The Important Bird Areas of Florida - National Audubon Society

The Important Bird Areas of Florida: 2000–2002 – Pranty – 2-Jul-02 147GREEN SWAMP ECOSYSTEMGreen Swamp Wilderness Preserve (121,618 acres; 48,647 ha), Lake Louisa State Park (4449 acres;1779 ha), the Richloam Tract of Withlacoochee State Forest (49,200 acres; 19,680 ha), and theGreen Swamp CARL–FF Project (117,780 acres [47,112 ha], with 14,827 acres [5930 ha] acquired,including Hilochee Wildlife Management Area [3759 acres; 1503 ha])Lake, Pasco, Polk, and Sumter counties242,010 acres (96,804 ha), with 140,849 acres (56,339 ha) acquiredLOCATION: in southeastern Hernando County, southern Lake and Sumter counties, northern PolkCounty, and eastern Pasco County, bordered by State Road 50 to the north, U.S. Highway 27 to theeast, south of Interstate 4 to the south, and the Withlacoochee River to the west. Near part of theWithlacoochee State Forest IBA to the west.DESCRIPTION: A vast wetlands system, the Green Swamp is extremely important for aquifer rechargeand wildlife and habitat protection. It serves as the headwaters for the Hillsborough, Ocklawaha,Peace, and Withlacoochee rivers. Much of the uplands have been converted to cattle pastures, butextensive wetlands remain, including cypress swamps and bayheads. Public acquisition of the GreenSwamp has been a state priority since 1992. Green Swamp Wilderness Preserve is the only site withinthis IBA that was nominated formally; data are mostly or entirely lacking for the remaining sites. TheWilderness Preserve receives ____ recreationists and ____ hunters annually.OWNERSHIP: Florida Division of Recreation and Parks (Lake Louisa State Park), Florida Division ofWildlife (Hilochee Wildlife Management Area), Southwest Florida Water Management District(Green Swamp Wilderness Preserve), and private owners (remaining acreage of the Green SwampCARL–FF Project)HABITATS: *longleaf pine flatwoods, *cypress swamp, *hardwood swamp, *riverine, pine plantation,sandhills, oak and palm hammocks, xeric oak scrub, dry prairie, fields, non-native pasture, bayhead,freshwater marsh, cattail marsh, lacustrine, artificialLAND USE: *conservation, *hunting, recreation, timber production, cattle grazingIBA CATEGORIES: significant populations of Endangered, Threatened, and FCREPA species; andsignificant natural habitatsAVIAN DATA: This IBA is thought to support significant populations of more species than the limiteddata presented below suggest. [I have a bird list for Lake Louisa State Park, and have compiled arudimentary (and greatly incomplete) list for Green Swamp Preserve; are lists available for othersite?].Green Swamp Wilderness Preserve:SPECIES DATES NUMBERS COMMENTSWood Stork Mar–Jul 1998 58 nests 1% (B)Swallow-tailed Kite Jul–Aug 1997 >40 birds 3% (N)Bald Eagle 1999–2000 10 nests 1% (B)Stork data from +Barnwell et al. (1999), kite data from +Barnwell et al. (1998), and eagle GIS coverage providedby Julia Dodge (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission).Lake Louisa State Park:SPECIES DATES NUMBERS COMMENTSOverall diversity Aug 2000 list 91 natives1 exoticsData provided by Rosi Mulholland (Florida Division of Recreation and Parks)