TR 88-1
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NATURAL RESOURCES
OF COlliER COUNTY
FlOR IDA
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NATUHAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT IN .THE
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COASTAL~ INLAND AND UPLAND ZONES OF COL,IER COUNTY:
SUMMARY OF DATA ANALYSES PID PROGRAM REC~MENDATIONS
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1988
Research supported in panhy the
Florida Department uf Environllental Reglllnt ion and the
Coastal Zone Manaw.>ment Act of 1972, ns llmendl'd. Administered hy tIlt'
Office of COilstnl Zone Management, National Oceanic ilnd ^tmClsphl'ric ^dministral ion
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Technics I Report No. 88-1
DR, ROBERT H", GORE
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NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT DEPT.
COLLIER COUNTY GOVERNMENT COMPLEX
3301 TAMIAMI TRAIL EAST
NAPLES. FLORIDA 33942-4977
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NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT
IN THE COASTAL~ INLAND AND UPLAND ZONES
OF COLLIER COUNTY:
SUMMARY OF DATA ANALYSES AND PROGRAM RECOMMENDATIONS
:
DR, ROBERT H, GORE
COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT
DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT
COLLIER COUNTY~ FLORIDA
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
PROLOGUE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN COLLIER COUNTY.......................3
1. Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
2. Methodology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
A. Biotopes, Ecotones and other Wildlife Resources...S
B. Assessments of Critical Areas.....................6
3. Theoretical Considerations............................6
A. Natural Selection, Gene Flow and RUE Areas........9
B. Resource Management and the RUE Areas Concept.....9
C. Critical Ecological Corridors and Ecosystem
Maintenance......................................10
.
i) Species Ric~ness, Diversity, Evenness and
Community Structure......................... .10
ii) The Theory of Island Biogeography............ll
D. RUE Assemblages, Species/Area Relationships,
and Extinctions..................................12
E. RUE Areas Ecosystem Contiguity...................14
F. Implementation of RUE and CEC Areas.............. .16
THE AREA.. e.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 7
1. COAST.AL Zone.............................. e . . . . . . . . . .17
A. Coastal Barrier Islands.........................l7
i) Barrier Beach Systems.......................17
B. Ten Thousand Islands Systerns....................18
2 . The INLAND Zone...................................... 20
3 . The UPLAND Zone...................................... 22
4: COAST.AL, INLAND and UPLAND Zone Units................22
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THE COLLIER COUNTY
CLIMATE.
Physiography and Geomorphology......
Salinity Regime.................
Temperature. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Wa ter Tr an sport. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Limits and Areal Extent of the Collier County
Estuarine System.....
Salt Water Intrusion.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
G.
1.
2.
3.
4 .
5.
6.
ESTUARY. . . . . . . . . . . .
.26
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . .
. .26
.26
........28
. . . . . . . .29
. . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.29
.30
. . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Tidal Effects....
Recharge Effects......
Effects on Vegetation...........
Productivity.....................
Alteration and its Consequences.
Intrinsic vs Extrinsic Net Worth.................33
.30
. .31
..31
.31
..32
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Conclusions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.36
General Climate
The Hydrologic
Precipitation, Evaporation and Transpiration.
Climate and Hydroperiodicity.................
General Climate and Estuaries...................
S um.mary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
and Biogeography.............
.36
.37
.37
.39
.41
.41
eye 1 e. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
GEOLOGy............
1.
2.
3.
.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.42
Stratigraphy.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.42
A.
B.
C.
D.
Pamlico Formation.......
Anastasia Formation.....
Fort Thompson Formation.
Other Formations.........
. . . . . . . . . . .42
.......44
. . . . . . .44
.44
Physiography.......
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
.45
A.
B.
Irnmokalee Rise (Southern Flatlands).......
The Big Cypress Swamp or Spur.............
......
. . . . . .
.47
.47
General
Soil
Conditions...
.50
A.
B.
C.
D.
Coastal Barrier Soils.........
Estuarine Lagoonal Soils......
The Southwestern Slope Soils...............
Soils, Aquifer Recharge and Sheetflow......
.51
.51
.51
.53
ii
FrYD~()~()c;~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54
1. Introduction.........................................54
2. Ground Water Resources...............................54
3. Collier County Aquifers..............................55
A. The Anastas ia Aqui fer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56
B. The Coral Reef Aquifer...........................56
C. The Sandstone Aquifer............................57
D. The Tamiami Aquifer............................... 57
E. The Hawthorne and Tampa Formation Aquifers.......58
4. Frydrologic Cycles and Water Budgets..................58
5. Drainage Basins and Canals in Collier County.........58
A. Roadway-Basin Compartmentalization...............59
B. Ecological and Hydrological Consequences.........66
6. The Big Cypress Swamp Watershed......................66
7. Water Drainage in INLAND and UP~AND Wetlands.........70
8. The Okaloacoochee Slough System......................72
A.
B.
C.
9. The
A.
B.
C.
The Okaloacoochee Slough.........................74
The Fakahatchee Strand...........................74
The East Frinson. Marsh............................ 74
Lake Trafford-Corkscrew Swamp System.............76
Lake Trafford....................................76
The Corkscrew-Bird Rookery Swamp System..........76
The Camp Keasis-Picayune S~rand System...........77
i) Camp Keasis Strand...........................77
ii) Stumpy Strand................................ 79
iii) ~ucky ~ake Strand............................79
iv) Picayune Strand..............................79
10. Historic vs Present Day Waterflow.....................79
A. The Faka-Union System.............................80
B. The North Golden Gate Canal System................80
C. The Golden Gate System............................82
· D. Barron River and Turner River Canals..............82
11. The Effects of the Golden Gate Canal System...........82
12. Conclusions and ~ecommendations.......................84
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VEGETATION................................................ .87
1. Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .87
2. Wetlands.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .87
3. Classification of Critical and Non-Critical
Biotopes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .90
4. Summary of Collier County Vegetational Features.....100
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A. COASTAL Zone................................... .100
B . INLAND Zone..................................... 1 0 0
C. UPLAND Zone.................................... .102
D. Other Vegetational Systems......................103
E. Vegetation, Drought and Fire....................103
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5. Wetland Alteration and its Consequences.............10S
6 . Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106
RELATIONSHIPS OF GEOLOGY, HYDROLOGY AND BIOLOGY IN COLLIER COUNTY
1. Water Use and Availability in Florida...............108
2. Water Use and Availability in Collier County........lll
3. Population, Agriculture and Future Water Usage......lll
4. The UPLAND-INLAND-COASTAL Ecosystem Interlock.......112
5. Effects of Development and Alteration on Ecosystem
In t e r 1 oc k. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ". . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .113
6. Parks, Preserves and Environmental Critical
Lands. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .115
7. How Much is Enough?................................121
8. Recornrnendatipns and Implementation..................122
SUMMARY OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS IN THE COLLIER COUNTY
NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT ZONES........................124
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1. Introduction........................................124
2. Management Unit Surnrnaries...........................124
A. Water Management No. 6..........................124
B. Belle Meade.................................... .125
i)
ii)
iii)
UPLAND Zone................................ .125
INLAND Zone........................ ~ . . . . . . . .125
COASTAL Zone............................... .128
C.
D.
The
The
Corkscrew Unit..............................129
Camp Keasis Unit........................... .131
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i)
ii)
iii)
UPLAND Zone................................ .131
INLAND Zone................................ .133
COASTAL Zone................................ 13 6
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Swnmary of
Natural Resources Management
Environmental Concerns in the Collier County
Zones (continued)
E.
The
Fakahatchee
Unit.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.137
i) UPLAND Zone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .137
ii) INLAND Zone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .137
iii) COASTAL Zone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .140
F. The Turner River Unit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .140
i)
ii)
iii)
UPLAND Zone....
INLAND Zone...
COASTAL Zone....
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . .
. .140
....143
.......145
. . .
. . . .
. . .
G.
The Big Cypress West and Big Cypress
East Units.................................... .145
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i)
ii)
iii)
UPLAND
INLAND
COASTAL
Zone.
. . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . .
Zone. . . . . .
. . .
. . . . . . . .
.146
.149
Zone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .154
EPILOGUE........
. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.155
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT.
. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.157
BIBLIOGRAPHY.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.158
APPENDICES...
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.171
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", , ,NATURAL RESOURCES ARE NOT GIVEN
TO US BY OUR FATHERS BUT ARE LOANED
TO US BY OUR CHILDREN,"
L, D, HARRIS
THE FRAGMENTED FOREST
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PROLOGUE
Collier County has been endowed with a wealth of natural
resources. he quality of air and vater, and the diversity
of vegetation and wildlife is unsurpassed in the state of
Florida. Miles of sandy barrier island beaches, and
thousands of mangrove islands form the County boundary with
the Gulf of Mexico. Inshore, hundreds of thousands of acres
of rich shallow estuarine lagoons, highly productive tidal
marshes and mangrove swamps abut the coast. Along the
maritime shore sand pine and scrub oak grow on relict beach
ridges marking past sealevel stands. In the interior virgin
cypress strands and extensive mixed-hardwood forests wind
through freshwater wetlands of the Big Cypress Watershed.
Deep marshes and vast coastal prairies occur alongside
hardwood swamps and cypress domes too numerous to count.
Clean air and a subtropical climate provide an abundance
of natural resources and a diversity of recreational
opportunities unparalleled in the state of Florida. But the
resulting rapid growth of~Collier County was coupled with a
lack of environmental safeguards prior to 1970. Barrier
island development, mangrove destruction, canal dredging,
total loss or extensive degradation and alteration of
thousands of acres of once-productive wetlands, and a
catastrophic increase in interior wildfires and arson
affected many aspects of the environment, particularly water
quality, water storage capacity, and the diversity and.
abundance of wildlife in the County.
With little planning and no foresight much of the
western coastal areas of Collier County have been
irretrievably altered. The coastal barrier islands which
once served as a first- line of defense against the sea,
forestalling coastal flooding and erosion of the mainland,
are now covered with high rise hotels and condominiums. The
marine grassbeds, mangrove forests, saltmarshes and maritime
wetlands that once provided the organic materials and
detrital basis of the entire estuarine food chain are covered
with silt. The once-abundant shellfish and finfish resources
of southwestern Florida have undergone a serious decline.
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Elsewhere in the County the coastal, maritime and
terrestrial vegetational biotopes have been destroyed or
heavily altered by residential or agricultural development;
their associated native wildlife populations have been
reduced or extirpated. Overland shallow water sheetflow,
once so extensive in the County, has been interrupted in many
areas resulting in decline or elimination of centuries-old
ecosystems. In other areas the waterflow has been shunted
into canals which channel enormous amounts of freshwater
directly to the Gulf of Mexico. The disturbance, destruction,
degradation, or unacceptable alteration of these natural
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resources is ecologically harmful not only to Collier County
but to the entire southwestern Florida ecosystem as a whole
because these natural systems connect with, and form the
keystone for, the entire south Florida biome.
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Growth is inevitable for Collier County, but such growth
must be carefully directed and regulated. The presence of
State and Federal regulatory agencies in no way precludes the
need for a strong, local, County-directed environmental
program. Such a program must have concrete guidelines,
clearly written criteria for review, objective management
plans, and a comprehensive and well-integrated set of strong
and enforceable ordinances. It must be based on state of the
art technology and theoretical considerations if it is to be
effective. Only in this way can the proper preservation,
conservation, utilization and management of Collier County's
natural resources be attained.
As a means of introducing these subjects and providing
general background and guidelines for their implementation,
the Coastal Zone Management Reports for the years 1983
through 1987 have been synopsized for this report. Data
obtained from five years of Coastal Zone Management
investigations funded by grant moneys from the Florida
Department of Environmental Regulation, Office of Coastal
Management, are incorporated herein, edited to eliminate
major redundancies, and in some cases revised based on
recently acquired information. The present report thus
provides an overview of the biology, ecology, geology and
hydrology of Collier County, summarizes the demographic
factors that have an actual or potential impact on these
parameters, and introduces state of the art technology and
theoretical concepts that form the basis for recommendations
of natural resource management throughout the County. Much
of this information has also been included in the 1988
Comprehensive Growth Management Plan Draft. However, other
data, ancillary to that Plan and so not included, are set
forth here. Proper management of natural resources in
Collier County requires an informed and knowledgeable public,
no less than an informed and knowledgeable County government.
It is hoped that this document meets that need.
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RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN COLLIER COUNTY
1. Introduction
Collier County is one of the most rapidly developing Counties. not
only in Florida but in the United States. In areal extent, about 2219
square miles. it is the second largest county in Florida and the third
largest east of the Mississippi. Unlike most of the rapidly developing
counties in South Florida. Collier County is unique in that much of its
land is still in its natural state. or relatively undeveloped. Hundreds
of thousands of acres of coastal barriers. wetlands. bays. marine
grassbeds, pine flatwoods. coastal prairies. cypress swamp. and hardwood
hydric forests are still much as they have been for thousands of years.
It is these areas that have made Collier County so aesthetically
attractive. If properly managed they will continue to function in this
respect. (Figure 1).
Of equal importance, however. are the natural resources in these
undeveloped regions. which are ecologically vital to both the County and
southwest Florida (e.g. Palik aud Lewis 1983). For example, the coastal
barriers, if they remain unalt~red, serve as a first line of defense
against the sea. Storm surge damage, coastal flooding, and erosion of
the mainland can be alleviated or slowed by a natural system of coastal
barriers. The wetlands, shallow bays. or marine grassbeds are other
important examples of the county-wide ecosystem. The mangrove forests
(those in Collier County being some of the largest. undisturbed systems
in the United States and one of the best developed in the world) and
associated marshes provide the organic materials and detritus that form
the basis of the coastal food chain and support the abundant shellfish
and finfish resources of southwest Florida.
These unaltered ecosystems not only function as a haven for birds,
fish. and other wildlife. but may also provide necessary refuge for
those species that have been driven from adjacent. heavily altered or
extirpated systems. Moreover, the coastal zone not only links the
esturine systems of Lee and Monroe County, but interconnects the vast.
unspoiled eastern area of the County with both coastal and interior
wetland systems. as well as to those of Dade and Broward Counties. Thus,
undisturbed natural systems of Collier County form the keystone for the
entire south Florida biome.
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Almost half of Collier County is under the ownership and/or
management of Federal, State, or Local agencies for the sole purpose of
protecting these natural systems. Although this is gratifying. it is
important to remember that the other half of the County is in private
ownership. In addition, both the private and the managed coastal areas
are bounded by uplands that are either developed or projected for future
urban or agricultural development. Activities undertaken in the private
areas of the coastal zone or on adj acent inland or upland property. if
not properly planned, could result in the degradation of our remaining
undisturbed coastal areas in only a few decades and the loss of their
resources.
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In a recent position paper R. A. Livingston wrote that "if history
is our guide, one basic problem lies in public acceptance of almost any
level of environmental deterioration as long as it occus gradually
enough". To safeguard the natural resources of Collier County from
gradual deterioration and to ensure their continuing function as a vital
part of the southwest Florida ecosystem, positive and direct steps must
be taken. Predominant among these must be the implementation of a
program to ensure that all future land use activities proposed in the
County are designed to be totally compatible with, or at least not
inimical to, the natural resources and the associated conservation,
preservation or recreation values of the County's protected areas.
2. Methodology
A means of addressing these questions is to focus on a single more
or less inclusive natural resource which not only will reflect the basic
state of most other natural resources, but will also allow monitoring of
many of these same resources either directly or indirectly by observing
the status of the single inclusive resource. Vegetation is the one
resource whigh is most practical to consider, because 1) it is most
easily delineated, 2) it can Junction as an ecological indicator of
environmental health, and 3) it ,can be assessed over a period of time in
order to determine conditions that previously existed (resulting in its
growth) as well as to determine whether any changes have or can be
predicted to take place.
A. Biotopes, Ecotones and other Wildlife Resources
Only the predominant vegetational assemblages (termed biotopes) are
considered. Such assemblages are, for the most part, clearly
identifiable both from a distance on the ground, or in aerial
photographs, and are more or less characteristic of the prevailing
ecological conditions within a given area. The biotopes defined in this
report are equivalent in many respects to the category of "Natural
Communities" used in the Florida Natural Areas Inventory (Appendix 4,
Guide to the Natural Communities of Florida, Department of Natural
Resources, Tallahassee, 1986), and agree with many of the communities
defined in that report. The FNAI inventory, however, is more detailed
and contains more subcategories, inasmuch as the entire state was being
considered. The categories are more fully treated in Vegetation pg.60.
Interspersed within each of these major systems are numerous
subsystems consisting of numerically dominant species-groupings that
reflect more localized ecological conditions. Examples include the
sabal palm-halophyte islands east of Collier-Seminole State Park,
isolated hardwood hammocks within larger strand systems, and the high
island xeric communities within portions of the coastal mangrove forest.
. -
Ecotones, or transitional vegetational assemblages also are found
between one dominant community and another. Of no less importance than
the major systems just delineated, ecotones function either as plant
species intergradational areas in major waterflow regions, or as species
refugia for those plants which would be outcompeted, or which are
excluded by resident ecological factors from growing in any abundance 1n
the larger adjacent systems.
5
Concomitant to vegetation resources are wildlife resources
(classified under Amenities in the Florida Comprehensive Plan) .
Birdlife, sport and gamefish, commercial finfish and shellfish, and
native animal species co-existing within their respective vegetaional
biotopes will have their populaitonal health reflected to a large degree
by tbe health of the surrounding ecosystem. A much-touted example of
this interrelationship has been the mangrove forests upon which larval
and post larval invertebrates and fishes are dependent for their juvenile
growth, and which in turn support adult populations of commercially
valuable fishes and shellfish. and aesthetically valuable bird and
mammal populations.
B. Assessment of Critical Areas
In general methodology, a parcel or section or land is photographed
aerially or by satellite, and the major or dominant, vegetational
assemblages identified or confirmed by ground truthing. For ground
truthing a series of field stations was chosen, the number depending on
the areal extent and the accessibility by ground vehicle within each
section. Major or visually dominant biotopes or mixed vegetational
assemblages were noted on the .field maps, along with other unusual or
noteworthy features in the area: (e.g. recent fire, presence of unique or
endangered vegetation, hydrological characteristics, etc.). Biotopes
identified as actually or potentially critical within the overall
vegetational ecosystem (the biome) owing to their geographical location,
areal extent, or species composition were then examined more thoroughly
in situ. Areas comfirmed to be critical were highlighted on the 1: 200
field maps and these data were later transferred to 1:200 or 1:400 aerial
photographs.
The general health of these assemblages is then assessed. This
assessment can also provide information on air quality, abundance of
water, soil conditions, and ecosystem structure and succession. From
these assessments the general state of uplands, wetlands, submerged
lands, agricultural lands and even beaches and dunes can be extrapolated.
Natural hazard areas (e.g. floodplains, barrier islands) can be observed
and assessed for management purposes using extant vegetation, or areas of
secondary regrowth (as seen, for example, in barrier island dune
washovers). Moreover, by using "before" and "after" pictures, any change
over time can be ascertained. Thus, a general and continual monitoring
of an ecosystem is possible by coordinating direct ground-truthing with
perio~ic aerial or satellite photography or surveys.
3. Theoretical Considerations
In determining the Class and critical nature of certain
biotopes two classifications indicating environmentally critical areas
were employed: RUE (Rare, Unique or Endangered, of Gore 1984a), and CEC
(Critical Ecological Corridor; Gore, 1986).
