Friends of Fakahatchee: Dedicated to financial and volunteer support to preserve the unique ecology and cultural heritage of Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park and educate the public about its importance.
Big Cypress Bend Boardwalk Expansion and Fakahatchee Interpretive Pavilion-Mission Accomplished!
About the Boardwalk built in the 1960’s and the expansion project.
Designated as a National Natural Landmark by the National Park Service, the Big Cypress Bend Boardwalk within Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park was built in the 1960’s by philanthropist Lester Norris who owned the land before the Fakahatchee became a Preserve. The Boardwalk takes visitors back into a tiny slice of the virgin cypress forest that was, thanks to Lester Norris, spared from logging.
It weaves in dappled light through 500 year old bald cypress, three feet or more in diameter, under a canopy festooned with bromeliads and past trunks wrapped by ancient strangler figs. Other trees include stately royal palms, cabbage palms, pop ash and pond apple. Pickerelweed and alligator flag grow in the swamp bordering the Boardwalk. At the end is an alligator hole where visitors frequently spot wading birds as well as alligators. Along the way there is an active bald eagle nest. Visitors frequently see pileated woodpeckers, small migrating birds, barred owls, butterflies, anoles and various water snakes. This Boardwalk at 2,200 ft long was closed after Hurricane IAN in Sept 2022. A contract for a complete reconstruction on the same footprint was awarded in the spring of 2024, the project is expected to take 18 months. When this Boardwalk is reconstructed it will connect to the new Boardwalk Expansion area which consist of parking, restrooms and an Interpretive Pavilion that was opened to the public In January 2024.
Boardwalk Expansion Vision
Since it was built in the 1960″s the Boardwalk was a regular stop on the “Everglades tour trail”. Over 90,000 visitors annually had no parking or restrooms. The Friends of Fakahatchee worked with the Dept. of Environmental Protection Parks & Recreation Division to improve visitors experience.
To accomplish this the Boardwalk development plan called for a deceleration lane for a safe entrance to a new parking area and by so creating a different entrance to access the Boardwalk. The project included building an Interpretive Pavilion and restroom for visitors. The parking area and new entrance would be built on an old abandoned section of US 41. Mission accomplished!
The Interpretive Pavilion would be designed to inspire visitors to walk the prairie, lake and strand swamp, but for those who are not up to that level of activity they will be able to sit in a rocking chair on the shaded porch and just take in the view. By positioning the Interpretive Pavilion across the canal on the prairie rather than in the car park it would provide visitors an opportunity to experience part of the Fakahatchee, even if they can’t walk the entire Boardwalk area. Mission accomplished!
The Interpretive Pavilion would be a multipurpose building whose contents would inspire further exploration. Apart from helping to explain the significance of the natural resource and its history, the same space would serve as a refuge, a place of contemplation, a meeting and gathering space, and most importantly for the first time provide a place where the Friends of Fakahatchee and park staff can present interpretive and educational programs to the public. Mission accomplished!
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New Boardwalk leading to Green Heron Lake -Opened January 2024
Ongoing Projects
Although the Boardwalk Expansion Project is our current focus, other projects require constant attention by the Friends of Fakahatchee.
An annual slough survey is conducted in March, and members of the committees and other FOF volunteers assist biologist data collection. They locate, identify, and count the rare and endangered plants, trees, orchids, bromeliads and grasses.
Last year a Prairie Hammock Survey was added to provide data for input into the Park’s Burn Zone Map. Hammocks containing oaks are of particular interest because their acorns are an important food source for white-tailed deer, which in turn are the favorite prey species of the Florida panther. Read more about the Prairies in “Taking Stock of Fakahatchee’s Priaries” by Patrick Higgins.
It is unfortunate that our fascination with orchids has resulted in their decline. “Poachers” of rare orchids have reduced the diversity and abundance of the orchids in the Fakahatchee strand. However, there is hope for their protection now and in the future with help from the Friends of Fakahatchee.
In 2007, Park Biologist Mike Owen and Dennis Giardina, Everglades Region Biologist for Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, entered into collaboration with Matt Richards from Atlanta Botanical Garden to experimentally restore rare and endangered orchid species at Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park.
Restoration of the cigar orchid, Cyrtopodium punctatum is quite a success story. Once propagated and brought to size, the Friends helped disperse the baby orchids throughout the park to help ensure their survival.
Polinated seed pods were also returned near where they were collected and hung where the thousands of dusty seeds could disperse naturally on wind currents. A handful of cigar orchid seedlings in Fakahatchee germinated from seed in the wild. Restoration efforts continue!
As part of FOF’s mission to preserve the unique ecology of the Fakahatchee we train our volunteers to record and report suspicious activity and fund the installation and maintenance of a network of hidden cameras to guard against illegal plant removal.
The best hope for our bromeliads may be their isolation within the swamp, and the possibility of a genetically resistant strain within the population.
Under the guidance of Park Biologist Mike Owen, around 120 of the Fakahatchee’s healthy giant airplant, Tillandsia ulriculata, population were harvested and placed in the care of the Naples and Selby botanical gardens for safekeeping. The plan is to return the plants to their original placement once they develop flower spikes so that their seeds can be naturally distributed. On November 13, 2014, 16 Giant Air Plants were ready to be returned to the Fakahatchee. Using the data gathered, they were returned to as close to the same tree, height, and distance from Janes Scenic Drive that they originated. For more details read “Restoring the Giant Air Plant“, where Mike Owen and Karen Relish provide an exciting update on this ambitious project.
As part of FOF’s mission to preserve the unique ecology of the Fakahatchee we train our volunteers to record and report suspicious activity and fund the installation and maintenance of a network of hidden cameras to guard against illegal plant removal.
The park has approximately 32 miles of roads and trams to maintain, and the Friends assist the Park in maintaining the front portion of Janes Scenic Drive so it is accessible to tram rides and hikers. Throughout the year, volunteers clear the trails and assist the park with vehicle and equipment repair. Consider a generous donation to the Friends to put more tools in the hands of these hard-working volunteers!
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The “Faka-Hackers,” intrepid volunteers all, each year clear the East tram for the February Everglades Ultra Marathon, which also makes the trail more passable for hikers. This annual effort is made more difficult by the proliferation of the very aggressive, invasive non-indigenous, invader of the hammocks, the dreaded Schinus terebinthifolius, commonly known as Brazilian Pepper. Control of this pest along the trams is an ongoing project.