society Botanical Garden in Delray Beach before joining the Naples Botanical Garden where he he oversees the Garden’s diverse collection and display of native and exotic orchids. He is working towards conserving several of Florida’s native orchids through propagation and re-introduction studies.

Nick Ewy Nick started working with rare plants in high school, and went on to obtain a degree in botany and plant pathology from Michigan State University. He now serves as Associate Director of Horticulture at Naples Botanical Garden.

The $45 fee for the buffet by Frisco Catering includes complementary admission to the gardens, which are located at 4940 Bayshore Drive in Naples just a few steps from the Kapnick Hall. The luncheon begins at noon with a cash bar followed by a buffet lunch and Ewy’s presentation.

Get your Lunch Ticket

Irma hits Fakahatchee, but park will recover

by Patrick Higgins
President – Friends of Fakahatchee

I hope this finds you all well. I know many of us are exhausted from our own recovery efforts from Irma.

Francine, Glen and I met with Steve Houseknecht Friday the 23rd of September to assess the damage to the Fakahatchee from Hurricane Irma and any needs from FOF. Power had just been returned to the park office. Until then the park staff, like many of us, had been in a survival mode. All the staff had evacuated, with a large contingent weathering the storm at Mike Duey’s house in Golden Gate.

Remains of the chemical shed and shade house by the park office.

All the park buildings came out pretty much unscathed except for the small chemical shed behind the park office and Glen’s shade house which were demolished. However, the park residences did not fare as well. Steve Houseknecht’s home by the lake flooded, albeit by only a few inches, but with sufficient damage that it’s uninhabitable. He has spent much of the past week ferrying personal possessions to his Everglades City house. On top of this, his truck broke down so he commandeered the FOF truck with our blessings. Then he was almost arrested when he was stopped in unkept civilian clothes driving our truck piled high with furniture. They thought he had stolen it.

Steve’s Everglades City home is a partial stilt house on a raised mound. The water level came within a foot but didn’t enter. Everglades City has been devastated. After our park visit Francine and I looked in on Marya Repko. She had mud and water on her screen porch but her living area escaped. It was tragic to see piles of household debris lining all the streets. Mike Owen’s house has some roof damage and the stilt house up by I-75 occupied by our newest park Ranger, Guy DiGiovanni, remarkably was not lifted off its foundation, but had some damage. The Park Service will pay for the necessary repairs.

The entire length of Janes Scenic Drive is still flooded. Steve was able to make one foray as far as Gate 7 after which it was impassable. At its worst, water was flowing across SR 29 and Highway 41 in places. I’m sure we can expect a number of wash-outs on our trail network, although Steve doesn’t expect the road bed of JSD to be too badly damaged, as he had wisely closed much of it since the flooding started 6 weeks ago. Steve is thankful that all the park and FOF vehicles were okay and had been protected either in the sheds or the Harmon building.

Our entrance sign and donation box still stand at the boardwalk entrance.

On the way to the park, Francine, Glen and I surveyed the damage to the Big Cypress Bend Boardwalk. Until then park staff hadn’t the resources or time to make other than a cursory inspection. On the crushed rock approach to the start of the Boardwalk our cabbage palms had all their boots stripped so they looked like they had been neatly trimmed by some urban landscaping firm. The vista had also been decidedly opened up with more sunlight where there had been shade.

This downed tree is one of several blocking the boardwalk.

Our new signage along the entire length of the Boardwalk seems to have fared well. Even our big old FOF donation appeal sign was still standing. The traditional chickee structures in the Indian village and almost everywhere else along our route to the park fared well – an important observation as we are building a chickee rain shelter/ outdoor classroom at the Boardwalk this autumn. Although mosquitoes in urban areas are becoming a problem, at the park they are not.

Explorers Glen Stacell and Francine Stevens scuttle under another branch.

We managed to reach the alligator hole after about an hour of struggling, some of which was on our hands and knees. Although it is a mess, the Boardwalk fared remarkably well. Most of what needs to be done is cosmetic, such as debris clearance. There were only 10 places with noticeable physical damage to the structure, largely the railings.

Damage from the root ball of a tree that fell away from the boardwalk.

However there is one 8 foot section where a large tree fell away from the boardwalk. Its root ball canted the boardwalk surface at a 45 degree angle. A bypass may be needed here as it will be very difficult to remove the root ball. There is another section higher up where a heritage tree has fallen across the boardwalk and very heavy duty chain saws will be needed.