6
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These concepts are linked to one another as follows:
1. RUE areas delineate regions having resources critical to
Collier County ecosystems;
2. CEC connects these areas into environmentally optimum
pathways to maintain or enhance floral and faunal species richness and
diversity. (Figure 2).
Gore (1984a. 1985a) defined Rare. Unique and Endangered biotopes
as floral* assemablages historically and ecologically native to the
State of Florida. containing biologically rare or endangered botanical
speciest or endemic or widespread native tree or plant species occurring
in unique vegetational. ecological or aesthetic associations in Collier
County.
The CEC category was established to ensure that areas
containing ecosystems which are ecologically and hydrologically
interlocked with COASTAL Zone biotopes south of US 41 (Tamiami Trail)
receive the most careful attention when they are proposed for
development. These corridors _ are also important for maintenance of
flora and faunal links t particularly the home range of the Florida
Panther. to areas south of US 41 and north of SR 84. (Data applicable to
this classification were taken from Duden et al. (1984; Big Cypress Area
Management Task Force Report). These classifications were developed to
tie-in with the existing ItST" (Special Treatment) zoning classification
in Collier County. Howevert they are intended to be more restrictive in
that any proposed development within their areas must be more carefully
evaluated t with more detailed guidelines imposed. before approval is
given. A most important additional recommendation is that any areas
suggested for RUE and CEC automatically require an Environmental Impact
Statement regardless of the total acreage involved.
The concept of RUE .is based on the precept that biological
diversity. and the preservation of indigenous biota. depends on
maintenance of genetic variability. But to ensure long-term success of
such preservation the ecosystem itself must (1) have a sufficient
reservoir of genetic variability; (2) be allowed to evolve along
naturally selected lines and rates of change; and (3) be resilient
enough to withstand man-induced perturbations. The factor that drives
this system is. of course. natural selection.
* Harris (1984) emphasizes the distinction between flora (the list of
botanical species expected to be found in a given area) and vegetation
(the mass of plant individuals on a given site). A given RUE area may
not necessarily contain all of the expected flora in its vegetational
assemblage owing to evolution. succession or perturbation. but can still
contain rare. unique or endangered species or assemblages warranting its
classification.
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A. Natural Selection, ~ ~ ~ ~ Areas .
Natural selection is the 'operational process in which genetic
potentials and differentials in an organism are manifested in its
response to ambient environmental conditions. Natural selection thus'
works continuously to choose between adaptive and maladaptive characters
that continuously occur in any organis.. The sum of all these characters
in a group of organisms comprises the gene pool. Conservation of genetic
variability, or genetic resources, must therefore be directed at
presently existing resources. i.e. the existing gene pool, primarily in
order to provide for future resources. Consequently, strategies for
conservation/preservation must provide for evolution not only at the
individual level, but also at that of the population, the species, and
ultimately the ecosystem. Strategies that do not can only impair the
ability of future generations to respond to the environment adaptively.
As Harris (1984) has succintly stated:
"It is imprudent to wait until a species is nearly extinct before
beginning to conserve it, as it will already have lost a significant
portion of its genetic variation."
The same can be said,. for communities which, after all, are
composed of species existing in" evolutionarily defined relationships.
The RUE vegetational assemblage concept is the maj or component in this
strategy for maintenance of richness and diversity. because man-induced
environmental alteration invariably affects communities, and not just
individual species.
B. Resource Management and the RUE Areas Concept
RUE establishment is management for optimum species richness
or species diversity within the compositional and structural confines of
each area selected. It is not meant to be management for maximum or
selected richness or diversity because implicit in these concepts is the
erroneous idea that some species are '~orth more" than others, when in
fact all species in a community are evolutionarily valuable. There is
also the attendant danger that only the more easily managed species will
be selected. or that common or "desirable" species can be profitably
substituted for the rare.
For example, given the choice of managing for water birds
versu~ water snakes in an RUE cypress-hardwood swamp, the general public
invariably opts for the former, primarily because birds have a better
public relations image, are more easily identified with. and accepted by,
the public, and are therefore implicitly more valuable. No brochure
trumpeting the "tropical paradise" of Florida has ever emphasized
snakes, even though the position of these reptiles in a cypress-hardwood
swamp, or indeed in the overall ecosystem, is fully as important as that
of birds.
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The establishment of RUE vegetational areas is also not to be
construed as a directed attempt toward preservation or rescue only of
isolated endangered individual species. For as Harris (op. cit.) and
other have noted, this species-by-species approach to conservation
results in a never-ending marathon of essentially salvage operations"
with no guarantee that sufficient genetic diversity is being maintained
in the species being saved. Instead, implementation of the RUE concept
throughout Collier County will allow carefully selected biotopes or
entire biological communities to be preserved both now and for the
future genetic potential they may exhibit. Otherwise, as Cowan (1965)
has stated, we run the risk of learning that:
"Lost segments of the ecosystem take with them their unexposed truths."
c. Critical Ecological Corridors and Ecosystem Maintenance
The RUE concept is important, but perhaps the more crucial of
these concepts is that of a Critical Ecological Corridor. There is
increasing evidence in the scientific literature that such corridors can
function in several important ways to ensure ecosystem viability in
areas slated for, or already. undergoing, development (Noss & Harris
1986). However, in order to completely understand the concept of CEC,
and its relationship to RUE, it is also necessary to understand that
Species Richness (S) and Divers'1ty ,(Dv) are particularly related to
the Species/Area Relationship (S/A). The latter concept states that any
given area will support a certain number of species (S) and a consistent
number of individuals in each species (Dv) (both plant and animal) which
is approximately proportional to the size of the area concerned. This
concept is itself tied to classical Island Biogeography Theory.
(i) Species Richness, Diversity, Eveness and Community
Structures
As environmental conditions change in a region, the
structure and composition of biotic communities may also undergo
successional change, with both the number of species (S) and the number
of individuals (N) in the area (A) changing. Because the S that can be
"packed" into a given A will be more or less restricted by the size of
A, the number of individuals (N) in any species that can be supported in
a given A will also be a function of A. Hence, S determines the
richness and composition of a community, and the relative abundance of
N:S determines the diversity. The factor of evenness (E) in the
community is determined by the amount of equitability in the distribution
of Nand S. The more similar the distribution of N within the range of
species the closer E will approach a value of 1. Thus, the inter-
relationship of S, N, E and A determine the structure and complexity of
the community as a whole.
10
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(ii) The Theory of Island Biogeography
Island Biogeography theory (MacArthur & Wilson 1967)
attempts to predict the number of species (S, or species richness) that
may occur on an island of any given area (A).
The mathematical formula for this relationship is:
z
S - cA
(Dv)
and solving for S generates a graphed straight line showing the
(Dv)
relationship of S to A, and having a y-axis intercept (c) as a constant,
and a slope of (z).
True islands can form in two ways: (1) they may arise de novo
through geophysical processes such as volcanic eruption, seismic
upthrusting or sedimentary accretion; or (2) via geophyscial sundering
and/or foundering of previously connected land masses in a so-called
vicariant event. In the biogeographical sense, in the first case, biotic
colonization will occur onto virgin soil and take place by dispersal from
a species source pool (usually. a continent). In the second case,
previously existing biotas may be drastically altered or reduced but may
not be completely extinguished The extent of re-colonization or
reclamation resulting from the vicariant event (the splitting off of the
area) depends on whether the sundered flora aod fauna readjusts its
previously held ranges, or undergoes invasion and subsequent competitive
exclusion by new species.
The concepts of Island Biogeography have also been
applied to 'non-oceanic "islands". For example, any viable area
supporting either an indigenous or newly colonized biota, and surrounded
by a hostile or inimical "seall can be thought of as an island. In this
sense (and as noted above), patches of old growth forest or strand are
equivalent to "islands" when they become separated from the main strand
by a vicariance event (such as fire, agricultural land etc.) and then
become surrounded by an urbanized or agricultural "sea". Similarly,
young seedling and sapling patches colonizing cleared areas would form
equivalent islands via a dispersion event of recruits either from a
larger old growth "continental island" or from other "continentalll
sourcts outside the area. Furthermore, according to the Theory of
Island Biogeography, species-area relationships, recruitment,
colonization, species richness and diversity, and the attendant
mathematics are all derivable within these "islands" just as if these
factors were occurring on actual oceanic islands.
The importance of these concepts is becoming
increasingly recognized in the management of natural resources. Harris
(1984) stated:
"Cne of the most fruitful lines of inquiry deriving from species-area
analysis is the biological basis for cause-and-effect relations and the
implications for resource management."
11
The Theory of Island Biogeography can be applied to
vegetational islands using the following concepts: (see Figure 3)
(1) Vegetational islands are a kind of species-trap;
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(2) The number of species (S) that will disperse to and colonize
such an island is directly related to S in the source pool;
(3) The source pool (e.g. a Strand) is the conceptual continent
from which the S disperses to the islands;
(4) The total S that will occur on any island is a result of both
island size (1. e. its area A) and the distance of the island from the
source pool;
(5) Smaller, more distant islands will contain fewer S than islands
larger and nearer to the source pool;
(6) The total S that remains on an island will be a function of the
total immigration (i) of S from the continent versus the total extinction
(e) of S occurring on the islan~;
(7) As S (e) approaches S (1) the ecosystem approaches equilibrium;
(8) Any island system 'will "relax" toward equilibrium (and
presumably ecological stability) only after an undefined period of time
which varies depending on A and the distance from its source pool of S;
(9) The trend toward, or actual attainment of, equilibrium may be
disturbed by exterior (environmental) or interior (community)
perturbations, or a combination of both;
(10) Although the number of species (S) may remain more or less
constant when conditions are at or near equilibrium, the species
composition may vary over time (i.e. species Y replaces X).
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D. RUE assemblages, Species/Area Relationships, and Extinctions
As Harris (1984) points out, the degree of isolation for any
species or community of species must be viewed as a continuum that is
species-specific, and is dictated as much by the biology of the species
as by existing environmental conditions. The existence of habitat
patche"s coupled to dispersal corridors may thus be critical to the
survival of certain species in the community, even though the remainder
of the community is either not, or only a little. affected.
The overall biome in Collier County consists of several large
ecosystems (see Gore 1984a, 1985a, 1986 for delineation), within which
exist numerous smaller natural communities. In these communities may
exist rare, unique. or endangered species (RUE) of both plants and
animals that rely on the larger ecosystems both for their maintenance and
dispersal. When portions of the biome, or major ecosystems are perturbed
or destroyed, these smaller communities may become islands, isolated from
12
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SIZE
Species/Area relationships
The number of species
Source Pool that can
in part by island size
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13
the previously existing system by a hostile "sea" of altered land. As
each portion of the larger system continues to be destroyed these islands
become more and more distinctive and less able to support the rare
species. The latter soon go extinct.
Data on extinction of species caused by land alteration suggest
that the percent of species lost may be inversely proportional to the
size of the area. For example, small areas may lose up to 50% of their
original species, whereas large areas may only lose about 4%. Moreover,
the species most vulnerable to extinction, whether in small areas or
large, are those with small populations existing at the higher or highest
trophic levels, l.e. the carnivores. The carnivore populations then
become victims of their own biology and ecology owing to (1) their
requirements for specialized foods or habitats, (2) the overexploitation
of their own prey by themselves or other competing carnivores, 3) coupled
with destruction or unacceptable alteration of their required habitats,
and 4) their ultimate confinement to areas smaller than their home range
requirements. If the affected carnivore is a keystone species, as it
often is, the ramifications of its demise will eventually be felt
throughout the entire community.
E. RUE Areas Ecosystem Contiguity
Throughout western and -northern Collier County, and
particularly in the Immokalee and Golden Gate Estates area of the Camp
Keasis INLAND and UPLAND Zones, the original nearly continuous nature of
the strands, prairies, and flatwoods, have been decimated, or replaced
with extensive second growth assemblages. Ground-truthing has shown that
many of these areas still contain RUE habitats which now consist of a
patchwork quilt of old growth areas*, plus numerous smaller remnants of
original "habitat", isolated into vegetational islands. Surrounding many
of these is a "sea" of altered, farmed or burned acreage, and
residential development. The connectivity between the remnant patches is
similar to that seen after clear-cutting has occurred in northern conifer
forests (see Harris 1984 for a more complete discussion). (see Figure 4).
A similar situation occurs in the Belle Meade and Camp Keasis
INLAND Zones (Gore 1986). In this instance the ecological interlock
between the INLAND and COASTAL Zones is threatened primarily by existing
agricultural, and impending residential, development in important
watersheds and surficial/ground water flowways.
* The term "old growth" refers to an ecosystem (perhaps remnant) having
numerous viable structural aspects that have arisen over a long period of
time, rather than just a chronologically old vegetational system. Old
growth is seen in Belle Meade (coastal prairie) , Camp Keasis
(cypress-hardwood forests) , Fakahatchee (hydric hardwood forests),
Corkscrew and Big Cypress (cypress swamp, freshwater marshes, pine
barrens and pine flatwoods) Units. Such old growth assemblages exhibit
diversity in both understory and epiphytic flora, thus forming an
essential component of good wildlife habitat.
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4. Schematic representation of RUE "islands" in an agricultural
sea Portions of the land remain= developable; other areas
sho~ld be preserved or conserved owing to their sensitive status
15
F. Implement&tion of RUE and CEC Areas
This program may be simply implemented by the following:
1. Locate and delineate RUE areas in Collier County;
2. Determine the boundaries and best positioning of CEC's so
as to incorporate the most important RUE/CEC areas;
3. Establish buffer zones adjacent to the RUE/CEC areas to
ensure maximum environmental protection within their scope.
4. Purchase these lands or impose restrictions on their
development to ensure maintenance of their environmentally important
characteristics.
However, three drawbacks may preclude acceptance of these
concepts by the general public. The first is its general reluctance to
understand evolution and evolutionary time. Laymen fail to appreciate
that evolutionary time comprises not only their lifetimes, but those of
their ancestors as well as their offspring several generations
removed. Because ecosystems evolve so slowly, naturally occurring
evolutionary changes usually can not be observed or appreciated by laymen
except in the cases of drastic perturbation (fires, hurricanes) and
resultant succession.
:
Second, laymen generally do not comprehend natural selection,
and how it works. They fail to realize that in order for evolution to
proceed over any period of time sufficient genetic variablility must be
present to provide an organism with the potential to respond to
environmental change.
The third drawback is the general inablilty of those exploiting
resources. or in charge of permitting such exploitation, to comprehend a)
the extent of genetic variability present in a system, b) the amount
required in a system for maintenance. and c) the resultant implications
when such variability is altered or destroyed. Good resource management
is based upon. and depends on a complete understanding of each. In this
instance a sound environmental education will be imperative.
As an aid to further this education, the following pages
provide an introduction to, and a summary of, the climatological,
geological, hydrological and biological resources existing in Collier
County. Although most of these aspects of the environment are covered
in sqlIle detail, they are by no means exhaustively treated. Inasmuch
as our environment is never static but always dynamic, naturally
occuring environmental changes can and will occur on a daily basis. At
best we can predict. at worst we will regret. Our success in managing
natural resources depends not only on our prognosticational abilities but
also on how well we understand the ramifications of any proposed changes
in the system. By appreciating just how all the physical and biOlogical
factors must interrelate, the professional natural resource managers.
the land developers. and the public at large will gain a far better
understanding of not only how we can live with the environment, but also
how we all can live within it.
L
16
L
THE AREA
1. COASTAL Zone
I .
The COASTAL Zone of Collier County is defined as that area of the
County on the south, or Gulf of Mexico, side of US 41 (Tamiami Trail).
This area, encompassing approximately 328 square miles of coastal barrier
islands, bays, wetlands and associated maritime biotopes, comprises a
relatively narrow strip of land that stretches 57 miles from the
northwest terminus at the Lee County line to the southeastern terminus at
the Dade-Monroe County lines. The strip varies in width from 2 miles in
the north, to 12 miles in the area of Marco Island, to 8 miles wide near
the southeastern county border. The COASTAL zone thus comprises 16
percent of the total land area of Collier County. (Figure 5).
The Collier County COASTAL Zone contains both developed and
undeveloped areas. Approximately 67 square miles (21%) of the total 328
square miles comprising the Zone are developed, with the majority of
this development found in five major populational centers: Vanderbilt
Beach, Park Shore, City of Nap-les, East Naples, and the Marco Island-
Isles of Capri areas. The first three centers are located north of
Gordon Pass, 1. e. the mouth of, Gordon River that forms the southern
terminus of the Naples headland. The fourth area is inland and southeast
of the Pass, and Marco Island is to the southeast and forms the
southernmost terminus of development in western Collier County.
The undeveloped COASTAL Zone is defined as the area south of US 41
that extends from Gordon Pass in the northeast to the Monroe County line
and Everglades National Park area in the east. This region contains
approximately 261 square miles of land (about 79% of the total COASTAL
zone), most of which is uninhabited or only moderately developed.
(Figure 6).
The vast majority of undeveloped coastal land in Collier County is
relatively remote and exists in its natural or nearly primeval condition.
The physiography of this coastal region includes active barrier islands,
tidally influenced estuarine lagoons, mainland coastal bays, and
associated wetlands and maritime seasonally inundated upland areas. A
number of rivers, creeks and tributaries also occur as important
hydrological features in the undeveloped zone.
A. Coastal Barrier Islands
The Collier County coastline is influenced by a semi-diurnal
tide, although most of the tidal period in the remainder of the Gulf of
Mexico is primarily diurnal (that is, occurring once every 24 hours 50
minutes; Smith 1974). Tidal conditions, coupled with a relatively strong
longshore current system, act in concert to form and shape the coastline.
i. Barrier Beach Systems
l.
Existing on both the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts of Florida,
barrier beaches serve as the peninsula's first defense against storm
l.
17
waves and oceanic flooding. These coastal barriers, seldom wider than a
mile, or greater in elevation than 10 feet, represent a unique natural
balance between extreme and variable physical conditions. Barrier beach
biotopes are adapted to cope with and even benefit from these constantly
changing physical factors. In their natural state, the beaches, dunes,
coastal hammocks, and saltwater wetlands of these coastal landforms
contribute significantly to biological diversity and productivity while
providing storm protection for inland areas. (Figure 7).
The formation of coastal islands along the lower
southwestern peninsula has occured in response to several bio-geological
factors. For example, longshore currents deposited mounds of quarzite
sand on exposed Miocene rock of the Tamiami Formation. According to one
theory these mounds eventually were colonized by oysters. This, in turn,
allowed continuing sediment entrapment among the oyster valves and
eventually the formation of an oyster reef. The reef then was colonized
by mangrove propagules, further building up sedimentary deposits. Over
geological time, and with the influences of tidal ingression and
regression, small islands grew into larger islands. This process is
thought to be continuing today in the Ten Thousand Islands area
(Hoffmeister 1974).
On these barrier. landforms, the sandy beach provides the
first line of defense against storm waves. During storms the shifting
of sand from the beach to offshore bars helps to dissipate wave energy
prior to wave contact with upland areas. In addition, the transfer of
sand within the beach zone enables the land sea interface to keep pace
with changes in sea level and assures the continued existence of the
barr-ier landform over extended periods of time (Taylor et a1. 1973).
Coastal dunes provide protect~on for interior areas while
maintaining the sand balance of the beach. The deposition of sand and
wind-borne nutrients stimulates the growth of dune-building plants on the
upper extremes of the sand beach. Plant growth accelerates sand
entrapment and deposition. The building phase of the dune continues
until storm surge and waves associated with a major oceanographic
disturbance remove sand from the dune and return it to the active beach
zone. The resultant flattening of profile and the transfer of sand to
the beach helps dissipate the energy of storm waves.
