The Important Bird Areas of Florida - National Audubon Society

The Important Bird Areas of Florida: 2000–2002 – Pranty – 2-Jul-02 157KISSIMMEE LAKE AND RIVERKissimmee Chain of Lakes SOR Tract (26,715 acres; 10,686 ha), Kissimmee River floodplain (___acres; ___ ha), Kissimmee River SOR Tracts (43,921 acres; 17,568 ha), Lake Kissimmee (____acres; ___ ha), Lake Kissimmee State Park (5822 acres; 2328 ha), [and probably other sites]Glades, Highlands, Okeechobee, Osceola, and Polk counties_____ acres (____ ha), with 70,636 acres (28,254 ha) acquiredLOCATION: in southeastern Polk County, southwestern Osceola County, extreme eastern HighlandsCounty, extreme western Okeechobee County, and extreme northeastern Glades County, along theentire Kissimmee River, from Lake Hatchineha to Lake Okeechobee. Contiguous with the AvonPark–Bombing Range Ridge IBA to the west, the Osceola Flatwoods and Prairies IBA andKissimmee Prairie IBA to the east, and with the Lake Okeechobee IBA to the south.DESCRIPTION: ____ [Largest river restoration project in history; part of the world's largest habitatrestoration project]. The Park receives ____ recreationists annually, while the Kissimmee Riverreceives an estimated 3000 recreationists and 1000 hunters. [what about the lake?]OWNERSHIP: State of Florida (Lake Kissimmee and Kissimmee River), Florida Division of Recreationand Parks (Lake Kissimmee State Park), South Florida Water Management District (KissimmeeChains of Lakes SOR Tracts and Kissimmee River SOR Tracts), and private owners (remainingacreage of the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes SOR Project and the Kissimmee River SOR Project).HABITATS: Kissimmee River: *fresh water marsh, *wet prairie, *riverine, temperate hammock. LakeKissimmee: *lacustrine, ____. Lake Kissimmee State Park: *longleaf pine flatwoods, *freshwatermarsh, scrubby flatwoods, temperate hammock, non-native pasture, bayhead, riverine, lacustrine.LAND USE: Kissimmee River: *conservation, recreation, hunting. Lake Kissimmee: *recreation,*conservation ____. Lake Kissimmee State Park: *conservation, *recreation, cattle grazing.IBA CATEGORIES: Kissimmee River: significant populations of Threatened, Special Concern, andFCREPA species; significant numbers of wading birds; long-term research. Lake Kissimmee: ____.Lake Kissimmee State Park: significant populations of Endangered and Threatened species; andsignificant natural habitats.AVIAN DATA: Lake Kissimmee is one of the most important sites in Florida for Snail Kites, serving as animportant refugium during droughts in the Everglades. The pre-channelized Kissimmee Riverformerly supported large numbers of wading birds and waterfowl; restoration of portions of the riverare expected to increase the currently low numbers of these groups of birds. Bird diversity for all sitescombined is 188 native species. [I have no bird list for Lake Kissimmee itself].