Cypress bark stripped by the wind from trees.

The platform at the alligator hole was intact and just needs cleaning up. Unfortunately some of our heritage trees below the big cypress tree cutout had their bark stripped by the wind and will not recover, but from the big cypress tree cutout (including those trees) the bark is pretty much intact and the heritage trees from that point onwards should recover. Unfortunately our iconic eagle nest was blown away, although the tree is still intact. We will have to consult with the Park Biologist as to whether we should interfere and attempt to put some sort of platform there, or let nature take its course.

The big cypress tree cutout is intact.

Amazingly I saw a number of the orchids we had planted out last year with Kit Kitchen-Moran still in place and some stripped cypress already coming out in bud. Unfortunately we also saw some Brazilian pepper reacting to the stress by rushing to flower. Berries and seeds will soon follow.

A resilient Dingy Star orchid thrives near the end of the walk.

The State has authorized Steve to hire a contractor to clear the boardwalk. We first need to get some volunteers in first to try to recover the hundreds of healthy bromeliads littering the boardwalk. These can be saved and replanted along our future epiphyte walk. We also want to make good use of the wood chipper we donated to the park so that the debris is hauled out and not just thrown over the rails which would spoil the future visitor experience.

The East River canoe trail entrance was completely blocked by downed trees and the port-a-potty there half submerged, but it is already partially opened through some self-help by eager canoeists.

The big tree is down…

Until the water goes down there is not much we can do along our trail network and JSD. Steve is assessing the situation and will be making a call for FOF volunteers to assist when appropriate.

The iconic strangler fig tree still stands.

Our remarkable resource has suffered far more insult than Irma in the past–including strip logging– and will recover, aided by our dedicated park staff and volunteers.

Phew. We made it. Are we too old for this?

The Sun will come out.
Best wishes to you all.

Fakahatchee’s Bay Trees fall Victim to Globalization

It happens over and over again.  A foreign shipment arrives in some U.S. sea or airport. Only a tiny portion of the cargo can be inspected. Unnoticed, hitch-hiking in the wooden packing material of something as innocuous as kitchen tiles, may be a non-native insect’s eggs or larvae. The tiles and infested wood quickly move through the distribution chain, and the insects freed from their native controls and with plentiful hosts, rapidly multiply. Another invasive species has arrived that will probably remain undetected until it’s too late and out of control.

In this horde of invaders are numerous species of bark beetles belonging to the weevil subfamily Scolytidae. Over 55 different exotic scolytids species have now established themselves in the USA. Among their ranks are some of the most damaging insects our North American forests. In western United States alone, aided by shifts in temperature and increased water stress from climate change, they are felling as many as 100,000 trees a day.

The rust colored leaves of a red bay killed by laurel wilt. Photo by Patrick Higgins

Here in the Fakahatchee you’ve probably noticed rust-colored dry leaves suddenly appearing in many of our hardwood hammocks. These are redbay trees (Persea borbonia) that have succumbed to laurel wilt. The disease is vectored by a tiny bark-boring beetle, the redbay ambrosia (Xyleborus glabratus) which arrived on wooden pallets from Asia in Georgia in 2002.Here in the Fakahatchee you’ve probably increasingly noticed sprays of rust-colored dry leaves poking through the canopies of many of our hardwood hammocks. These are red bay trees (Persea borbonia) that have succumbed to laurel wilt. The disease is vectored by the tiny bark-boring, redbay ambrosia beetle (Xyleborus glabratus), which arrived from Asia on wooden pallets in Georgia in 2002.

Most ambrosia beetle species only attack dead and dying trees and can actually be considered beneficial to forest ecosystems as they speed the recycling of nutrients. The redbay ambrosia beetle, however, attacks healthy trees. These are in the Laurel family and include avocado, sassafras, spicebush, swamp-bay and of course redbay.

The beetle has a symbiotic relationship with a pathogenic fungus (Raffaelea lauricola) whose spores it transports in special pockets in its mandibles. When it initially attacks, the redbay ambrosia beetle bores through the tree’s trunk without ingesting the wood tissue, leaving behind telltale frass in the form of a sawdust straw on the outer bark.