Barrier beaches are highly dynamic environments that are
peri09ically subject to rapid and severe geological change. The
potential for the complete overwash of barrier landforms duing the surge
of intense storms makes these areas a hazardous environment for permanent
dwellings.
B. Ten Thousand Islands Systems
l
The Ten Thousand Islands area is one of the largest coastal
lagoon and swamp systems in the world, covering over 200 square miles
of the lower southwestern Collier County coastline. It is also one of
the largest estuarine systems on earth, maintaining both mangrove-based,
and salt marsh-based, ecological systems. Although the Ten Thousand
L
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estuarine systems related to it, and which at one time extended up the
entire lower western coastline of Florida to the Tampa Bay region, are
now mostly extirpated.
Back barrier mangrove swamps still exist along some parts of
the coast, and in Coller County range in development from prime, nearly
undisturbed stands (e. g. Rookery Bay region) to isolated, degenerating
mixed species assembleges (Wiggins Pass region). These back barrier, and
barier-lagoonal mangrove and salt marsh biotopes formed the connecting
link between the marine and freshwater environments in Collier county.
Inundated either partially or completely over a tidal cycle, nutrients
were provided or carried away, and a complex detrital-based pathway
became established. This pathway forms the basis for the mangrove, salt
marsh, and ultimately the entire estuarine food chain. A distinct flora
and fauna is associated with these habitats. This biota responds to, and
is influenced by, the tidal cycles. Many of the species are of
commercial or pathological importance; a prime example of the latter is
the salt marsh mosquito, Aedes taeniorhynchus.
2. The INLAND Zone
The Inland zone of Collier County 1s defined as that area contiguous
to the COASTAL Zone that lies to the east or north of US 41 and south of
SR 84 (Alligator Alley). Extending about 50 miles in an east-west
direction and varying from about 7 miles in width along CR 951 to over 23
miles wide at the eastern County line, the zone occupies approximately
885 square miles. (Figure 8).
The I1~~~ Zone can be geophysically delimited in two ways. First,
nearly the entire Zone is bordered and confined within man-made canals.
These include the Everglades Parkway (Alligator Alley) Canal on the
north, the L-28 Interceptor Canal on the northeast, the Tam1ami Trail
Canal on the south, and the Golden Gate-Gordon River canal on the west.
Second, the INLAND Zone is de11mi ted by two maj or highways: SR 84
(Alligator Alley) on the north and US 41 (Tam1ami Trail) on the south.
In addition, several of the Units within the zone (e.g. Belle Meade,
Fakahatchee, Turner River) have their eastern or western boundaries
defined by major north-south highways or secondary roads (see 4. below).
Because the INLAND Zone is contiguous with the COASTAL Zone it thus
includes the same Units delimited for the COASTAL Zone. However, because
the Ii~ portions of the Cocohatchee, Cocohatchee-Gordon River
Transitional, Gordon River, and Water Management No. 6 Coastal Zone
Units lying to the east of US 41 are so heavily developed they are not
addressed in regard to pristine vegetational features. The remaining
INLAND Units, viz, Belle Meade, Camp Keasis, Fakahatchee, Turner River,
Big Cypress West and Big Cypress East, are more important inasmuch as
they comprise approximately 868 (ca.97%) of the total 885 square miles.
They are, of course, also contiguous with their namesakes in the
COASTAL Zone south of US 41.
20
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The L~LA1~ Zone of Collier county is defined as that area contiguous
to the COASTAL and INLAND Zones north of SR 84. east of SR 951 and
extending to the Lee. Hendry. and Broward County lines. The area in an'
east-west direction is about 50 miles at its maximum width. and in a
north-south direction runs about 24 miles at its maximum length. The
boundaries enclose approximately 700 square miles of land. (Figure 9).
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The UPLAND Zone is geophysically delimited primarily by State and
County roadways. being defined by CR 951 on the west and SR 84 on the
south. In addition. a series of interior highways which include CR 846.
858. 184, SR 82 and SR 29, divide the interior of the UPLAND Zone into
more or less distinct compartments which can act to impede or impound
surface water flows from north to south in a similar manner to those in
the INLAND Zone. Because the UPLAND Zone is contiguous to both the
INLAND and COASTAL Zones (see Benedict et a1., 1984; Gore 1986), it is
ecologically interlocked with these areas. Moreover, the compartmental-
ization of the UPLAND Zone by the aforementioned highways allows the
northward extension of previously defined COASTAL and INLAND Units into
this Zone. These include Belle Meade. Camp Keasis. Fakahatchee, Turner
River, Big Cypress West. Big Cy~ress East, plus a newly defined Corkscrew
Unit which encompasses the Lake T~afford-Corkscrew Swamp area.
4. COASTAL. INLAND and UPL~~Zone Units
The three aforementioned regions of Collier County can be divided
into 11 major drainage districts (Table 1). Although the limits and
borders of each district are, to some extent. arbitrary. they were
chosen to correspond as closely as possible with the major hydrographic
and physiographic featur'es on the mainland and barrier islands. The
interior limits were. in most cases, laid out along major North-South or
East-West highway links. These boundaries were selected because they
act as artificial barriers to nearly all sheet and tributary flow of
inland surface waters. Although bridges and culverts allow some passage,
in many cases the flow is directed laterally away from historical or
geological flow channels. For example. the Cocohatchee and Gordon
Rivers. Haldemann and Henderson Creeks. and the FakaUnion and Turner
River Canals have more or less straight-through access to the Gulf of
Mexico. Larger INLAND watercourses such as the Fakahatchee Strand have
sheet and surface tributary flow directed through a series of highway
culverts.
Lateral boundaries for each district were also chosen as above.
These boundaries, where applicable, were continued across to the coastal
barrier islands. However, for coastal management units No. 2
(Cocohatchee-Gordon River Transitional). 3 (Gordon River). and 4
(Water Management No.6) the nearest tidal pass formed either the upper
or lower boundary. As with the highways. the urban thoroughfares lying
normal to the general coastline act as dikes providing at least some
impediment to water flow within these delimited areas.
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Table 1. LIST OF ZONES AND THEIR BOUNDARIES DELINEATED BY COLLIER COUNTY NATURAL
RESOURCES MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT
UNIT
ZONE
BOUNDARIES (N,E.S,W):
1. Cocohatchee River COASTAL
Lee County Line. US 41.
SR 846
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2. Coco-Gordon Transitional COASTAL
SR 846. US 41, Doctors Pass
3. Gordon River COASTAL
Doctors Pass, US 41. CR 31.
Gordon Pass
4. Water Management No. ,6 COASTAL
Gordon Pass. US 41. CR 951.
CR 952. Capri Pass
5. Corkscrew UPLAND
Lee County line. SR 29.
CR 846, US 41
6. Belle Meade UP~
CR 846, R 27 E east boundary.
SR 84, CR 951
INLAND
SR 84. Miller Blvd., US 41,
CR 951
COASTAL
US 41, CR 92. CR 951
7. Camp Keasis UPLAND
CR 846. R 28 E east boundary,
SR 84, R 28 E west boundary
INLAND
SR 84, R 28 E east boundary,
US 41, R 28 E west boundary
COASTAL
US 41. FakaUnion Canal to
Fakahatchee Pass. Gullivan
Bay, CR 92
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8.
Fakahatchee
UPLAND
CR 846/SR 29 Jet. SR 29,
SR 84, R 29 E west boundary
INLAND
SR 84, SR 29, US 41. R 29 E
west boundary including
FakaUnion Canal
COASTAL
US 41, SR 29, Ten Thousand
Islands. FakaUnion Canal to
Fakahatchee Pass
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Table 1. LIST OF ZONES AND THEIR BOUNDARIES DELINEATED BY COLLIER COUNTY NATURAL
RESOURCES MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT (CONT'D).
UNIT
ZONE
BOUNDARIES (N,E,S,W):
9. Turner River
UPLAND
Hendry County line, Collier
County line, SR 84, sa 29
INLAND
SR 84, SR 839, US 41, SR 29
COASTAL
US 41, R 30 E east boundary,
Monroe County line, SR 29
10. Big Cypress West
UPLAND
Hendry County line, R 32 E
east boundary, SR 84, SR 839
extension
INLAND
SR 84, R 32 E east boundary,
US 41, SR 839
COASTAL
US 41, R 32 E east boundary,
Monroe County line, R 31 E
west boundary
11. Big Cypress East
UPLAND
Hendry County line, Broward
County line, SR 84, R 33 E
west boundary
INLAND
SR 84, Broward-Dade County
line, US 41, R 33 E west
boundary
COASTAL
US 41, Dade County line,
Monroe County line, R 33
east west boundary
.
25
THE COLLIER COUNTY ESTUARY
1. Physiography and Geomorphologl
By definition, an estuarine system is an assemblage of permanently
submerged tidal habitats and adjacent littoral (intertidal) areas with
associated wetlands. These systems are usually semi-enclosed by land but
have open. partially obstructed, or only sporadic access to the open sea.
In all estuaries sea water is at least occasionally diluted by freshwater
runoff or seepage from the land (Cowardin!! ~ 1979).
The Collier County estuarine system consists of two distinct but
interconnected physiographic systems: a lagoonal system associated
with the County's coastal barrier system, and a semi-deltaic to open bay
system in the Ten Thousand Islands region (Table 2). The barrier
bar-enclosed, lagoonal estuary has both permanent and ephemeral inlet
connections to the Gulf of Mexico on the western side, and freshwater
sheet flow, runoff, canal and river or creek input on the mainland
eastern side. This system was apparently at one time more or less
longitudinally continuous from the barrier island lagoons in Estero Bay,
Lee County, southward to Cape Romano. From the Cape Romano terminus of
the coastal barrier system and progressing toward the southeast the
coastal estuary is both bordered and reticulated with mangrove-oyster
shell islands of varying size and increasing complexity. Thus, although
the two estuarine systems are distinct, each is contiguous with the
other. The northerly portion of the system has, been severely altered,
while that in the south and eastern portions remains (with the exception
of Marco Island area) more or less pristine (Courtney, 1974).
The system as a whole is shallow, with depths ranging from less than
a meter to about 2 meters. Where dredging has been conducted for the
Intracoastal Waterway and in the areas of the tidal passes, depths may
reach 6 meters or so. The lagoonal and Ten Thousand Islands systems are
predominantly 1 meter deep or less near shore, increasing to about 2
meters depth offshore.
2. Salinity Regime
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The maj or marine influence is from the Gulf of Mexico and the
assocj.ated Florida Bay area. Salinities in these water bodies may
fluctuate depending on rainfall, current system, and tidal conditions,
but usually are on the order of 26-340/00. Freshwater input modifies
marine-influenced salinities and values may range from about 0.50/00
within river or tributary mouths, to about 350/00 in lagoonal or open bay
areas. The salinity regime is complicated by several factors, including
delayed flushing times, the presence of tidally-reflecting weirs upstream
in the Gordon River and Henderson Creek, numerous finger canals with
some, little, or no vertical stratification, and, of course, climatic
factors involving seasonal rainfall or drought (see Van der Kreeke, in
Simpson !! ~ 1979). Salinities tend to be higher and undergo greater
,
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Table 2. The lagoonal and deltaic estuarine systems in Collier County.
System
Boundaries'
Coastal Zone
Unit
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Hickory Bay System (L)
Clam Bay System (L)
Doctors Bay System (L)
Gordon river system (L)
Dollar Bay System (L)
Rookery Bay System (L)
Johnson Bay System (L)
Big Marco System (D)
(includes Tarpon,
Unknown and Addison
Bays and Big Marco River)
Barfield-Caxambas Bay (D)
System
Gullivan Bay System (D)
(includes numerous
small bays in Ten
Thousand Islands)
Chokolaskee Bay System (D)
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....~ .__...._.1
Cocohatchee
Lee County Line,
Cocohatchee-
Gordon Transitional
CR 846, CR 896
Cocohatchee-
CR 896, Doctors Pass
Naples Headland
Golden Gate Canal,
West Gordon Pass
Water Management
No. 6
Gordon Pass,
Rookery Bay
W~ter Management
No. ..6
Henderson Creek,
Little Marco Pass
Water Management
No. 6
Little Marco Pass,
Big Marco Pass
Water Management
No.6; Belle Meade
Big Mar-co Pass,
SR 92
Camp Keasis
Caxambas Pass, SR 92
Cape Romano
Camp Keasis-
Fakahatchee
Camp Romano, Ten
Thousand Islands,
West Pass
Fakahatchee-
Turner River
West Pass, Monroe
County Line
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fluctuation, but in a more consistent manner, in the eastern portion of
the estuarine system in Fakahatchee Bay (Yokel 1975c). Hypersaline
conditions, with values approaching 400/00 may occasionally occur in the
northern isolated coastally-associated basins.
Freshwater input comes from 3 major sources (Cocohatchee River,
Gordon River-Golden Gate Canal system, and FakaUnion Canal system, q.v.),
plus at least 8 lesser rivers and 5 creeks (the distinction between a
river and a creek is often locally subjective). In addition, freshwater
sheet flow enters through large strand and coastal prairie areas such as
Picayune and Fakahatchee Strands, as well as in a general overland flow
that originates in the Big Cypress region.
Historically, water flows during the rainy season through the
aforementioned surface water features. Rain falling in the interior
parts of the County during the early wet season collects in the deeper
strands and sloughs, and moves slowly south-southwest towards the Gulf.
As the rainy season progresses, water levels increase owing to slow
runoff and high water tables. Eventually the water levels exceed the
ground elevation and spread across the land surface as a slow moving
sheet of water. In the late tall when the summer rains end the water
levels again retreat below the: surface and the sheet flow dissipates.
Only in lower elevation sloughs and surface depressions does water
remain into the dry season.
Fresh water, that flows from the interior portions of the County
through sloughs, and as sheet flow, mixes with the salt water of the
Gulf and becomes brackish in a transition zone. The boundary between
the brackish and freshwater zone is the salinity line. The position of
this line changes with the seasons. During the dry season tidal forces
predominate and salt water moves inland through the tidal creeks and
bays of the coastal area. In contrast, during the wet season the force
of rain-produced fresh water, moving to the coast via sheet flow and
coastal rivers, pushes the salinity line toward the Gulf, discharging
large quantities of fresh water into coastal marine waters. For more
detailed discussion see Weinstein et a!. (1977), Yokel (l975c) and the
summarized reports by Gee & Jensen, -me., and Missmer & Associates.
listed in the bibliography.
3. Temperature
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laken as a whole, the estuary is apparently not temperature-
stratified except for occasional periods of temperature-inversion during
the summer months. The relatively shallow bottom contours. and the fact
that overall circulation in the system appears to be wind-driven. probably
accounts for the lack of recurrent temperature strata. Water
temperatures range from about lOoC to 3loC with higher values (as might
be expected) in later summer months, and the lowest values in
January-February (see Hicks. in Simpson ~ !.!.:.' 1979; Yokel 1975c).
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4. Water Transport
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Water transport within the estuarine system has not yet been
examined. Because the upper basins in the vicinity of Wiggins Pass have
been permanently interdicted from their once-contiguous conterparts in
Lee County, the maj or flow southward must originate through Wiggins
Pass, and to a lesser extent, Clam Pass. However the Clam Bay-Clam Pass
sytem itself is no longer connected to the Wiggins Pass system, and
Inner Clam Bay receives little influence from Clam Pass (Gee and Jensen,
1978). Water transport is probably quite restricted in this sytem. This
is supported by Heald et al. (1978) who noted that some of the mangrove
forests in Inner Clam Bay were in a state of decline.
The Doctors Bay system is also nearly completely isolated from
the Clam Bay system immediately to the north, and it terminates in a
series of dredged canals with no further coastal connection below Doctors
Pass.
The Gordon River-Naples Bay system is the second largest enclosed
estuary in areal extent on the barrier coast, and this system is
contiguous with the Dollar Bay-Rookery Bay system immediately to the
south. The former system has peen heavily altered, whereas the latter
remains relatively unaffected because of the establishment of the Rookery
Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve in the immediate environs. The
Dollar-Rookery-Johnson Bay estuary is the largest enclosed estuary within
the barrier island coast, and is the least disturbed. Water transport
via Gordon and Big Marco Passes may be substantial.
Immediately to the south and east lies Marco Island and the Big
Marco River. The latter is not truly a river with headwaters and a
discharge mouth, but rather a coastal lagoon lying behind Marco Island.
From this point intracoastal water transport ceases to have much meaning.
The immediately adjacent areas to the south and east form the gateway to
the Ten Thousand Islands estuarine system, one of the largest coastal
wetland/bay systems in the world. This system, in turn, grades
imperceptibily into the Gullivan and Chokoloskee Bay systems and the
Everglades Park system that continues down around the southwestern tip
of the Florida Peninsula. Except for the Marco Island area, and some
development at Chokoloskee Island, the region is little disturbed.
5. Limits and Areal Extent of the Collier County Estuarine System
The total estuarine region within the COASTAL zone boundaries
extends from the Lee-Collier County line at the north, US 41 at the
east, south along the lagoonal margins of the barrier islands to Cape
Romano and thence south eastward along the Ten Thousand Islands chain to
the Turner River canal at the southeast.
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The total area is approximately 328 sq. miles. Of this 110 sq.
miles (approximately 33%) is water, giving a water to land ratio of
nearly 1:3. Lehman (1978) listed the respective acreage figures for
estuarine bays, coastal marshes, and mangroves in Collier County, as
52,198, 25,936 and 98,780 acres respectively based on computations from
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the land-use map of 1973. This computes to approximately 81.6 sq. miles
of estuarine bays, 45.2 sq. miles of coatal marshes, and 154.3 sq. miles
of mangroves, for a total of 281 sq. miles of wetlands. This computation
thus compares favorably with Lehman's amount calculated above because
the latter also included non-wetland areas (e.g. maritime pine barrens
east of the coastal lagoon but west of US 41). According to Lehman (op.
cit.) 13% of Collier County consists of these estuarine-associated
wetland communities. The total coastal estuarine area of about 328 sq.
miles is roughly 15% of the total area of the county (about 2219 sq.
miles) . Applying Lehman's data it can be seen that estuarine bays
comprise about 4%, coastal marshes about 2%, and mangroves about 7% of
the total county area. The remaining 2% consists of vegetated and
developed areas within the COASTAL estuarine system.
6. Salt Water Intrusion
The close proximity of the Gulf of Mexico marine waters, the
estuarine lagoon, and the permeability of the basement limestones, allow
salt water to extend inland during tidal extremes, and to percolate
downward in some cases into the soils and shallow aquifers. Marine
salinities, for example, have been recorded well into Naples Bay and up
the Gordon River. The Ten Thou~and Islands region has been characterized
as a completely tide-influenced coastal watershed, but the presence of
flourishing mangrove trees north of U8.41 provides one more indication of
how far inland saline waters can penetrate.
A. Tidal Effects
The average amplitude of the tidal cycle along the Colliar
County coastline is approximately 3-4 ft. over a given tidal cycle. The
heights will vary depending on the phases of the moon and whether it is
in apogee or perigee. In addition, the presence of onshore winds,
especially from the southwest, can act to drive marine
waters farther inland, or contrarily, detain the drainages of such waters
from inland areas beyond the predicted time. Coupled with these factors
are the unpredictable effects of tropical storm surges which can force
large amounts of saline water well inland during excessively high storm
tides (see e.g. Craighead, 1961).
According to Klein (1954) the tidal fluctuations in the Gulf of
Mexico can also be reflected in water levels in non-artesian wells near
shore, If such wells have a sufficiently large freshwater lens, then the
wells remain potable and little intrusion can occur. In other cases,
where severe short-term. or heavy and continuous long-term drawdown has
taken place. the lowering of the water table during tidal fluctuation
will allow salt water to intrude. This effect, again, is more noticeable
in coastal mainland wells (or those sunk on barrier islands) than in
wells located farther inland.
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The intrusion of marine waters into the ground water table will
exert some effect on the local ecological systems. The actual effects
are quite complicated and much depends on the amount of intrusion and the
ability of maritime plant assemblages to tolerate brackish ground water.
30
}fany coastal plants, for example. are adapted at least partially to soils
with a high salt content and can tolerate much exposure. Other are able
to survive only if exposure is short term (for example during storm tide
washovers). The presence of saline water in soils may itself only be a
short term event if heavy rains occur in association with the intrusion.
In such a case much or all of the salt may be washed away with little or
no elevation of soil salinity.
B. Recharge Effects
The underground saltwater interface, as pointed out by Klein
(1954), is a fluctuating front that can slowly advance inland. or rise
from below a shallow aquifer, not only during periods of high pumping but
also during drought. By the same token, during periods of low pumping,
or during heavy rains in the wet season, the salt water-freshwater
interface may move downward and seaward again. The important point is
that !!. sufficient recharge is not available to balance the amount of
freshwater lost or withdrawn then a slow inland and upward movement of
the saline front will occur. Drainage canals, for example. can allow a
rapid decline of ground water levels. If these declines extend far
enough back into the recharge areas serious salt water encroachment will
occur.
C. Effects on Vegetation
Vegetational changes have taken place over much of the
southwestern Florida area. Alexander & Crook (1974) have pointed out
that slowly rising sea levels (approximately 3 inches per 100 yrs) are
partially responsible. They note further that Decause the general slope
of the land is so shallow. and because the land itself is of such low
elevation, little rise in sea level is needed to flood the coastal areas
with waters of higher salinity. The extensive mangrove and salt marsh
communities (with 13 and 23 vascular plant species. respectively; Long,
1974) are one indication of this geophysical phenomenon. Lowered water
table owing to inland water drainage support these communities (Tabb et
al. 1962). As freshwater communities die back or are exterminated by sea
level rise and salt water intrusion. estuarine communities succeed them.
In a sense, more estuarine communities are being created, but at the
expense of upland freshwater communities.
D. Productivity
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Productivity is a result of moderate environmental conditions.
shallow depths, and an abundant input of nutrients and organic matter
primarily in the form of detritus and secondarily as dissolved organic
compounds. Primary production occurs in three diverse groups of plants
in the lagoonal ecosystem. Production starts with bacteria and fungi
which. acting alone or in concert, break down larger organic particles
for their nutrients. Release of organic byproducts, as well as
production of larger amounts of bacteria and fungi, form the basis of
the estuarine food chain. This breakdown and growth results in the
formation of detritus and is the basic cycle for nutrIent production in
coastal lagoons.
,
31
Next, microscopic floating plants known as phytoplankton
produce usable carbon compounds as a result of photosynthetic activities
in the water column. The increase and eventual death of phytoplankton
adds a second major source of nutrients to the cycle. This cycle of
organic matter within the lagoons and fringing wetlands forms the basis
of the entire coastal food chain.
Third, higher plants of fringing mangrove swamps and tidal
marshes, as well as those in subtidal seagrass beds, produce organic
material during their growth cycle. Of all wetlands, coastal marshes and
mangrove forests are the most productive. Their high level of
productivity is a result of energy provided by tides, currents, and waves
and transported in the form of detritus. However very little of the
carbon produced in these coastal wetlands is consumed on site. The
majority is exported by the tides to adjacent coastal bays in the form
of partially decayed, bacteriallY-infested plant materials. Such
materials are ultimately completely broken down by bacteria and fungi
into detritus and eventually discharged into the lagoons. Components of
the coastal lagoon food chain include shellfish, crabs, marine worms,
fish, birds, and man. In addition, many species of fish utilize the
protected bays as breeding and ~ursery grounds because of the favorable
environmental conditions that O,ccur there. A large number (75-80%) of
commercially important game and food fish spend at least part of their
life cycle within upon this system.
Coastal wetlands have two other important roles. Shorelines
colonized by mangrove swamps or brackish marshes are much more resistent
to erosion than those that have been cleared of vegeation. T?e dense
tangle of mangrove branches, roots, trunks and the upright leaves of
marsh grasses reduce wave energy and height and serve to protect inland
areas from the d~struction of coastal storms. In addition, through the
colonization of intertidal flats, mangroves and marsh grasses entrap
sediments that can eventually create new land.
E. Alteration ~ it's Consequences
Estuarine lagoons represent a critically valuable natural resource.
Not only do they serve as the home for numerous species of plants and
animals, they are also a very importnat component of the southwest
Florida fisheries industry and an importnat aesthetic and recreational
resource. Lagoons are particularly vulnerable to the impact of man
because development in Southwest Florida often occurs in close proximity
to these systems. The life of a coastal lagoon depends not only on the
circulation of water around and through this ecosystem but on the
contained nutrients and general salinity of this water. Any activity
that alters or interrupts this circulation or modifies the levels of
tidal exchange can have long lasting effects. Man's activities have also
had adverse impact on coastal lagoons by degrading incoming or existing
water quality and by altering or eliminating fringing wetlands and sea
grass beds, thereby eradicating important production sites of organic
matter.
32
~-
Because of the intimate relationship of supratidal areas to coastal
lagoons, the biological productivity of coastal lagoons can be affected by
activities that alter or eliminate fringing saltwater wetlands as well
as subtidal sea grass beds. As noted above. the higher plants of both
these habitats provide an important source of organic matter essential
to lagoonal food chains. The clearing of tidal marshes and mangrove
swamps. and destruction of seagrass beds by dredging. sedimentation. or
boat traffic. removes an important nutrient source. Moreover. the
destruction of fringing wetlands eliminates their ability to filter
polluted storm water runoff. The elimination of sea grass beds
destroys the primary habitat for many species of adult and juvenile fish
and other lagoon inhabitants.
The degradation of water quality in coastal lagoons can be caused
by a number of factors. Following storm events. the direct and rapid
discharge of essentially fresh water from urban areas into lagoons
introduces measurable amounts of runoff pollutants. Although a seasonal
input of clean fresh water is a natural and important component of the
lagoon environments, pulsed elevated levels of freshwater dishcharge from
man-made drainage canals. even if unpolluted. can have a noticeable
effect on lagoon life. Dredging in or near lagoons overturns or alters
the detrital system. eliminating this prime nutrient source or making it
unsuitable for higher organisms~' In addition it increases the levels of
sediment suspended in the water column. High turbidity can result in a
marked decline in sunlight penetration and a reduction of primary
production if the elevated levels persist. In addition, increased
lagoonal bottom sedimentation can adversely affect the relatively
immobil~ bay infauna.
F. Intrinsic vs Extrinsic Net Worth
Estuarine areas have received increased attention in recent years
as their value to the adjacent mainland areas, or associated barrier
island systems has become realized. Although long recognized as
important regions insofar as their vegetative habitat and their ability
to support a rich and diversified wildlife, the intrinsic worth of such
regions was often dismissed with little study and still less
justification. One reason for this dismissal was that estuarine systems
are extremely complex ecosystems. often encompassing several major
biotopes (e. g. seagrass. mangrove, saltmarsh) and associated ecotones
(e.g. seagrass-alga. mangrove-scrub shrub. terrestrial
halophyte-meadow). Morever. the estuarine regions often grade
imperceptibly into more upland. or more freshwater-related ecosystems,
so that it is a often difficult to state where the estuary or its
influence actually begins or ends. From another viewpoint. estuarine
areas were characterized as swamps, bogs. and sloughs in a pejorative
sense, thus connoting regions less than desirable for human habitation.
i.
Because of the very active biological activity that occurs in these
regions, the process of recruitment. growth, predation, competition,
death and decompostion is continuous. One consequesnce is the
production of malodorus compounds, including hydrogen sulfide. (H2S
rotten eggs), methane (CH4. foul odor), and ammonia-based compounds (NH3.
putrefaction). Still another factor is that estuaries support less
33
desirable biota in addition to man's subjectively-characterized
"valuable species". Some of the undesirables because of their habit or
habitat are inimical to man, either because they persistently annoy him,
or because they act as vectors for human diseases.
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The relatively recent acknowledgement that estuaries function as
nursery areas for numerous marine invertebrates which, in turn, act as
food for the many types of fishes and birds that man classifies as
either recreationally, commercially, or aesthetically important, has
subjectively, changed man's concepts in regard to estuarine values.
Dollar figures are both complex and misleading, and have been calculated
according to several bases. Estuarine land values, for example, have
been estimated from $370-29,OOO/acre. Because of the individual
complexity that is inherent in each estuarine system or subsystem, no
true or realistic value can be calculated without considering the values
of associated upland and immediate offshore areas. Although much of the
value can, with proper manipulation, be shown to be intrinsic the
extrinsic net worth (in the final analysis) comes down to what man will
pay. For example, taking the highest figure above, one acre of
estuarine land having a value of $29,000 may be little related to the
commercially developable rea~ estate figure for that same land.
Estuarine-fronting lands in tl;1e Chokoloskee-Everglades City area are
worth substantially less than similar lands on Marco Island. Yet both
are intrinsically equal in their value to the maritime system as a
whole, and both decrease concomitantly in value should the upland areas
be so altered that the ecological value of the estuary is also
diminished. As pointed out by Davis & Hirsch (1975) the developmental
cost in any real estate will directly affect its value. They provide
figures and estimated cost increase or value reductions for several
types of developmental situations ,and discuss in depth tbe
value-fluctuations inherent in each; the interested reader should
consult this paper for details.
G. Conclusions
While acknowledging, therefore, that estuaries have importance to
man, very little acknowledgement has been given as to how much estuarine
wetland is "enough". Again, it has only been quite recently tbat
quanitification of "bow much is enough" has been attempted. In the most
idealized cases, the answer to "how much is enough" would be whatever
was there in the first place. But this answer runs headlong into the
real tpr' s ethic which is espouses development of land solely for man's
use. Taking the state of Florida as a case in point, one need only
consider the areas of the southeastern "Gold Coast" from Palm Beach to
Miami, once a vast and thriving estuarine system, to see what "enough "
meant then, as opposed to now. An unfortunate corollary to the
realtor's development ethic is that people come to Florida for the very
amenities that are, and must be, destroyed if the burgeoning population
is to be supported. Because estuarine lands often have aesthetic as
well as ecologic value, they are the first to be developed. Thus the
natural aesthetics that made them so attractive ususally become
subservient to the English manor ethic that demands large greenswards,
with carefully planted, introduced species of vegetation that
erroneously reflect what Florida is "supposed to be". It is further
34
paradoxical that
consider es tuarine
but the very same
monetary value.
the land-development ethic previously tended to
lands (i.e. mangroves, salt marshes) as worthless,
area now denuded of such bio~opes to have great
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The estuarine lands of Collier County, if left in their natural
state, would be uninhabitable, or only marginally habitable. Arable or
developable land can only be created through massive alteration of
upland, marginal, and subtidal areas, and the associated hydropattern.
In addition, continuous suppression of parts of the ecosystem (e .g.
mosquito control, water management) are required to maintain
habitability This alteration irrevocably changes the ecology and is also
detrimental to adjacent areas as well, inasmuch as the estuary is only a
part of a larger system in the southern peninsula. The Collier County
coastal system is at the lowest end of the southwestern Florida
hydrological continuum. The changes, therefore, that occur in Lee and
Hendry Counties immediately to the north become a Sword of Damocles for
Collier County.
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CLIMATE
1. General Climate and Biogeography
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Extending southward toward the equator, the lower peninsula of
Florida enjoys a predominantly subtropical climate, although much of
the flora and fauna is tropical in origin. Many of the species of
animals and plants arrived on Floridan shores during or after several
early marine transgressions, especially those occurring during the
Pleistocene when south Florida passed through many episodes of island
formation and deformation. The Florida Current (erroneously called the
Gulf Steam) in the Straits of Florida and the Atlantic, and the Loop
Current system in the Gulf of Mexico, were also instrumental in bringing
tropical species to south Floridan shores. These large-scale, warm-water
currents also directly affect the climatology of the region and are a
maj or factor in determining cloud buildup and subsequent periods of
rainfall.
At present, rainfall values may range from 30 to over 100 inches per
year in southwest Florida, with a generally accepted average of 55-60
inches. In Collier County the average rainfall is approximately 52
inches per year, and ranges from 10 inches or less during the dry season
(October thruogh April) to between 40 and 42 inches during the wet season
(May through September). Monthly averages vary depending on climatic
vagaries (see MacVicar 1983).
Such high amounts of rainfall, in conjunction with generally
amenable mean yearly temperatures between 60-70 F, support and enhance
the growth of tropical and subtropical flora. This, in turn, supports a
fauna which, depending on how intimately tied it is to marine, or
freshwater terrestrial conditions, originated primarily from the
tropical, or warm-temperate regions, respectively. This biota has
adapted to the typical seasonality of warm-wet vs. cool-dry that
characterizes many subtropical-tropical coastal regions of the world.
Collier County is subtropical in climate. However, below-freezing
temperatures can occur several times a year, particularly in low
interior areas where topography and the absence of water maintain
pockets of cool air beyond sunrise. On the average, frost can be
expected about once every other year; severe cold periods are infrequent.
~fuen a prolonged period of cold does occur, such as in January 1977, it
can have a profound effect on the composition of plant and animal
communities (Wade !! al., 1980).
I
I
L
The area also usually exhibits a pronounced wet-dry seasonality.
The wet or rainy season extends from about May through October. April and
November are transitional months, and the dry season occurs from December
through March (the end of "winter" temperatures). As might be expected
the plant communities are more intimately tied to this hydroper10d than
are the animals. However, the entire faunal food web is based on the
responses of non-phytal organisms (e.g. protists through birds, reptiles
and mammalian carnivores), to the vegetational patterns found throughout
the County.
36
2. The Hydrologic Cycle
All components of Florida's water resources are linked through the
hydrological cycle. In order to understand the interrelation of our
County's water resources, it is helpful to study the hydrological cycle
for this area. By following the cycle one sees where the water comes
from and where the water eventually goes. (Figure 10).
Starting with the Atlantic Ocean and occasionally the Gulf of
Mexico and adjacent estuarine areas, large amounts of water vapor,
produced through evaporation by the sun, condense to form the puffy
white cumulus clouds so typical of the subtropics. As these clouds move
in over land they acquire additional water vapor from freshwater stream,
river, lake and pond evaporation, as well as from evapo-transpiration (the
process by which plants release large amounts of water vapor to the
atmosphere during photosynthesis).
The enlarged clouds coalesce and form typically anvil-topped
thunderheads. Eventually the weight of the condensed wapor exceeds the
holding capacity of the clouds and the mositure is released as rain.
The average annual rainfall for Collier County is 50 to 55 inches per
year with a long-term variation.between a low of 30 inches and a high of
105 inches. Of the 50 to 55' inches~ roughly 75 to 80 percent falls
during thunderstorms occurring between May and October (the rainy
season). The remainder falls between November and April (the dry
season) as major winter storm systems sweep Southwest Florida.
The rain falls on either permeable, or impermeable areas. Water
falling on permeable areas may percolate downward into the soil and
eventually enter the shallow aquifers. From there it may percolate
further downward and enter the aquifer system of the Tamiami Formation.
On the other hand, when rain falls on impermeable land it collects in
pools or forms large sheets of water that flow down the land gradient.
Sheet flow over impermeable regions often results in large-scale
flooding.
The water is available for use whether on the surface or under it.
Use may include irrigation for crops, wells for potable water, utility
water use in sewage treatment, or a bost of other activities.
Eventually the used water is returned to the estuaries or the Gulf where
the cycle is completed.
3. Precipitation, Evaporation and Transpiration
The large areas covered with water both on land and in the shallow
coastal regions also permit a high amount of evaporation to occur. When
coupled with evapotranspiration from vegetation this can result in high
humidity and extremely high rate of water loss. One model (Lehman 1978)
has estimated this loss to be nearly 5000 acre-ft/year for the County.
This loss must be made up by yearly precipitation if a viable water
budget is to be maintained. The same model hypothesizes rainfall
equivalent to about 5300 acre-ft/)'ear, but it must be remembered that
L
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37
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38
over any given year total rainfall may vary widely from less than 30 to
over 70 inches. Thus, periods of water enrichment or even overabundance
may be followed by periods of severe drought. (Figure 11).
f
r
The state-wide general rainfall average is approximately 50-55
inches.* Thomas (1974) collated rainfall records from 1825 through 1968
and showed that on the lower Gulf Coast rainfall averaged between 55-60
inches. He concurred with other authors in stating that the area south
of a line extending form Ft. Myers to Melbourne, in which the average
temperature does not fall consistently below 640F, could be classified as
a Tropical Rainy region. This annual average is subject to some
variation, especially where monthly averages of precipitation are
concerned. For example, in January rainfall may be as low as 1-2 inches,
but in September as high as 9-10 inches. (But see also Maloney et al.
1976). -----
r
4.
Climate and Hydroperiodicity
f
The wet-dry seasonal cycles are of great importance to the
terrestrial, freshwater, and estuarine ecology of Collier County. These
cycles, coupled with poor draiuage conditions and wide areas of sandy
soils allow extensive developme~t of marshes, swamps and wet prairies on
the one hand, and dry prairies and dry pinelands on the other. All of
these communities are associated with a long hydroperiod, either directly
or indirectly. The former require almost continuous standing water for
maintenance, whereas the latter can act as percolation /filter mechanisms
for shallow aquifer recharge.
Tied to the water cycle, and thus to the recharge of aquifers, are
the seasonal thunderstorms which are formed and maintained by rapid
convection currents produced as a partial consequence of high evaporative
rates. It is easily visualized that if evapotranspiration releases more
water from the land into the atmosphere than is normally replenished by
rainfall (for example, if rain falls into the Gulf or outside of county
borders), then drought conditions become imminent. This is especially
true if 1) recharge from aquifers to the north of the county is slowed
or interrupted, and 2) continued drawdown of shallow water tables by
agricultural interests or burgeoning population within the County further
depletes these aquifers. Furthermore, the nature of the soils is also a
factor in water supply and the soils will reflect both short and long
term climatological effects.
.'
Davis (1943) was aware of this when he stated:
". . . the very delicate balances of water conditions over large
areas in this section are the results of vegetation as well as climate".
Thomas (1974) sounded a more ominous warning when he wrote:
l.
1
* If none of this rainfall evaporated or ran off the entire Florida
peninsula would be covered with water "breast deep" (Cook 1939).
39
149
II
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--....
Storages in thousands of acre-ft
Flow in thousimds of acre-ft per year
Balance · rnrl~ . Outflows
· 6523 6815
· 3Sl Annual O~ficit
County \later Budget Oased on Sfnople /-lode 1 ,
Figure fl. A typical water budget for Collier County. (Modified
from Lehman, 1978).
L
40
"Without careful management of the state's most precious resource, Water,
we may well read a paper by some specialist of the future stating that
the economic and social failure of [southern] Florida was due to its
unique climate, even though that climate remained essentially constant".