The characteristic sawdust toothpicks at the entry point of an ambrosia beetle. Photo Patrick Higgins

The beetle doesn’t create galleries directly below the bark like most bark borers, but heads straight for the sapwood where it injects its symbiont’s spores into the vascular system, effectively farming it. The growing fungus leaves a streaky black discoloration in the xylem. This is the ‘ambrosia’ upon which both the adults and larvae feed. Most of the life cycle takes place within the galleries, where beetles mate and lay eggs. It takes about 30 days to develop from egg to adult. As the next generation of female beetles matures, they collect fungal spores to carry to another hapless tree. It is thought females can fly 2-3 km in search of a host, whereas the males are flightless.

The fungus quickly spreads throughout the tree’s vascular system clogging it and depriving the tree of water. The tree wilts and dies within a few weeks of initial infection. It happens so fast the tree doesn’t even have time to form abscisic acid, the usual reaction to severe stress that causes leaf loss, hence the characteristic brown dried leaves that persist well after the tree is dead.

Because our bays evolved on the opposite side of the world from this disease, they haven’t had an opportunity to develop resistance. So far there’s nothing we can do to stop this plague other than monitoring it and avoiding transporting dead wood.

During a field trip to Naples Botanical Garden, however, my wife’s 4th grade class members were involved in transplanting and tagging bay tree seedling into specialized air-pots. (Photo of healthy redbay plants by Chad Washburn.) The Garden has been working with several local conservation organizations to collect bay tree seeds that they have been growing indoors. The idea is to preserve a pool of the tree’s genetic diversity. They currently have about 150 plants.

Chad Washburn, the Garden’s Deputy Director shared an interesting thought. Since juvenile bay trees don’t seem to be susceptible to the ambrosia beetle, Chad is considering experimentally coppicing healthy bay trees to protect them, i.e. cutting them right down to the ground so they will re-sprout. Hopefully this can buy time while a long term solution is sought, or at least allow the bell curve of the epidemic to peak. Other strategies involve chipping infected wood. The fungus dies within a couple of days of chipping but can persist in a standing tree for at least a year. Chipping also disrupts the beetle’s life cycle. Unfortunately this is not practical on an ecosystem scale.

Palamedes swallowtail butterfly, endangered by the loss of their host plants in the laurel family. Photo Patrick Higgins

However the damage doesn’t stop with the trees’ demise. Apart from losing a valuable shade tree in our hammocks, there is a knock-on effect in the food web. White-tailed deer forage on new bay leaves; black bear, and wild turkey and other birds feed on the redbay’s fruit. But most serious of all, our redbays are the major host plant for two of our swallowtail butterfly species; the palamedes (Papilio Palamedes) and the spicebush (Papilio troilus). If the redbays, go so may they.

If this was not enough, there’s an even more menacing invader looming over the horizon. It’s the emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis). Although not a scolytid, it’s also a native of Asia that probably arrived on wooden packing material. In common with many invasive species, in its native range it’s not a significant pest. But here in North America it is decimating our native ash trees, threatening the entire Fraxinus genus. It hasn’t reached Florida yet, but on November 8, 2016, the Emerald Ash Borer was confirmed in neighboring Alabama.

The State of Alabama has just issued a quarantine order “prohibiting the movement of firewood of all hardwood (non-coniferous) species, ash nursery stock, non-heat treated (green) ash lumber, and any other living, dead, cut, or fallen, material of the genus Fraxinus, including logs, stumps, roots, branches, and composted and uncomposted chips that have not been ground to a small enough size to destroy Emerald Ash Borer in any life stage, by any means of conveyance whatsoever.”

Alabama’s quarantine will slow, but probably not stop the emerald ash borer’s spread. Unfortunately, 85% of our iconic ghost orchids grow on pop ash trees (Fraxinus caroliniana). Globalization is a real threat to biodiversity.

 

New Fakahatchee Video

The Jewel of the Everglades

A new 6-minute video by Jay Staton and Patrick Higgins leads you through the Fakahatchee on all of your electronic devices! As you explore the wonderland of the foliage and wildlife, Patrick’s narration gives a Naturalist’s overview of the Fakahatchee Preserve State Park vast landscapes.

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Year-end message from FoF President

FoF President, Francine Stevens

December is a month when we can be consumed with holiday preparations. However, it was a pleasure for me to manage the Welcome Back dinner as I looked forward to spending some time with my Friends of Fakahatchee. The emails I have received since Saturday indicate the dinner was one of our best ever.

I would like to thank Jinny Ball who does all the hard work in the background to register everyone and welcome them at the entrance with a name tag. Thanks to Bruce Bunch who does all the publicity for our events and tours and who managed to get filmmaker Richard Kern for our evening program. Richard proved to be an engaging speaker as he narrated his film live and flawlessly. His film surpassed my expectations—it really captures the spectacular beauty and fragility of the Fakahatchee and its surroundings.