5. General Climate and Estuaries
r
r
The first time that water temperatures in Collier County estuaries
cons 19 tently exceed 240C may be as early 8S March (Hicks, in Simpson
1979) or as late as April (Yokel 1975c). This parameter signals the
spring warming trend and subsequent phytoplanton blooms that trigger the
early zooplankton-carnivore-herbivore cycles in the environment.
Coupled with increasing water temperatures is an increase in 1)
daylength and concomitant solar radiation, and 2) precipitation. These
two factors act in concert with nutrient-laden runoff from INLAND and
UPLAND Zones to produce increased plant growth in the COASTAL Zone
estuary. Because of the large area of land over which surface (and
shallow ground water) runoff takes place, the estuaries of Collier County
receive large discharges of fresh, nutrient-enriched waters. This can
act beneficially by providing nutrients to the estuarine flora, but at
the same time may also produce. osmotic stress in the estuarine fauna.
Such inputs may be short or long term depending on the precipitation
cycle.
In the marine environment, in association with spring and early
summer increases in water temperatures, a weak thermocline may be formed.
Within the estuary, however, no thermocline forms, although temperature
inversions may occur and dense highly saline water, low in oxygen, may
underlie less dense, lower salinity layers. As noted for Naples Bay,
many of the finger canals exhibit noticeable salinity or temperature
stratifications and are often poorly flushed over any tidal cycle.
Increasing anoxia in these areas may lead to fish kills which, owing to
subsequent decomposition, increases the prevailing anaerobiosis thereby
exacerbating the situation.
6. Summary
L
L
Water is the life blood of Collier County. the fresh water
utilized by plants, animals, and man lies beneath the land surface, held
in sediments laid down during the periodic rise and fall of sea level.
These. underground "reservoirs" or aquifers are replenished by rain that
falls on the surface and percolates down into the sediment layers.
Excess and rapid runoff of rainwater from impermeable surfaces
transported by deep, man-made canals, can remove the surface water
necessary to recharge the shallow aquifers. In addition, the presence
of sewage, pesticides, gasoline, and other hydrocarbon pollutants, can
readily degrade the potable water supply because of the direct
connection be~een surface waters and ground water reserves. The
delicate balance of the County's water resources and their importance
for the survival of plants and animals, necessitates a carefully thought
out and well integrated land and water management program. Maintenance
of the quantity and quality of the County's water resources is necessary
if the quality of man's existence in this area is to be sustained both
now and in the future.
41
, ~ ~W' 11. T
GEOLOGY
1. Stratigraphy
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r
Southwestern Florida geological history is intimately tied to the
sea. According to Davis (1943) sedimentary rock more than 10 kilometers
(about 6 miles) thick underlie all of south Florida. This area of the
state is therefore depositional, and was predominantly formed in a highly
sedimented marine environment, coupled with emergent and resubmergent
episodes corresponding to periods of glaciation and isostatic adjustment.
The periodic marine transgression and regression of warm, shallow,
seas over the southwestern part of the peninsula is responsible for most
of the geological features laid down and extant today (Peacock, 1983).
Many of the organisms living in the marginal, tropical seas existed in a
carbonate-based system and formed their exoskeltons using calcium
carbonate either as aragonite or calcite (Meeder 1979, 1980). As these
organism perished, the body parts were broken down or dissolved and
limestone was formed. The continual deposition of sediments built up
stratigraphic layers of limestone. As the seas retreated this carbonate
sandy-silty rock became exposed ,to aerial weathering and hardening. The
basement limestone eventually was covered with sands during the late
Pleistocene and recent epochs. These sands occur over most of the
County, with some locally restricted hard rock exposures still appearing
in the upper northeastern and eastern portions.
Parts of this hardrock limestone are made up of bioclastic (broken
animal or plant parts) sediments, as well as limestone sands or silts.
At least 25 species of shallow water marine molluscan or echinoderm
genera have been commonly found in, or associated with, this formation.
Many of the fossil genera still occur today in the shallow bays and
estuaries along the southwestern coast. (Puri & Vernon 1964).
Davis (1943) states that the most important geological
formations in this area are the Buckingham Marl, the Tamiami Limestone,
the Pamlico Sands, the Anastasia Formation, and several lesser marls.
Cooke (1945) describes the Buckingham Marl as a cream-colored calcareous
clay that weathers into a hard limestone. This formation is found only
in the northern parts of the County. The others are more widespread and
are discussed in more detail later. (see Figure 12).
[
..
A. Pamlico Formation
l.
The Pamlico Sand, a Plio-Pleistocene surface formation of
quartz sand that is essentially non-fossiliferous, lies above the Tamiami
Formation. Pamlico Sand is an interglacial deposit, generally covering
the County to a depth of about one foot except along the coast where it
may be substantially thicker. In contrast to the obviously sedimentary
Tamiami limestones which were formed in an open, shallow sea (neretic)
environment relatively close to a large river mouth or estuary, the
Paml1co Sands show few sedimentological features. \>."hereas the Tamiami
Limestone exhibits evidence of oyster bars, barnacle assemblages, shallow
water echinoderms, molluscs, bryozoans and other marine invertebrates,
the Pam1ico Sand is essentially featureless.
l
42
EXPLANATION
N
C3
Pamlico Sand
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..,."..... ..-
:::: :~:::~ ~~:~~~:~~:~:~:
Talbot Formation
a
M iomi Oolite
,'8
o
10 miles
Ft. Thompson Formation
Anastasia Formation
ITIJIII]
Co looscha tchee Marl
fZL]
Tamiami Formation
Everglades
,
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Figure 12.Major geological formations and aquifers in Collier County.
(Modified from McCoy, 1962).
r _'. ,... .
_\, A. .....-..
43
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B. Anastasia Formation
The Anastasia Formation is a fine to coarse conglomerate of
shells, clastics and sandstone. This surfacial and shallow subsurfacial
formation is found locally along the southwestern coast of Collier County
and to some extent inland progressing eastward where it gradually
disappears or becomes indistinguishable from the Tamiami limestone of the
Coral Reef aquifer system (see page ). The Anastasia Formation is
primarily a hard coastal formation, often very well lithified. In other
regions of Florida, from Fernandina Beach southward to the vicinity of
Ft. Lauderdale, it is more extensive and may be over 100 ft. thick in
some places. There, as in Collier County, it is a coastal formation.
C. Fort Thompson Formation
Another formation which is often interspersed above the Tamiami
Formation is the Fort Thompson Formation. This stratigraphic layer
provides evidence of freshwater deposition and both precedent and
recedent marine transgressions. It is composed of sandy shelly marls
and hard sandy limestones, exhibiting both marine and freshwater facies,
with the latter being more prevalent. This sequence was probably formed
by deposits of a freshwater ~arsh over which the sea transgressed
periodically. Freshwater shells, (Gastropoda) are evident throughout.
D. Other Formations
i
I '
Two other lesser shallow formations have also been recorded for
Collier County; the Caloosahatchee Marl and Miami oolite. The former,
which is composed of either sand and shells, or just shells, occurs at
the northern border of the county. The Miami oolite is a soft white
oolitic limestone composed of 95% pure calcium carbonate. This formation
occurs only in the southeastern corner of the Big Cypress area and rests
uncomformably on the Tamiami Formation.
The remainder of the county is underlain by the Tamiami
Limestone. This is a nearly pure quartz sand to sandy limestone or
shelly composite that is locally usually quite hard and riddled with
solution holes. The formation is a near-shore shallow-water rock formed
and deposited in the marine littoral or shallow sublittoral zones during
the Miocene. It also forms the basement rock for many of the present day
coastal barrier islands.
These stratigraphic layers are important for 3 reasons:
(1) they are relatively shallow; (2) they are relatively permeable; and
(3) they are relatively extensive. But because sandy soil layers above
the limestone are also quite shallow only certain types of plants can
survive for sufficiently long periods to allow vegetational ecosystem
development. Other vegetation had to adapt to a more ephemeral shallow
humus or peat-like situation in order to grow in the interior of the
county.
I
l _
44
The geological processes that took place in the past are thus
in large part responsible for much of the present day ecological
characteristics of Collier County. The shallow, poorly draining sands
overlying a hard but often permeable limestone basement produced both
standing water and well-charged aquifers. A shallow, slow-moving
overland sheet flow to the south/southwest was another consequence of the
basement rock and the slight geological tilt that the mainland exhibits
to the southwest, (see McPherson 1974). Davis (1943) was therefore
quite correct in stating that:
"Geologic features cannot be considered entirely apart from other
features but are an intergral part and sum of all the natural features of
southern Florida".
2. Physiography
Collier County is physiographically part of the Intermediate Coastal
Lowlands, a vast area that includes (but is not restricted to) the
Everglades, the Immokalee Rise, (including the Pamilco terrace), the Big
Cypress Spur and Southwestern Slope and adjacent regions. Collier County
also belongs to a second grouping of geological features termed the Gulf
Coastal Lowlands. These include Reticulate Coastal Swamps and the Ten
Thousand Islands, Gulf Coastal Lagoons and Barrier Chains, Gulf Coastal
Estuaries, Coastal Swamps and drowned 'Coastal Karst, and Aeolian
(subaerial) features. (Figure 13).
Cooke (1939) subdivided the Pamlico Terrace region into the Big
Cypress Swamp, the Everglades,' a higher strip along the eastern rim
of the Everglades, and a portion of the upper Florida Keys. However,
White (1970) later separated this region into several slightly different,
physiographic subprovinces, based on his belief that the entire area
exhibits depositional features resulting from a combination of Pliocene
(Talbot) and Pleistocene (Pamlico) sea level fluctuations and associated
fluviatile erosions.
Earlier Davis (1943) defined three main physiographic regions in
Collier County: the Southern Flatlands (a subunit of the larger
geological unit he termed Flatlands), the Big Cypress Swamp, with a poorly
defined northern border intergrading into the Flatlands, and the
Southwest Coast and Ten Thousand Islands area. White (1970) expanded the
definitions of these regions, adding the Southwestern Slope to the
Flatlinds area of Davis, and dividing the Big Cypress region into a Big
Cypress Spur and the Immokalee Rise.
The INLAND and UPLAND Zones of Collier County thus encompass at
least three of these regions, viz. the Flatlands (=Immokalee Rise), the
Big Cypress Swamp (or Spur), and the Southwestern Slope. The I~LAND and
COASTAL Zones also comprise parts of the Southwestern Slope (White)
or Southern Flatlands (Davis) plus the Ten Thousand Islands/Reticulated
Coastal Swamps. One of the most distinctive features of the UPLAND Zone,
the Southern Flatlands, unfortunately implies low-lying lands, so the
more descriptive term lmmokalee Rise is employed here instead.
l.
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45
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13.Major physiographic regions in southern Florida. Dashed
line indicates Collier County limits. (Modified from
White, 1970). 46
A. Immokalee Rise (Southern Flatlands).
The existing ecosystems, and both surficial and groundwater
flows in the UPLAND Zone, are intimately tied to the ancient Pleistocene
Pamlico Terrace. The physiographic area which comprise the Immokalee
Ridge (Davis 1943) or Immokalee Rise (White 1970) (also called the
"Highlands") are remnant ancient sea level terraces formed of Pamlico
(Pleistocene) and Talbot (Pliocene) terrace sands ranging from less than
25, to about 40 feet in height above present day sea level, respectively.
The sands, in turn, lie above the Buckingham Marl, and limestone or
calcareous sandstone strata of the Tamiami Formation. The development
of these strata into fingerlike projections and narrow bifurcated
embayments can still be seen on large scale infra-red aerial photographs
(e. g. U. S. Geological Survey, Statel1ite Image Mosiac, Florida, 1973),
even though much of the area has been drastically altered by agricultural
development. (Figure 14).
The remnant Pamlico shoreline in Collier County, which
comprises the Immokalee Rise and higher lands, occurs in an area from Lee
and Hendry Counties, southward through the north and western portions of
Collier County (1. e. the UPLANQ Zone). The Immokalee Rise also extends
northward from near the town of Immokalee, and is thus the southern-most
extension of the Pamlico Terrace. Part of these remant highlands are
also composed of the Talbot Terrace (pre-Pamlico) which formed either a
large island (Cooke 1939) or shoal (White 1970) offshore of the Pamlico
"mainland". As noted by Drew and Schomer (1984) a parallel situation
would occur today off Cape Romano if sealevel again fell to Pamlico
levels. (Figure 15)~
Tbe Immokalee Highlands area forms the southern side of the
Caloosahatchee Valley, an ancient watercourse that bisects the
Southwestern Slope. Tbe ridges and pond valleys that occur along the
northwest-to-southeast-trending gradient east of the town of Immokalee
are considered to be remains of bar and awale topography formed by the
falling Talbot Sea. Two major flowways are associated with this
topography today: (1) the Okaloacoochee Slough and (2) the Lake
Trafford-Corkscrew Swamp Systems. Both will be discussed in greater
detail later.
B. The Big Cypress Swamp or Spur
The predominant physiographic features of the Big Cypress
Swamp" in the UPLAND and INLAND Zones are similar. Puri and Vernon
(1964) first delineated the portion of land lying to the southeast of
the Immokalee Rise as the Big Cypress Spur. This area is transitional
between the Immokalee Rise to the north and the Everglades Trough to the
east. The Spur drains much of the Rise (Drew and Schomer 1984) sending
the runoff either to Shark River Valley on the east, or down the
Southwestern Slope to the west.
L
Most of the Big Cypress Swamp area lies below 15 feet MSL. As
a consequence of the flat land surface, and the slight tilt of the entire
southwestern Floridan plateau, surface and groundwater gradients trend
toward the south and southwest.
47
t. Figure 14. Geographical contour intervals and old marine terraces in western
Collier County, Florida. (Modified from Maloney et al., 1976).
48
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3. General Soil Conditions
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I
In Collier County a part of the western flatlands of the southern
Florida geological region lies in an area that also includes the COASTAL
zone along the Gulf of Mexico as far south as the Gordon Pass-Naples Bay
area. These low-lying areas extending southward are considered by some
to form a distinct region of their own. and appear similar to areas seen
in the Atlantic coastal strip. They are poorly drained. have elevations
lower than 30-40 feet (with some excepeions on Horr's & Marco Islands).
and are mostly overlain by soils from the Pamlico terrace sands.
Abutting or overlying the latter on the coastal barrier islands are
marine sands of recent origin (Davis 1943).
Interior sands and clays on the other hand. tend to be very finely
divided. and poorly draining for the IDOst part. so that large areas
of standing water may occur seasonally. These soils gain their nutritive
component primarily from the leaf litter of the surrounding vegetation.
Much of the nutrients are recycled ~~. Many of the dominant plant
species are relatively shallow-rooted and thus respond more rapidly to
environmental perturbations than their more deeply-rooted counterparts in
hammocks or aleng estuarine margins, Many species (e.g, pines) are also
intimately tied to iire ecology, and require periodic burn-overs to iorce
seea germination as well as to remove competitive uncierstory growth.
Overall, however the drainage and composit3ion of Collier County
soils is quite varied. The soils range from well drained to very poorly
drained. Many soils (e.g. Plummer Arzell, Charolotte. and Broward Sands)
are half bog soils with a sand intermix. These are water retaining
(hydric) soils that often remain covered by water for part or most of the
year. They are also part of a self-generating system because bog soils
are a consequence of flood conditions and poor drainage. Organic
decomposition in these soils is prevalent both during and after
fluctuations in the water level. Because of their hydricity such soils
aid in water retention until the next hydrological sequence.
As noted earlier, throughout Collier County the soils are mostly of
marine origin, and usually lie directly over marls, limestones. or
calcareous sandstones. These soil types produce alkaline conditions
which are favorable to growth of certain types of vegetation, especially
that associated with cabbage palm hammocks and INLA."ID pine barrens.
[
L
L
The soil types present in Collier County thus reflect both the past
and present environmental characteristics of the sites where they are
found. Because plants differ in their nutrient requirements and in
their ability to live in water-saturated areas, soil type also plays a
role in determining plant distribution. The influence of soil, though
not as noticeable in South Florida as in other areas of the U.S., is
reflected in plant cover. For example. the plants found on ancient sandy
dune deposits in the northwestern part of Collier County differ greatly
from those found on lower elevation peat deposits. For the same reason
a completely different flora occurs on INLAND sandy-marl sites.
1
50
~~.._....~
A. Coastal Barrier Soils
Xost of the southwestern coastline is a drowned shore along
which are interspersed barrier islands that appear to be bar-built.
although there is some evidence that progradation of beaches may also
have played a role in their formation. Many of these barriers support au
active dune ridge system composed of both recent and Pleistocene sauds.
Some of these ridges are up to 50 ft high and thus comprise the highest
coastal elevations in southern Florida.
The soils in this system are complex. The coastal barriers are
actively migrating. dynamic systems which derive their sedimentary budget
from a complicated interplay of longshore coastal currents. fresh and
estuarine water outflows. and wave and tidal fluctuations. Thus. recent
sands tend to be quartzite, interspersed with shell hash aud other
bioclastic components which are found throughout the barrier system;
they are caintained or renewed primarily from offshore processes.
On the lagoonal side of barrier islands sediments tend to be
finely divided muds, with scattered shell components derived from recent
molluscan assemblages. The influecce of large mangrove forests on the
formation and ~aintenance of estuarine islands behind the barrier system
is disputed. Some (e.g. Hoffmeister 1974) hold that the Ten Thousand
Islands system may be a proto-barrier system in formation. Others (e.g.
Tabb et a1., 1976) consider the mangroves to be an interrupted deltaic
system, more or less dependant on sheet flow hydrology for at least part
of its maintenance. There is no doubt that mangrove-associated islands
do occur. either in conjunction with, or as a result of, islands formed
from biotic means such as oyster bars or vermetid molluscan reefs.
With barrier island formation came the establishment of back-
barrier lagoons open to the marine waters of the Gulf at varying times
and distances along their length. The coastal estuarine system (q.v.) is
thus a consequence of these and other geological features and processess.
B. Estuarine Lagoonal Soils
Many of the rivers and creeks in the southwestern Florida
flatlands are drowned river remnants produced through sea-level rise
during periods of interglaciation. The fluviatile mucks carried by these
rivers and creeks join with estuarine muds and peats formed from mangrove
tree leaf litter to make up a major coastal soil component. Subtrates in
the mangrove strands and adjacent saltwater marshes of the Ten Thousand
Islands area ~~emp1ify such soils. For example. the mangrove forests that
border these dvers may be growing in muck up to 10 feet deep. These
heavily vegetated areas are among the largest of their kind in the world
and are exceecied only by some coastal areas in the western Pacific and
southeast Asia.
c. The Southwestern Slope Soils
l.
Soils in the low-lying area to the southwest of the Immokalee
Rise and the Big Cypress Spur reflect in composition and types those
seen in the higher areas. According to the General Soil Map of Florida
I
i.,
51
,J........~
,
(Soil Conservation Service, U. S. Department of Agriculture) they are
dominated by soils classified as somewhat poorly to poorly drained acid
sands (e.g. Leon-Immokalee-Pompano association), and thick to thin sands,
sandy loams and marly materials overlying fine textured alkaline
materials or limestone caprocks. Often a milky white shelly marl occurs'
interspersed with these, but at a deeper level (ca. 1 m or greater).
I
[
r
White (1970) diagrammed the Spur as consisting primarily of
Anastasia Formation soils. Whereas the soils of the Immokalee Rise
(Flatlands) are predominantly sands (Davis 1943). those in the Big
Cypress area are more varied. Although they include the sands of the
Pam1ico Terrace, they also consist of soils which are primarily organic,
with locally high abundances of humus, intermixed with marls, sands, and
smaller (non-commercial) amounts of peat (Davis 1946). The soils of the
Big Cypress Swamp rest on broken or indurated l1mestone (locally termed
"caprock"). composed primarily of the Tamiami or the shallower Anastasia
Formations. The caprock undulates both above and below the existing land
surface depending on the amount of exposure caused by water-scouring,
fire, vehicular activity or other factors.
The medium to poor drainage of Collier County surface soils is
best exemplified in the Big Cypress area where much of the land is
covered by water for the greater part of the year. The distribution and
the characteristics of the contained soils are the result of this water
flow. As Davis (1943 has noted:
"The topography is very important because very slight differences in
elevation cause distinct differences in soil types and soil water
conditions. II
And,
"The manner of drainage, which is affected by the topography, under
ground water, and rainfall conditions, are also very important as large
areas have relatively poor drainage."
The extent of soil variability in the Big Cypress area is
easily envisaged when it is realized that over 20 different so11 types
have been recognized in South Florida, but that many calcareous swamp
soils have yet to be classified. For a more complete listing of all
geological formations and soils in Collier County see Cooke (1939), Davis
(1943).. and Smith et a1. (1967).
The Southwestern Slope has historically been subject to
seasonal flooding. However. the presence in Collier County of two
relatively large natural drainages (the Cocohatchee River and the Rock
Creek-Gordon River system) aided in some water removal with resultant
vegatational change. With the construction of the Golden Gate Canal
system (q.v.) much of the area lying west of the Camp Keasis, Winchester
and Stumpy Strands became much drier, and a distinct change in vegeta-
tional ecology resulted. These changes will be considered later.
f
Tabb et a1. (1976) provided a detailed analyses of the soils
in the area East of CR 951. They considered two hypotheses to account for
the observed distribution. In the first they suggested that the soil
l.
~ ..............
52
profiles interior to an ancient sand dune ridge running parallel to the
coast were a consequence of a large-scale hurricane-induced water
breakthrough and subsequent washover. These authors traced St. Lucie and
Immokalee Fine Sands in a broad arc 10-12 miles eastward, and a series of
ridges and "archipelagoes" of Keri Fine Sands 10-12 miles southward to.
support their hyposthesis.
Tbe alternate hypothesis, less catastrophic, suggested that
when sea level was 15 feet higher than present there existed a broad
shallow bay extending westward from the lmmokalee area. This bay was
bordered on its seaward edge by a series of old dune sand barrier islands
(just as the coastal lagoons are today). The Keri sand "reef" separated
the bay into northern and southern units. The northern unit, containing
the Cocohatchee (and Imperial) River water shed, opened westward
in a series of tidal passes. Inside of these passes extensive flood tide
deltas existed, which could account for the arc-like distribution of
Immokaleel St. Lucie fine sands. The southern area extended similarly
westward toward the Gulf and was bordered by the old Marco Island dune
barrier.
Regardless of the causes, it is important to note that:
"the Ked fine sands are the best water ponding soils due to their high
marl content. St, Lucie fine sands are drought sands with extremely
rapid internal drainage. . . (and] Immokalee fine sands. with a hard pan
about 2 feet below the surface in the undrained state, are the best
agricultural soils. II (Tabb et al. 1976: T-41).
D. Soils, Aquifer Recharge and Sheetflow
The good permeability of the overlying soils in some areas
allowed seasonally heavy rainfall to percolate through the underlying
l1mestones and be stored as potable water in an extensive, easily tapped
aquifer system. But at the same time, any excessive rainfall was not
always so accommodated. with the result that large areas of the surface
became flooded. In some cases plant communities evolved in the resultant
depressions. sinkholes. solution holes. and other features of karst
topography. Other communities had to adapt to periodic, or long-term
standing water, This water slowly ran off toward the west and southwest
in a wide, shallow sheet flow, to eventually trickle through the phytal
communities which were established along the coastal margins.
l
A major consequence of this flow was the concomitant
establishment of the large estuarine system along the lower western and
southwestern coasts of Collier County (see p. ). This system receives
marine influences from the adjacent Gulf of Mexico, and freshwater
influences from sheet flow, subterranean seepage, and direct rainfall.
Three maj or vegetational systems have become established within the
estuaries in response to these factors: a predominantly marine-
influenced seagrass community j an estuarine-influenced mangrove forest,
backed by large salt marshes; and vegetated maritime coastlands, where
salt water incursion limited the seaward invasion by pine and sabal palm,
and where a pine-c}~ress vegetational community became established in the
freshest water areas. Before considering the vegetational communities
it is necessary to briefly examine the hydrology of the area.
[
53
11 'l"Il<i"'lIlr. .~... . pp
,
HYDROLOGY
1. Introduction
Underlying Collier County is a series of rock layers, termed
strata, that extend from the surface to over 2000 feet deep. These
strata, the results of depositional and erosional processes, coupled
with the accretion of marine and freshwater hardshelled organisms, were
laid dowu, consolidated, and in places reshaped during the periodic rise
and fall of sea level associated with past glacial epochs. During the
periods when sea level was higher than it is today, most of south
Florida was covered by a warm, tropical ses. While the sea covered the
south Florida peninsula new strata were formed from shells, corals,
bryozoans (or moss animals), sands, s~ts and muds which settled on the
sea floor. During periods of lower sea level when the water receded,
the now-hardened strata were exposed to weathering forces and became
eroded or dissolved through the action of marine waves, seawater
chemical reactions, and wind and rain.
By examining well-borings, excavation. slumps. and other natural
features geologists have been able to catalogue these strata, laid down
and modified as sea level rose and fell during glacial and interglacial
periods, in a vertically continuous series. Each stratum exhibits
certain well-defined features characterized by the processes involved in
its formation. These features. associated with the permeability or
impermeablility of the rocks, may also determine the water-passage or
water-holding capacity of the strata. These water-holding strata act
as either deep, confined, artesian aquifers. or as shallow unconfined
(non-artesian) or confined (artesian) aquifers. Series of interrelated
strata laid down together during speci:ic geological periods are termed
formations (e.g. the Tampa Formation). Jakob (1980, 1983) provides a
synopsis of some of these features in Coastal Collier County.
2. Ground Water Resources
Much of the water falling on the land as rain evaporates or becomes
part of the surface watertable; however, a substantial portion filters
downward through the sediments to become the County's groundwater
resources. Groundwater can be thought of as a reservoir that
continually fills at one end, and continually drains, or is drawn from,
on th, other. These subsurface water reserves are vital because they are
the source of the County's potable water. The water supply for Collier
County can become very seriously endangered if these reserves are
1) depleted through mismanagement, 2) are not replenished owing to rapid
runoff or extended periods of drought, or 3) become polluted by sewage,
pesticides, fertilizers, hydrocarbons, or salt water intrusion.
J
l.
Although sometimes connected by flow, there is a difference between
the watertable and aquifers. A watertable is that water held in
sediments just below the surface. The rise and fall of water height in
shallow ponds or strands is a consequence of the fluctauting ""ater
table. An aquifer, on the other hand, is a subsurface,
water-containing, geological formation, where water is interspersed
I
i
54
"
through solution holes, cavities, caverns and other openings or portals
in the strata. Water may also rise and fall within an aquifer, or flow
from a higher point to a lower point, depending on the amount, duration
and speed of water recharge within the associated strata. Water is
replenished to an aquifer or a watertable by recharge. Recharge may,
take place by rain, surface or sheet flow, lateral or vertical seepage,
percolation upward or downward (termed leakage if it originated from
another underlying or overlying aquifer), or from underground or
subterranean springs, streams or rivers.
When the water in an aquifer is held between two or more relatively
impermeable surfaces that form a cap and a base, the aquifer is said to
be confined. An aquifer is unconfined when only a relatively impermeable
basement strata exists, allowing contained water free access to or from
overlying sediments. Unconfined aquifers are almost invariably shallow
aquifers, located within easy drilling distance of the land surface.
Confined aquifers are usually substantially deeper, their confining
boundaries formed from geological strata laid down hundreds of thousands
or even millions of years earlier. The water in confined aquifers is
under greater pressure than shallow unconfined aquifers or the surface
water table. For this reason wells drilled into these strata will flow
above the ground surface to a height dependent on the presure acting on
the water within the aquifer. These water-bearing strata are called
artesian aquifers.
3. Collier County Aauifers
All shallow aquifers in Collier County are recharged by rainwater.
As noted earlier, yearly rainfall in Collier County ranges from 30 to 100
inches. Much of this fluctuation is a result of seasonally adverse
conditions (i,e. drought or hurricane and tropical storm occurrence). A
consequence is that the water table fluctuates in response to these
conditions. Further fluctuations in the watertable may be produced as a
result of man's demand on the aquifers.
The surface elevations in the Naples area range from 15-25 ft. with
a gradual slope toward the south and east (Klein 1954). The area is
blanketed with permeable sands, resulting in rapid percolation with
little or no standing water. Overland runoff is also of little
consequence. Major groundwater losses are due to evapotranspiration from
vegetation, continuous undergound seepage (see Heald et a1. 1978), and
pumping drawdown. The highest rates of seepage take place during heavy
rainfall when surface waters either percolate downward, or enter the
marine environment via the Gordon River and its associated creeks and
tributaries. These waters eventually enter the subsurface aquifers.
This seepage to the confining layers of the groundwater aquifer, as well
as to the shallow artesian aquifer (see below), is important because it
recharges the entire system. Thus, all water that supplies the
residential and municipal wells in the Naples area is derived from local
rainfall, either directly or indirectly.
L
[
55
"
r
r
There are three shallow non-artesian aquifers in Collier county.
the Pleistocene-aged Upper Anastasia-Pamlico Aquifer that occurs to
about 32-55 ft. below mean sea level (MSL); a portion of the Upper
Tamiami Formation (Miocene-aged) termed the Coral Reef Aquifer; and
the Sandstone Aquifer in the Immokalee Highlands. A fourth aquifer. and
most important. is the still (relatively) shallow artesian aquifer
associated with and defined by the main Tamiami Formation limestone. The
depth ranges to 80 ft (or greater) below MSL. Naples city wells tap
primarily this aquifer, although several wells also tap the shallow
non-artesian aquifer.
A. The Anastasia Aauifer
The Anastasia Formation and its Pleistocene-associated facies
form an important shallow water aquifer for the coastal areas of Collier
County (see Benedict 1984; Gore 1984a). This aquifer is closely associated
with the Pamlico Terrace, and lies within a coastal depositional feature
termed Pamlico Sands. This consists of a locally hardened layer of fine
and intermediate quartz sand, seashell fragments, and finely divided
limestone, underlying the entire Naples area, and extending 10-15 feet
below mean sea level. Pleistocene in age, these sands are highly
permeable and allow easy downward percolation of rainfall, and surface
waters. The basement strata of this aquifer is the coastal depositional
feature termed the Anastasia Formation. This formation, which consists
of subaerially lithified sandy limestone, shally sandy marl. and an
hard fossil-bearing limestone, is found near the coast from the surface
to nearly 50 feet deep. The Anastasia Formation which becomes thin and
disappears in the eastern part of the County forms an important part of
the Shallow Aquifer in western Collier County. The Fort Thompson
Formation, consisting predominantly of poorly permeable shelly marl,
sandstones and limestones of both marine and freshwater origins, acts as
a lower confining bed for the Shallow Aquifer system.
The Shallow Aquifer integrates with the sub-surface watertable.
It is not confined on its upper edge and is therefore not an artesian
system. Because this aquifer is recharged primarily from rain falling
on the surface and percolating into the ground, it produces water of
very good quality.
B. The Coral Reef Aquifer
f
i
The recently identified Coral Reef aquifer system (d. Layton
& Stewart 1982, Missmer & Associates 1983 a, b) occupies a large area in
northwest-central Collier County. This aquifer has been distinguished
from the Anastasia-Pamlico shallow aquifer primarily by an associated
geological facies of patch reef corals and bryozoans. The aquifer is up
to 50 ft. thick and consists at the surface of Pamlico Sand and an
unnamed underlying calcareous sandstone of Pleistocene age (probably
Anastasia Fo~ation), Below these strata is the highly porous,
fossiliferous Pinecrest Member of the Tamiami Formation which ranges in
depth from 10-30 ft. The basement strata for the Coral Reef Aquifer is
the Miocene and Pliocene Ochopee Limestone of the Tamiami Formation,
which lies under a confining bed of Bonita Springs Marl. The Fort
Thompson (freshwater) Formation has not been identified within the Coral
L
I
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56
Reef Aquifer. but the presence of hard. often shelly sandstone. may be
remnants of this feature. The Coral Reef Aquifer. showing as it does
many features in common with the Anastasia-Pamlico aquifer may. in fact.
be the eastern component of the latter. It differs only in that the
Tamiami Limestone lies directly underneath, rather than being separated
by an intervening layer identified as the Anastasia Formation. Because
the Coral Reef Aquifer is not confined it is not artesian. As in the
other systems in the county recharge is mostly by rainwater.
C. The Sandstone Aquifer
The Sandstone Aquifer is a deep (250 + feet) aquifer. thickest
~ear Icmokale~, that disappears north of SR 82 (Burns & Shih 1984). It
provides water to the Immokalee Area and for much of the agriculture
activities in that region.
D. The Tamiami Aquifer
The shallow Tamiami Formation aquifer underlying southwest
Florida in general, and Collier County in particular, has been described
as: 1) the principal factor _ in the present and future growth and
development of the region (Klein, 1954); 2) the source of both muniCipal
and irrigation water for the area; 3) the prime potential source of water
for future municipal demands along the rapidly urbanizing coastal and
adjoining interior areas (Klein 1954). As with other aquifers the Tami~m1
Aquifer is recharged by rainwater. The Big Cypress Water shed is a major
surficial feature above this aq~ifer and thus is as important to
southwestern Florida as the Biscayne Aquifer is to southeastern Florida.
The Tamiami Aquifer which is contained in the Tamiami
Formation. underlies nearly all of Collier County. Its surface is exposed
in the eastern part of the County but extends to depths exceeding 125
feet in the Naples area. The Tamiami Formation consists of extremely
permeable fossil-bearing limestones of Miocene age. These limestones
are riddled with solution holes in the upper part of the formation and
grade into sandy-silty clays. marls. and variably-cemented limestones
permeated with solution holes in the lower part of the formation.
The widespread occurrence. great permeability and
water-holding capacity. and the excellent quality of their contained
waters make the Tamiami limestones the most important aquifer in Collier
Count1. Both the City of Naples and the County benefit directly from
this water supply, as do much of the locally-based agriculture
operations. Recharge is primarily by rainwater percolation. although
lake. pond and stream seepage may be locally important. especially
during periods of flOOding. In the western part of the county the
Tamiami Formation is confined and the aquifer there is artesian. The
surface exposure and lack of confining beds toward the east, however
result in the Tamiami Aquifer being a non-artesian system 1n eastern
Collier County.
L
!
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57
"
E. The Halrthorne and Tampa Forma tion Aquifers
r
r
Underlying the Tamiami Formation 1s the Hawthorne Formation,
a Miocene-aged limestone that supports some free-flowing (i.e. artesian)
wells, but which functions primarily as an aquaclude ranging in depth
form 50-150 ft. below MSL. Beneath the Hawthorne aquaclude lies the most
important deep artesian aquifer, that of the Tampa Formation. This
limestone, of Oligocene age, is a major source of water for agricultural
irrigation, and wells extend into it as deep as 600 ft. or more below
MSL. Whereas the overlying Halrthorne Formation is composed mostly of
sand and green clay marls, the Tampa Fonaation (which contains the
Floridan Aquifer) is made up of sandy permeable limestone and calcareous
sandstones. This aquifer ranges in thickness from 80-120 ft. in some
areas, up to 2000 ft. in other areas. The overlying Halrthorne Formation
varies much less widely in thickness, ranging from 250-300 ft. Tbe upper
layers of the Tampa Formation meet the marly and thin limestone capping
layers of the lower Hawthorne Formation, and the clay silt beds of the
lower Tamiami Formation. Both of these strata act as confining beds
(aquacludes) for the Floridan Aquifer (Missmer. 1978).
The Floridan Aquifer, is recharged by rainfall primarily in
Polk County, where the Tampa Formation approaches the land surface in a
region where sinkholes are prevalent. In this region downward leakage
into the Floridan Aquifer from shallower aquifers provides another
source of recharge. The Floridan Aquifer of the Tampa Formation is the
state's main deep artesian aquifer. Wells drilled into this formation
yield free-flowing water of marginal quality for irrigation in some
parts of the state. In Collier County, however. the water is a highly
mineralized wash of high salt content. Some local use is made of this
source.
4. Hydrologic Cycles And Water Budgets
Geologically, Collier County is characterized by low relief and poor
drainage. Often, little or no soil occurs over stone portions, and
in these areas the basement Tamiami Limestone is exposed where
weathering, or peat and muck fires, have burned off the topsoil. In
lower depressions large deposits of organic soils. peats, and mucks are
found in conjunction with standing water. The occurrence of these hydric
areas depends in a large part on the surrounding surface topography and
concomitant drainage patterns. The underlying marl or rock strata can
also have an important influence on the resulting hydrological regimen.
5. Drainage Basins and Canals in Collier County
L
l.
A series of naturally formed drainage basins exist in the county.
These basins have determined in large part the geological, historical,
and recent water flow patterns from the interior to the coast. The
Immokalee Rise or Highlands can be considered the headwater region for
much of this flow, because these areas rise to about 45 ft. above MSL.
Some of the resulting drainage pathways are discrete rivers or creeks
(e.g. Gordon River-Rock Creek Basin, Cocohatchee River Basin). Others
are wide gently sloping regions supporting several creeks and tributaries
(e. g. Belle Meade Basin or Camp Keasis Basin). Still others are
recognized by the large regions of sheet flow that slowly wind through
58
the area to the Gulf (e.g. Okaloacoochee-Fakahatchee Basin; McElroy and
Alvarez 1975). By looking at the contour intervals from the interior of
the county to the coastal margins it is easily seen how these basins act
in transporting water. It is readily apparent that in the past Collier
County consisted of a series of more or less concentric overlapping,
progressively more shallow, beaches trending toward the coast. The Teu
Thousand Islands area will, in some future time, undoubtedly add yet
another contour interval of the same order of magnitude, should
geological history continue uninterruptedly as it has in the past.
r
~ny of these basins have their interior flowways marked by
major vegetational assemblages (strands, sloughs, swamps). Other areas
are easily recognized by meandering flowways (creeks, rivers). Still
other, broader areas can be marked by wide, slow moving sheetflow
(coastal prairies, freshwater marshes). All eventually empty into the
estuarine lagoon which itself is marked by meandering vegetational
fringes (mangroves, salt marshes), or open embayments that form the
mouth of the aforementioned tributaries. The most prominant of these
hydrological features are listed in Table 3.
Drainage ;,asins can be either, broad or narrow channels of freshwater
flow, At the point where sheetflow or river flow meets marine waters and
becomes brackish to varying degrees, the estuary forms. During the
dry season tidal forces often overcome freshwater flow, and salty (or at
least less fresh water ) may move or be forced back up the creeks and
along the basins. When the rainy season arrives freshwater flow often
outweighs salt water intrusions and the coastal bays and margins be~ome
substantially less saline. The back and forth movement of the two
water-types produces an interface termed the salinity line, a seasonally
variable-demarcation between fresh and brackish waters.