It was my pleasure to introduce the entire Park staff: Gina Gilmore, Steven Bass, Mike Duey, Mike Owen and Steve Houseknecht, who was recently promoted to park manager. It is important to remember that the Friends of Fakahatchee are supporting a staff of five to manage the largest Park in the State at nearly 80,000 acres.

One of the best ways we have found to support the Park is by educating the public while they are having fun. With Patrick Higgins and Glen Stacell’s leadership, the FOF scheduled 53 tours for December through March. We have Glen Stacell to thank for this success; three years ago he persisted to introduce tram tours on Janes Scenic Drive, and the tours continue to be very popular—so don’t wait too long schedule your tour on the Ghost Rider. Tickets will sell even faster after the holidays…please see our schedule on our Events page.

With this letter, I want to send out an invitation to those who like to volunteer outdoors.  We can always use help with the tours and help working in the field with the Faka-hackers. Our most loyal Faka-hackers, Dino Barone and Howard Lubel, drive in from the East Coast to work in the field, so no one is too far to join a great group that tells me Faka-Hacking is more fun than work and reason why they keep coming back. There are four ways to access volunteering information. Visit our How to Volunteer Page. Send us an e-mail for info at higginspjc@gmail.com or call the FOF phone line 239-695-1023, and leave a message. We will return your call. Finally, you can write to us via the US Mail at Friends of Fakahatchee, P.O. Box 35, Everglades City, FL, 34139.

Thanks for a great 2016! With your support and volunteer hours, we look forward to an exciting new year for the Friends of Fakahatchee. Best wishes for a happy holiday season.
Francine Stevens
President, Friends of Fakahatchee, Inc.

Life in a high rise

by Patrick Higgins

Sloshing through the swamp, our view is primarily tree trunks and water. However for our recently arrived migrants from the Amazon, the swallow-tailed kite, it’s an entirely different view. As they swoop low over the swamp’s canopy to snatch an unsuspecting tree frog, they see an undulating carpet of almost endless green. Occasionally this verdant aerial landscape is punctuated by a splash of color. This will be the bloom of epiphytes.

Epiphytes in the canopy

Southern needle-leaf, cardinal airplants and Spanish-moss festooning an oak canopy. Photo by Patrick Higgins

Epiphytes are plants that grow harmlessly on other plants without drawing nourishment from them, using them merely for support. Ours fall into 5 main groups; bryophytes, lichens, ferns, bromeliads and orchids. The largest concentrations of epiphytes are found in tropical rainforests. Thinking about that environment, it’s easier to understand the evolutionary pressures to become an epiphyte.

Light and space on the forest floor are scarce. That same forest floor may become periodically flooded. So it’s natural that some species would migrate upwards towards brighter light, protection from flooding and from the foraging of animals. There also is greater air circulation for better seed and spore dispersal.

But as always in nature there is a trade-off. Perched in the canopy water is scarcer; removed from the ground, nutrients are harder to obtain. So these plants have had to evolve special adaptations to retain moisture and to capture nutrients. Some root systems have become diminished, functioning solely as anchors. In these plants nutrient absorption has been taken over by their leaves. While others, like our ghost orchid, have abandoned leaves altogether and evolved strap-like chlorophyllous roots in their place to both anchor them and produce food.

Other adaptations are micro seeds that are easily wafted by the slightest breeze or tufts of fine hairs to help transport seeds on the wind. However, the evolutionary arms race is two sided. Whilst Fakahatchee’s epiphytes seldom achieve enough mass to damage branches, many tropical trees like the gumbo limbo have evolved shedding bark to rid themselves of juvenile epiphytes and twining vines.

Our most obvious epiphytes are our bromeliads, those spiky growths in our trees that resemble the tops of their terrestrial cousin, the pineapple. They are almost exclusively tropical and a new world phenomenon. Of the 3,400 known species, just one has made it outside of our hemisphere. Here in the Fakahatchee near the northern limit of their range, our 16 native species qualify us as the U.S. bromeliad capital.

Bromeliad water and nutrient absorption have largely been taken over by their leaves and they can be categorized by how this absorption takes place. Spanish moss and ball moss are atmospherics or true ‘air plants’. Their leaves are typically silvery gray and coated with unique leaf scales called trichomes. Trichomes can absorb water – and the minerals dissolved in it – directly from the air when available, then clamp down to minimize moisture loss when it’s not. Their silvery surface also helps to reflect light, further reducing moisture loss.