A. Roadwav-Basin Compartmentalization
I
1
Present day surface waterflow patterns differ markedly from historic
conditions. The construction of numerous highways and other large
thoroughfares has interrupted much of the flow through the historical
drainage basins, by either blocking it entirely, or diverting it
laterally into adjacent basins. Thus, a characterization of drainage
regions in the County today cannot rely entirely on geologically-
established basin boundaries to delimit inland-coastal flow patterns.
Present drainage system boundaries must take into account the several
large highway systems that checkerboard the County. These include SR 84
(Alligator Alley), US 41 (Tamiami Trail) and Immokalee Road (CR 846) in
an east-west direction, and CR 951. Airport-Pulling Road, Tamiami Trail
N., and several lesser north-south county roads in the Fakahatchee-Big
Cypress area. These boundaries are also carried well into the COASTAL
zone with the extensions of SR 92. SR 29, CR 951. CR 31 and several
smaller roadways that lie normal to the coastal margin. (Figure 16).
l.
l
59
/
\
I
l
~ .
~ \~ / .~,/
'S "~-Y"~ .
~ ( I ~\\\\ ,.,-
,,=-A \ i "";'\~\'\' ..
.,~;~j \ \ \ ::
,...-.. .,.". "110 Ii! /
, . ._.llI: " ._\)~
h ':, ,:,.) mu~~n. AW
'._ . l-- /'
.:,::'." .."'.. . "--_/, . IS
'.., :. ...,:' ,.- '-"'lllH InU ~
. .' -', ~~. /
t
/
--'
",
\'
",...
-
-
if
.'
...
...
~
....
:::
....
....
-
....
Figure 16. Ma_---- waterflow areas, drainage basins and highway systems in
ea-- ~ier County, Florida. (modified from Maloney et al. 1976).
60
.-
A'~. ,
~_.-- ~
,~.-
":oPII/I.._ .
'~-i.:k~: _
~.Q'"
....~:.
__w',
.:,.... ..I
.~..-
,..1""";. ~
.~
....._~--.-
Table 3. LIST OF MAJOR WETLANDS, WATER BODIES AND HYDROLOGICAL FLOWWAYS
IN COLLIER COUNTY. (5.. Map NR-1 -NR-3).
SWAMPS AND SLOUGHS COASTAL PRAIRIES
[ 1. Okaloacoochee Slough 1. Swan Prairie System '~~'.
2. Summerland Swamp 2. Everglades Prairie System -~
',C-X'.
3. Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary 3. West Dan Bouse Prairie System '."~ .t:
r 4. Bird Rookery Swamp 4. East Dan House Prairie System 'ii:-~
'.~'
5. Big Cypress Swamp 5. Buck and Doe Prairie System '~~~:.
6. Turnback Prairie System ..
[ MARSHES 7. Rock Island Prairie System
8. Copeland Prairie System -
~--~.
1. North Corkscrew Karsh 9. Airplane Prairie Syst.. ' ,-
Z. South Corkscrew Marsh 10. Windmill Prairie System . -
-.--. .
r 3. Bird Rookery Marsh 1l. Buckskin Prairie Systam
4. Big Marsh 12. Lost Dog Prairie System
5. East Hinson Marsh 13. Doctors Prairie System
l 6. Little Marsh
7. McIlvane ~rsh
8. Blackwater Marsh
I 9. Pumpkin Marsh
10. West Fakahatchee Karsh
11. East Fakahatchee Marsh
12. Turner River Marsh
I 13. Ochopee Marsh
STRAND S ESTUARINE BAYS
I 1. Rice Straw Strand 1. Naples Bay
2. Sadie Cypress 2. Rookery Bay
3. Camp Keasis Strand System 3. Gullivan Bay
r 4. Winchester Strand System. 4. Chokoloskee Bay
5. Stumpy Strand System
6. North Picayune Strand System.
I 7. South Picayune Strand System ESTUARINE RIVER SYSTEMS
8. North Fakahatchee Strand System
9. South Fakahatchee Strand System 1. Hickory Bay System
I 10. Harold Strand System. 2. Clam Bay System.
11. East Hinson Strand System 3. Doctors Bay System.
12. East Crosman's Strand System 4. Gordon River System
13. Qeep Lake Strand System 5. Dollar Bay System
{ 14. Skillet-Gannet Strand System 6. Rookery Bay System
15. Kissimmee Billy Strand System 7. Johnson Bay System
16. Bamboo Strand System 8. Tarpon Bay System ... ~ ~ ,
[ 17. Monroe Strand System 9. Mcllvane Bay System. ,.
~. .
.----
18. Cowbell Strand System. 10. Unknown Bay System -
19. Wilson Cypress Strand System 11. Addison Bay System.
[ 20. Gator Hook Strand System 12. Barfield Bay System.
21. Roberts Lake Strand System. 13. Goodland Bay System
22. Canoe Lake Strand System 14. Gullivan Bay System
23. Goddens Strand System 15. Palm. Bay System.
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Table 3. LIST OF MAJOR WETLANDS. WATER BODIES AND HYDROLOGICAL nOWAYS
IN COLLIER COUNTY (CONT'D).
ESTUARINE RIVER SYSTEMS (CONT'D)
16. Blackwater Bay System
17. Buttonwood Bay System
18. Pumpkin Bay System
19. Faka-Union Bay System
20. Fakahatchee Bay System
21. Ferguson River System
22. Barron River System
23. Turner River System
24. Cross Bay System
LAKES
1. Lake Trafford
2. Lucky Lake
3. Berson Pond
4. Wilson Lake System
5. North Main Tram Lake System
6. East Lake System
7. Deep Lake
RIVERS
1. Cocohatchee River
2. Rock Creek
3. Gordon River
4. Haldeman Creek
5. Henderson Creek
6. John Stevens Creek
7. Big Marco River
8. Royal Palm Hammock Creek
9. Blackwater River
10. Whitney River
11. Pumpkin River
12. Little Wood River
13 . Wood River
14. fakahatchee River
15. East River
16. Paradise River
17. Ferguson River
18. Barron River
19. Halfway Creek
20. Turner River
L _
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The presene day road system has formed, in effect, its own series of
basins, partially natural (from the old geologically determined flowways)
and partially artifical (determined from the aforementioned roadway
mechanisms). These compartments may, at times, become unwanted reservoirs
for heavy rainfall, resulting in flooding that would not occur were the
roadways not present. Contrarily, during periods of drought these same
compartments can act to store, or at least detain for longer periods,
much standing water. They therefore have good and bad points, depending
on the season and the water levels present.
B. Ecological and Hydrological Consequences
r
The several elevated highways and secondary roads constructed across
low lying areas of the county also act as dikes which produce increased
water levels and ponding on the "upstream" side while interdicting flow
and lowering water levels on the "downstream" side, particularly during
the wet season from about May through October. One effect often noted as
a consequence is a dramatic difference in ehe general vegetational types
"upstream" versus "downstream". As noted by Benedict et a1. (1984) and
Gore (1984a, 1985a) the construction of major east-west and north-south
thoroughfares (e,g. Tamiami Trail, Alligator Alley, CR 951, SR 29, Turner
River Rd) has compartmented water within their confines. Moreover, the
excavation of canals either for roadbed fill or to channelize and remove
water from lOW-lying interior lands has altered the previously low
velocity wetland sheetflow into high velocity streams. Not only do tbese
canals drain the land, they also lower the watertable and rapidly
discharge precious freshwater reserves as large pulsed flows directly
into the biotopes of the COASTAL ecosystems (see Carter et al. 1973).
For example, nearly the entire INLAND Zone can be delimited by
man-made canals. The Everglades Parkway (Alligator Alley) borrow canal
and the Tamiami Trail borrow canal both flow generally east-west; the
Golden Gate-Gordon River canal, the Barron River canal adjacent to SR 29,
and the Turner River canal alongside Turner River Road (SR 839) flow
north-south. The Faka Union (Golden Gate) Canal System (Canals C, D, E,
F) drain nortb to south and eventually connect to the Faka-Union Canal
which empties into Fakahatchee Bay.
The amount of water drained by these canals, especially during high
periods, can be substantial. For example, the Faka-Union Canal, which
carries water out of the old Picayune Strand flowway may have an average
flow rate of some 200 million gallons per day. The Barron River Canal,
which. diverts water primarily from the Okaloacoochee Slough area, may
transport 150 million gallons per day. This water, which bypasses its
normal surface sheetflow channels and is eventually lost into the Gulf of
Mexico, could satisfy drinking, sanitation, and irrigation needs for at
least 1 million people each day.
6. The Big Cypress Swamp watershed
L
The Big Cypress Swamp
(approximately 1,568,000 acres)
than 80% of the total land
watershed is a 2,450 square miles
hydrological unit which occupies more
area of Collier County. Extending
L
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EVERGI.A:;ES
NATlON~
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Figure 17.
Su~areas of the Big Cypress Watershed showing
sur:ace water drainage patterns. Note how the
Cc~~ty roadways compartmentalize both land and
:~owways. (Modified from Carter et al., 1973).
major
maj or
water
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approximately down the middle of the Big Cypress Spur physiographic
unit in the UPLAND Zone, it trends gradually into the Southwestern Slope
in the INLAND Zone (see below). Ecologically, the watershed encompasses
high terTace terrestrial environments in the vicinity of the Immokalee
Rise, midlevel palustrine environments within the Southwestern Slope, and
coastal estuarine environments in the Reticulated Coastal Swamp. and the
Ten Thousands Islands. Although the Big Cypress Swamp is itself rather
loosely defined as a phYSiographic area within the larger water shed, the
Big Cypress National Freshwater Preserve is a clearly delineated
governmental geographical unit within the watershed. (Figures 17, 18).
!be Big Cypress Watershed is surface-water rich, with as much
as 90% of the area collecting, holding,or draining water during the wee
season. The undrained poreions may be inundated to depths ranging frOll a
few inches to several feet. The area also maintains at least S01Ile
standing water on about 10% of the land in the numerous lakes, ponds,
sloughs, strands, marshes, swamps and creeks during the dry season (Klein
et a1. 1970).
Drainage patterns are distributed through three subareas, termed A,
B, and C. Subarea A, delineated by an almost imperceptible rock ridge
running north to south, comprises about 450 square miles and drains
primarily eastward and eventually,into Everglades National Park; subarea
B (about 550 square miles) drains into an extensive series of canal.
(The Golden Gate Canal System, q.v.) and ultimately into the Gulf of
Mexico via several creek or riverine channels; subarea C (1,450 square
miles) drains south-southwestward in predominantly natural overland
sheetflow to the Ten Thousand Islands. (Figure 17).
According to Klein et a1. (1970) during periods of exceptionally
high water the drainage from Subarea A would probably spill over into
Subarea C, while other waterflow would flood into the southern portion
of the Swamp from the Lake Trafford and Camp Keasis Strand flawvays
(q. v. ) . Still other water could spill over from the Corkscrew-Bird
Rookery Swamp system to flow southward through the Belle Meade Unit in
both the UPLAND and INLAND Zone.
The Big Cypress Watershed encompasses a major portion of the INLAND
Zone. Parts of the Turner River, Big Cypress West and Big Cypress East
COASTAL, INLAND, and L~LAND units are also contained in the Big Cypress
National Freshwater Reserve (Bureau of Land & Water Management [BLWM]
Repor; CA-73-2). With the exception of the Belle Meade unit, all of the
INLA1"D Zone ,and approximately 50% of the UPLAND Zone lies in yet
another governmentally delineated area, the State of Florida Big Cypress
Area of Critical Concern (BCACC).
The BCACC was established in 1973 because the State Legislature
determined that uncontrolled development within the area would have
significant regional or state-wide impact upon environmental and natural
resources. The BLWM report stated that:
68
FIGwRE 18.
69
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BIG CYPRESS AREA OF CRITICAL STATE CONCSRN BOUNDARY
I ----- COLLIER COUNTY BOUNDARY
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81G CYPRESS NATIONAL PRESERVE
,
IDENTIFIED TOWNS EXCLUDED FROM AREA OF CRITICAL
c: T f,. T ~ .c.o.uc., c::- 0 ., ___"____
L-_ _,__,
"Deprived of the normal quantity, quality and flow of ground and surface
waters, all [my italics] of the resources on which the Critical Area
boundary must be based are severely threatened."
According to the BLWM report some 659 square miles (421,670 acres)
of Collier County are contained in the Reserve, whereas the total area of
Critical Concen comprises 1105 square miles (707,200 acres). Thus,
approximately 49% of the County is encompassed in the Reserve, and 82%
lies in the Area of Critical Concern. This area thus enclosed is
substantially more than that contained in Dade (3%) or Monroe County
(nearly 15Z) combined. Indeed, the cumulative Watershed area in Hendry,
Broward, Dade and Monroe Counties is only about 20% of the total
watershed area, whereas in Collier County the INLAND Zone itself occupies
nearly 40% of the total Watershed.
[
7.
Water Drainage in INLAND and UPLAND wetlands
Research has shown that four natural water drainage systems exist
in the I~~ Zone. The systems occur as a shallow sheet or fresh water,
carrying nutrients, which flows steadily southward through them at a rate
ranging :rom 0 to ~500 feet per. day. The major systems flow through the
Belle ~eade and the Camp Keasis I~~~ Gnits (including the old Picayune
Strand), the Okaloacoochee-Fakahatchee Strands, and in the Big Cypress
West/East Ih~~ Units (see Gore 1984a, 1985a,; BLw~ Planning Report CA
73-2) . Rowever waterflows from all the sub-basins in the Big Cypress
Watershed (i.e. A,B,C) impinge either directly or laterally into part of
the UPL~~ and all of the INLAND Zone. As a consequence, nearly all of
the biotopes in these Zones are ecologically and hydrologically linked in
an essentially north to south direction by this sheetflow and by the
effects it produces within and adjacent to each (see e.g, Tabb et al.
1976). This hydrological interlocking is therefore critical not only to
the GPU..~ and INLAND biotopes in which it occurs, but also to those
adj acent systems in the COASTAL Zone on which it might impinge. (Figure
19) .
Previously, much of the yearly waterflow was concentrated in
distinct drainage pathways around which cypress strands often focused.
These strands were essentially swamps or swamp-like areas in which the
water was relatively deep, the understory vegetation was dense, and the
dominant trees such as bald cypress were often very tall. The surviving
strands are still easily seen on aerial photographs and appear as narrow
and e.longated tree assemblages growing in the direction of the local
drainage (see Gore 1985a). Such strands are usually clearly
distinguishable from the associated treeless coastal prairies that
surround them.
I
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t.
When sheetflow or ground water reserves are severely altered, as has
occured in the Golden Gate Estates area because of canal-induced
drawdown, the cypress strands gradually become drier, and are Soon
invaded by less-hydrophilic vegetational assemblages. Eventually the
strand 1s totally compromised as a pure biotope and undergoes
vegetational succession toward mixed cypress-hardwood-cabbage palm
forests. If fire enters the strand may become buned out and then
reinvaded with a scrub mixture of native and exotic plants (see Carter et
a1. 1973).
t
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EVE RGLAOES
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Figure 19, SUc~reas of the Big Cypress Watershed showing major
ve~e~ationa1 features superimposed over surface water
dra~nage patterns. C = Corkscrew-Lake Trafford System;
F = Fakahatchee Strand System; 0 = Okaloacoochee-Hinson
Marsh and Slough System. (Modified from Carter et a1.
1973) .
71
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r
In addition to providing freshwater and nutrients to the coastal
biotopes via sheetflow, the INLAND and UPLAND Zone wetlands have several
other important hydrological functions. First, they provide for aquifer
recharge through percolation of rainwater. Second, via this recharge
they maintain a freshwater lens therby preventing or slowing saltwater
intrusion into the aquifer. Third, by providing for an extension of the
hydroperiod into the dry season they support the hydrophilic vegetational
assemblages which characterize and form the basis for most of the
interior ecosystems. Finally, this same vegetation, by slowing runoff
during times of high rainfall, improves surface and ground water quantity
and quality.
8. The Okaloacoochee Slough System (Oh-Calloway-coochie)
The two most important surface water flowways into Collier County,
the Okaloacoochee Slough System, and the Lake Trafford-Corkscrew Marsh
System, are of supreme importance to the Big Cypress Watershed. An
immediately critical aspect, therefore, is the areal extent and quality
of water flowing into these two systems. To understand this system more
completely it is necessary to refer briefly again to geology.
The ancient Caloosahatchee River was part of a larger depositional
feature termed the Caloosahatchee Incline (wbite 1970). This
geomorphological feature today forms the northern valley wall or the
Caloosahatchee River which is, itself. a remnant feature of an ancient
seabed. The Okaloacoochee Slough system is an ancient tributary of this
waterway which now delineates the most important water flowway into
Collier County. According to White (l9iO) the greater Okaloacoochee-
Fakahatchee Slough system appears to be a series of relict emergent tidal
passages associated at one time with the ~ncient shallow Pamlico Sea and
the previously noted shoal or island now known as the Immokalee Rise.
Today, these ill-defined remnant valleys continue to drain water off, and
along side, the ItmDokalee Rise. White noted that such features are
poorly developed around the Rise periphery, suggesting that very low
energy conditions prevailed during Pamlico times. He also noted.
however, that the margins of the Immokalee Rise can easily be delineated
today by tracing the series of small, shallow solution-hole lakes that
occur around its periphery.
These small lakes are a prominent feature in the upper portion of
the UPLAl-."D Zone, and stand out clearly in low level aerial photographs
such ps those contained in the Real Estate Development Institute volumes
(REDI books). Less prominent as distinct water bodies, but certainly no
less visible as water-retaining areas. are the innumerable small and
large ponds. cypress domes, marshes. elongate slough-like depressions and
other solution-related or erosional flowway features that pockmark the
entire Immokalee area. The coalescence of these features is best
appreciated when one views high altitude aerial photographs. where both
the Okaloacoochee Slough and its counterpart. the Lake Trafford-Corkscrew
Swamp floTJWay system, are quite evident. These flowways, which enter
Collier County from the northeast and north, respectively, diverge above
the town of Immokalee. Because of their importance both of these systems
will be considered in greater detail below. (Figure 20).
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All these features (i.e. marsh. slough. strand) can function as
water flowways. Each has been historically distinguished (particularly
at the local level) from the other primarily on the types of vegetation
that occur within. Big Marsh. for example. is primarily a grassy-reedy
water body with trees located around its periphery; the Okaloacoochee
Slough tends to have trees scattered both along its margins and within
the central portion. while retaining large open grassy spaces; the
Fakahatchee Strand tends to be more densely populated with trees and
understory vegetation. while retaining scattered lakes and ponds down its
length. and so forth. These water flowways were also historically
important as c01Jlll1erce and water trails for the Calusa and later the
Seminole Indians in the region (Davis 1943).
A. The Okaloacoochee Slough
The Okaloacoochee Slough is a prominent north-south trending
vegetational-hydrological feature that extends approximately 24 miles in
length down the eastern northern boundary of the County. The Slough is
about 4 miles wide at is widest part, just below Sadie Cypress east of SR
29. For the remainder. the Slough is of variable width ranging :rom less
than one-half mile to approximately one mile wide, ~leandering
southeastward and then southwestward the Okaloacoochee Slough connects on
its southwestern branch via Big Marsh into the Fakahatchee Strand, and on
its southeastward branch into East Hinson Marsh. The former flowway
continues almost due south to connect to the main Fakahatchee Strand area
in the Collier County INLAND Zone, The latter flowway. on the other
hand, continues southeastward to. terminate in the East Hinson Strand
which oringinates just north of SR 84 at the boundaries of the L~~~ and
INL~~ Zones, (See Figure 21 and below).