The rest of our bromeliad gang are impounders. These have their leaves arranged in whorls to trap water in a central reservoir. This tank also collects litter falling from the forest canopy and drowned insects. The process of decay transforms the water into a broth from which the plant extracts valuable nutrients. These tanks also form miniature ecosystems in their own right where micro-organisms may live out their entire life cycles. In the tropics some may even become nurseries for tadpoles. It’s not uncommon to see birds drinking from them, who might then leave nutrient–rich droppings.

Most of our silvery-gray bromeliads have another important adaption to living in Florida’s periodic drought conditions. They employ CAM photosynthesis rather than the more common C3 pathway. In CAM the leaf stomata only open at night to take up CO2 which is then stored for use in the daytime. This avoids their pores having to open in sunlight when water loss would be higher.

Half of the Fakahatchee’s native orchid species are epiphytic. All have precise fungal associations necessary for nutrient uptake, many have pseudobulbs – swollen stem bases that serve as water storage organs – and three are leafless. They are also all of tropical origin, with most in common with Cuba. This connection is not surprising as the Park is less than 200 miles from Havana – the direction of our prevailing winds. But there’s more to it than that.

Our sloughs, especially the central slough, continuously radiate humidity even in the driest years from an accumulation of peat. The moisture is trapped by the forest canopy creating a microclimate. In the summer it’s always just a little bit cooler and in the winter just a little bit warmer. This means that many parts of the Strand never freeze in the even the coldest years, allowing those minute, windborne orchid seeds blown up from the tropics to flourish.

Less spectacular are our bryophytes (mosses and liverworts). They are often represented by a fuzzy green layer on logs and branches, which if you examine closely appear as tiny forests. They have a lifestyle halfway between that of aquatic algae and ferns. They require moisture, but can dry out, go completely dormant, then spring back to life when moisture returns. Their ability to readily store and release water is an important ecosystem function. They can also help create a secondary ‘terra firma’ high up on horizontal branches by stabilizing detritus. This improves the habitat for other epiphytes.

Another epiphytic group is our lichens. They form those beautiful blotches of pink, orange, white and blue-gray on almost every trunk and limb, varying in texture from crust-like to scaly or even filamentous like old man’s beard. Lichens can be so numerous it’s hard to discern a tree trunk’s true color.

They are composite organisms: a fungus and an algae or cyanobacteria living together symbiotically. The fungus provides shelter and water absorbing services to the algae, which would otherwise be unable to survive, and the algae in turn produce sugars through photosynthesis.

It was often thought that lichens were more abundant in northern latitudes, but in 2009 a group of lichenologists conducted a 5-day survey in the Fakahatchee and recorded 432 species, putting paid to that theory!

Our epiphytic community wouldn’t be complete without mention of our half a dozen or so species of epiphytic ferns. Many of them utilize the organic material in the boots of Sabal palms like rabbit foot, hand, and shoestring ferns.

The most remarkable of all is our resurrection fern which favors rough-barked trees. Its leaves curl and turn brown when desiccated, then resurrect themselves after a good rainfall, quickly becoming a lush green – a throw-back to a bryophyte ancestor.

The canopy and all its plant diversity combine to sequester carbon, produce oxygen and support a complex web of life, from pollinators and millions of other insects, to spiders, mites, snails, tree frogs, snakes, lizards, birds, bats and squirrels. We don’t often get a close-up look, but this may all change.

Epiphytes in the canopy

Architect’s renderings of future Canopy walk in Phase II of Big Cypress Bend Boardwalk Expansion Project. Rendering by David Corban pllc

In partnership with the state, FOF has a major boardwalk improvement project underway at Big Cypress Bend. Phase 1 this year is a new parking area, a bridge over the canal, and low-level marsh boardwalk. Yet to be funded is Phase 2, that includes plans for an 1100 ft. long elevated canopy walk through the Strand. In a few years we  may all be able to experience life in the high rise.

Patrick Higgins with an apple snail. Photo by Robert Fisher.

Patrick Higgins with an apple snail. Photo by Robert Fisher.

Patrick Higgins is a National Association of Interpretation Certified Interpreter, Vice-President of the Friends of Fakahatchee and Project Manager for the development of the Boardwalk Master Interpretive Plan.