B. The Fakahatchee Strand
The Fakahatchee Strand. which branches off in a southwesterly
direction from the Okaloacoochee Slough. originates in an area called Big
Marsh. south of SR 858 near Sunniland. However, the flowway itself
probably arises in the series of interconnected marshes north and east of
Immokalee and the Immokalee Airport. These marshes continue southward
more or less paralleling the Okaloacoochee Slough proper, and then join
the southwestern branch of the Slough to form the upper portion of the
Fakahatchee Strand. The Strand itself becomes discretely delineated in an
area just north of SR 84. arising from a series of wide grassy prairies.
marshes and scattered pine-palmetto tree islands. The Strand is
separ~ted by a low rock ridge from the adjacent Picayune Strand system on
the west and is thus hydrologically distinct from that system (Tabb et a1.
1976).
C. The East Hinson Marsh
l
This marsh system arises from the lower southeastern margin of
the Okaloacoochee Slough proper, Several small hydro-vegetative
assemblages (e.g, Bear Island Strand, Deep Slough) occur within the Marsh
itself. Continuing in a general southeastern direction th& Marsh gives
rise to the East Hinson Strand approximately at the junction of SR 839
and Alligator Alley (SR 84). Crossing SR 84 the East Hinson Strand
74
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Figure 2l.The Fakahatchee, Okaloacoochee and East Hinson
Marsh water flowways at the UPLAND-INLk~D Zone
juncture. (Adapted from U.S. Fish & Wildlife
Service Report, 1985).
'" .... -,-::....
75
continues southeastward into the Big Cypress West Unit of the INLAND
Zone where it eventually connects via coastal prairies and freshwater
marshes to the Deep Lake Strand. The latter Strand parallels the
Fakahatchee Strand but on the eastern side of SR 29. Thus, although the
Okaloacoochee Slough can be discretely delineated along with the several
hydrological subunits just discussed, the important point is to note the
connection of the entire system from the UPLAND Zone down into the INLAND
Zone (see Duever et ale 1984b, 1986).
. r
f
9. The Lake Trafford-Corkscrew Swamp System
The second major hydrographic feature is the Lake Trafford-Corkscrew
Swamp system. Also considered a relict tributary of the Caloosahatchee
System, this water flowway is more broadly delineated, and more or less
originates in a large marsh and swamp area (the Corkscrew Marsh) in the
lower-lying lands northwest of the town of Immokalee. Continuing
generally south-southeastward the system eventually drains into extensive
freshwater marshes surrounding Lake Trafford. At this point the flowway
splits into a southeastern and southwestern branch. The former drains
through pine-cypress lands below Lake Trafford and eventually into the
Camp Keasis Strand; the latter ,flows through Corkscrew Swamp and thence
into Bird Rookery Swamp before exiting in the Cocohatchee River basin.
A. Lake Trafford
Lake Trafford, a notable hydrological feature located west of
Immokalee and adj acent and southeast of the Corkscrew Marsh, is ~he
largest inland lake south of Okeechoobee. It is approximately l.i X 2.0
miles length by width, has a average area of 1494 acres, a greatest depth
of 10 feet, ~d an average depth of 6-8 feet. Because the margins of the
Lake are surrounded by extensive marshes, the topographical boundary as
to where lake ends and marsh begins is indistinct. Its periphery may
also vary seasonally, as well as with extensive local rainfall events.
Depending on the amount of water within, or overflowing, its banks the
total surface area may thus cover four or more square miles. In effect,
Lake Trafford is a lake primarily because it is lower than the
surrounding marsh (average elevation is 19.0 ft. above MSL) and thus
retains water at varying levels the year around.
Lake Trafford drains an area of about 30 square miles and generally
functions as a cachement basin. It is essentially land-locked. During
times_of excessively high inflow, when water levels exceed about 21.0 ft
MSL, some or the overflow can apparently move northward into the
Caloosahatchee River, although the majority of overland flow appears to
move wes~ard into the lower Corkscrew Marsh and eventually into
Corkscrew and Bird Rookery Swamps. Another downflow gradient joins the
southern Corkscrew Swamp flowway (vide infra) to connect with the Camp
Keasis Strand (Tabb et a1. 1976).
B. The Corkscrew-Bird Rookery Swamp System
l
Al though the name imp lies a compound hydrological flowway, in
reality it is a single system. Ccrkscrew Marsh is one of the largest
discretely delineated hydrological features in the UPLAND Zone. The
76
vegetation is predominantly marsh grasses. saw grass and reeds I all of
which are surrounded on the upland margins by hammocks. strands and
sloughs of various sizes and direction. The Marsh is spread over an area
approximately 30 square miles. and extends from northwest of Immokalee
southward to Lake Trafford. Below Lake Trafford the Marsh bifurcates
into a southerly and a westerly trending flowway, and assumes more the
character of a swamp.
r
r
The westerly bifurcation gradually becomes subdivided into
smaller marsh compartments which are surrounded by extensive and dense
cypress strands and swamps. In the vicinity of the National Audubon
Society's Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary the cypress forest reaches its
greatest areal extent and growth, and fo~ one of the last virgin stands
of this tree in southwest Florida (Duever et al. 1984a, 1986).
Immediately south of Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary lies Bird Rookery Swamp
(sometimes called Bird Rookery Strand). a smaller but similar mixed
cypress-hardwood swamp and associated marshland. Continuing westward,
the system passes through the Golden Gate "Highlands II , an important
recharge area for the well-lithified shallow limestone "reeis" of the
Coral Reef aquifer, before completing its drainage through the
Cocohatchee Watershed to empty eventually into the lagoonal areas along
the Gulf of ~exico (Stewart et a!. 1984). The complete system thus
extends for approximately 25 linear miles from the nendry to the Lee
and Collier Coucty lines.
The south bifurcation below Lake Trafford. 1s also called
Corkscrew Swamp, Trending almost due south the swamp gradually merges
below CR 846 (Immokalee Rd) into the Camp Keasis Strand which forms the
northernmost vegetative assemblage of the eastern Golden Gate Estates.
This Strand also continues almost due south and eventually blends into an
adjacent assemblage, the Stumpy Strand just above Alligator Alley (q.v.).
C. The Camp Keasis-Picayune Strand System (Figure 22).
This is a complex of several named strands in the UPLAND and
INLAND Zones. These were more or less interconnected at one time. but
are now severed or partially isolated owing to land clearing and
groundwater table drawdown resulting from the Gulf American Corporation's
Golden Gate Estates development throughout these zones. The system
originates just above, but is primarily contained within. the boundaries
of the north Golden Gate Estates subdivision. within the UPLAND Zone.
Proceeding southward the Camp Keasis, Winchester, Stumpy, and Lucky Lake
Strands form the major vegetative assemblages in the flowway associated
with this system. The Picayune Strand is confined to the I~~ Zone.
i. Camp Keasis Strand
l
The nominate Camp Keasis Strand originates directly south
of Lake Trafford and at the southern tip of the Corkscrew Marsh Southern
Extension, It meanders south-southeasterly and interconnects with the
Stumpy and Lucky Lake Strands. An offshoot from the main system branched
westward and formed Winchester Strand; this system is now a remnant
biotope owing to dissection and compartmentalization by the Golden Gate
Estates development.
l
77
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MAJOR FLOWWAYS AND STRANDS
IN THE CAMP KEASIS UNIT
(Modified from Tabb et al. 1976)
Figure 22.
78
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......,<' .:!.....;~::.. ....-. -.
ii. Stumpy Strand
Stumpy Strand is a flourishing biotope, now predominantly
hardwood-cypress forest owing to invasion by maples, bays, and oaks after
logging operations had opened up the canopy during the late 1940's and
1950's. In spite of logging many large cypress trees remain and, along
with the hydrophilic hardwoods, form a species-rich hammock/strand
assemblage.
1ii. Lucky Lake Strand
Lucky Lake Strand is located in the lower southeastern
corner of the Camp Keasis Unit in the UP~~ Zone, beginning just above
SR 84. It extends southwestward into the INLAND Zone in the same Unit.
At one time, it formed a connective hydrological pathway which gradually
blended into the largest Strand in this system, the Picayune Strand,
located in the INLAND Zone. A large shallow ephemeral Alligator Flag
pond, approxicately a third of a mile in length and width, still occupies
much of the western portion of Unit 114 in south Golden Gate estates,
about midway down the system.
iv. Picavune Strand
.
Although the Picayune Strand can no longer be phYSically
delimited as a contiguous unit, owing to interdiction by the south Golden
Gate Estates, large pristine remnants of this once extensive vegetational
assemblage are still extant throughout the INLA.'ID Zone in southern and
eastern portions (see Gore 1986). These remnant strands are best
developed below Stewart Blvd., and from the vicinity of Patterson Blvd.
westward to Everglades Blvd. They gradually diminish south of Lynch Blvd.
where they blend into a large coastal prairie and freshwater marsh
complex just north of US 41 (Tamiami Trail).
The overall area and importance of the Camp Keasis-
Picayune Strand system can easily be realized by tracing its distribution
down through Golden Gate Estates, a distance of over 30 miles. The Camp
Keasis-Picayune Strand system delineates a flowway that was once as
extensive as that of the Fakahatchee Strand immediately to the east. A
series of north-south low rock mounds, at the 10 foot contour interval
and below, is found in the vicinity of the old Golden Gate Gardens
subdivision 1n the northwest corner of the Fakahatchee Strand. Thus,
these. two elongated north-south flowways, both tracing their origins
ultimately from the Okaloacoochee Slough, form a parallel, more or less
complete and physiographically delimited hydrological unit stretching
form the north county line south to the Ten Thousand Islands and the
Gulf of Mexico (Tabb et al. 1976).
10. Historic vs. Present Day Waterflow
Many of the early developers of Collier County attempted to drain
the interior, reasoning that, if the normally slow moving sheet flow
could be both speeded up and channelized, high water levels would cease
to be a problem. Consequently, an extensive series of drainage canals
was constructed starting in the early 1920's and culminating during the
1950-1960'8. Two major conduits (the Golden Gate and the FakaUnion
79
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l.
--,,-, ~,~;,-;.....~,-
Canals) massively drain the region east of CR 951. 1Wo other canals,
named after the Cocohatchee River and Senderson Creek, drain areas closer
to us 41 in the northwestern and southeastern portions of the county,
respectively. Farther to the east the Barron River Canal and the Turner
River Canal drain the Okaloacoochee Slough areas and the Turner River
Basin. One other canal, the L-28 Interceptor, runs diagonally across the
far upper northeastern right quadrant of the County but probably produces
little effect on south County water levels (see also Gee and Jensen,
1980). 1Wo highway canals, the Alligator Alley Canal, and the Tamiami
Canal, run east-west. The more important of these systems are discussed
in greater detail below.
A.
The Faka-Union Svstem
.
The Paka-Union Canal system occurs in the INLAND and COASTAL
Zones, but has connectors to the UPLAND Zone. Below the UPL&~ Zone it
consists of four canals ranging from 60 - 100 feet wide and about 30
miles in overall length. These extend from Paka-Union Bay on the south
to SR 84 on the north. Average depth of this system is variable, ranging
from 5-12 feet in the western canals (Canals "C" and "D" maintained by
Collier County) to as little ,as 2 feet or less in portions of the
easternmost canals ( "E", "pI', presently undergOing little or no
maintenance). The average daily flow rates vary from 28-3200 cubic feetl
second (cps) , again depending on localized high rainfall events,
seasonality, existing standing water, plant growth etc. (see summary in
Klein et al. 1970; McCoy 1972; Tabb et al. 1976).
Above SR 84 (UPLAND Zone) two separate north-south canals ("J" ,
"K") tie directly into the Faka-Union system: Canal "J" lies west of
Everglades Blvd. (which also drains partially into the Golden Gate
'System), and Canal ilK" lies west of DeSoto Blvd. Both extend northward to
CR 846 just below Lake Trafford and drain portions of the Lake Trafford-
Corkscrew Swamp System as well. In all. these two canals drain
approximately 92 square miles in the UPLAND Zone. These all form part of
what is colloquially called "the Golden Gate Canal System." (See Figure
23).
B. The North Golden Gate Canal System
In the early 1960' s, the Golden Gate Canal (more correctly a
part of the FakaUnion Canal System) was dredged in western Collier
County" the first of what was eventually to comprise over 183 miles of
canals in Golden Gate Estates in the Belle Meade and Camp Keasis Units.
In 1968 the FakaUnion canal system in the eastern part or the Estates
was begun. * Both of these canals were constructed to drain water-
retaining areas throughout these Units where, during the wet season.
water depths ranging from 8 inches (in the north Golden Gate Estates) to
* At about the same time CR 846 (Immokalee Rd), CR 858 (Oil Well Rd),
and CR 951 (Isle of Capri Rd) were being constructed, thus completing the
compartmentalization of the Gordon River. Rock Creek, and Belle Meade
watersheds. This compartmentalization began in 1926 with the
construction of SR 29, and 1928 with the completion of the Tamiami Trail
(McCoy 1972; Tabb et al. 1976).
80
r
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L
'~'
". -........._,.,.;"".~.,:
.. . - ..
WESTERN COLLIER COUNTY
\~ ~
l 'L_,~ 2 3 · "'L(S
~' ...l-.l----l
LEE COUNTY I
._~_._-_....---..I
\\...: = ::: =-.:
E~PLANATION
+
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Canal and Water
Level Control Structure
Figure 23. The Golden Gate Canal
flow outlets (After Black,
1974) .
81
".
over 30 inches (in the south Golden Gate estates) historically occurred
(Tabb et al. 1976).
C. The Golden Gate System
r
r
r
The Golden Gate Canal System is a complex of two east-west
canals (Golden Gate and Cocohatchee River Canals). and nine north-south
canals, and is located entirely in the UPLAND Zone (see McCoy 1972, fig.
7). From its origin in Golden Gate Estates the Golden Gate Canal proper
extends approximately 20 miles west with final drainage via the Gordon
River Watershed through Naples Bay into the Gulf of Mexico. But in
conjunction with its eastern connectors it also drains portions of the
Cocohatchee and Gordon River COASTAL Zones. as well as the southeastern
corner of the Corkscrew and all of the Belle Meade and Camp Keasis UPLAND
Zones (See Gee and Jensen, 1970; Black et al. 1974; Connell et al. 1978;
Johnson Engineering, 1981 for more details).
D. Barron River & Turner River Canals
The Barron River Canal on the eastern side of SR 29 was dredged
to provide roadbed ::or that highway. The canal extends from just south
of the I~okalee Airport to Everglades City, a distance of 42 miles. It
receives runoff primarily from Turner River Unit lands on its eastern
bank. A second smaller canal, the Turner River Canal. extends
longitudinally in the nominate Unit on its eastern boundary alongside
SR 951, from Hendry County south to US 41, a distance of 26 miles.
11. Ef~ects of the Golden Gate Canal Systems
Two of the canals in this syst~m effectively drain the 111,000 acres
of Golden Gate Estates, producing a "loss of huge quantities of fresh
water to the Gulf of Mexico" (Jakob & Waltz 1979), thereby affecting the
hydrOlogy and ecology of over 390 square ~es of land. Effects are felt
as far north as Lake Trafford, as far east as the Fakahatchee Strand, as
far south as the Ten Thousand Islands. and as far west as Naples Bay.
Parker et a1. (1955) calculated that one mile of deepened canal
was more effective as an outlet for ground water flow than 4 miles of bay
shoreline. Applying this calculation to a 45 mile stretch of coastline
between the Cocohatchee River and the Barron River at Everglades City,
Tabb et a1. (1976) suggested that the 183 miles of Golden Gate Canals
could.,discharge water at the same rate as 732 miles of natural shoreline,
or ". . . theoretically, at 16 times the rate of the undrained system".
This drainage is also theoretically equivalent to that of a linear
shoreline extending from Naples to Jacksonville.
The canals have also had a "catastrophic effect" on ground water
tables, lowering natural levels by an estimated 2-4 feet; producing
extremely adverse impacts on estuarine areas in Naples and
Faka-Union Bays; csusing major transfers of surface water from one
basin to another; reducing the hydroperiod by 2-4, months; resulting
in a dramatic increase in forest fires; increasing annual runoff
two-three fold; and reducing or eliminating agricultural activities
in those areas which traditionally used flood irrigation techniques
(McCormack et al. 1984). The environmental consequences for what
l,
',',,:":,~: ;
82
has been called It . the most scandalous [land] promotion of the
1960's" (Blake 1980) are well documented and continue to occur (}~loney,
1976; The Conservancy, Inc., 1986). Tabb et a1. (1976, p. vii) put it
succinctly:
r
: ,
"In our opinion, with the exception of the Okeechobee-Kissimmee Basin,
the overdrainage of the Golden Gate Estates area presents a greater
threat to human and natural systems than any other currently existing
situation in south-central Florida."
An overview of the hydrology in relation to the total canal system
in Collier County shows a system of drainage conduits that is a marvel of
terrestrial plumbing (see, e.g. U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, 1980,
1986). There is no doubt that the engineers who conceived and carried
out these projects knew how to remove water very efficiently from an
area. It is also apparent that the canals are without equal as a
point-source injection for massive amounts of fresh water into the
estuary*, The coastal margin which historically received runoff from the
Cocohatchee, Gordon, and Turner Rivers, and from Rock, Haldemann,
Henderson and numerous smaller rivers and creeks, now receives river-type
inflow from canals associated with some of these natural tributaries, as
well as new point inj ections from others (e, g. FakaUnion Canal). In
addition to the obvious detrimental impact such large amounts of
freshwater may have on the estuarine system. the drained fresh water is
lost forever to the Gulf of Mexico. A third effect of the canals is the
large pulsed amounts of nutrients inj ected into the coastal system. A
fourth, very dramatic, effect is that by lowering the surface and
groundwa"ter tables the canals have increased the jeopardy or fires in
interior areas, thereby affecting the fire-ecology of interior Pine
Barrens and flatwoods. For example, Lehman (1978) notes that with the
construction of the Golden Gate system, wildfires in the county increased
catastrophically. In the 8 years prior to completion of the system
(1963-1978) a cumulative total of nearly 63,000 acres burned, but in 1971
alone, the year of the system's completion, nearly 230,000 acres burned
or nearly 4 times the entire amount of the previous 8 years. The
following 5 years brought an additional 325,000 acres burned, for a
yearly average of 65,000 acres, or more than the cumulative total for
1963-1970.
The effect of the canals coupled with cyclical periods of drought
are also catastrophic, as yearly rainfall figures elucidate. From
1963-1970 an average of 50.4 inches of rain was recorded; in 1971, the
year .of canal system completion, 49 inches were recorded, and in the
subsequent 4 years (1972-1975) less than 46 inches fell. The highest
number of wildfires (288) took place in 1971, but the 49 inches of rain
that fell that year was not sufficient to keep acreage from drying out
and burning. The next highest wildfire years were in 1969 (2 years
before canal completion; 272 fires with only 6,400 acres burned) and 1974
(3 years after canal completion), again with 272 fires but nearly 158,500
acres burned. The figures speak for themselves.
l.
* In an interesting paper
Canal System, Maloney et.
produced by these canals
the D.E.R.
considering legal ramifications of the G. G. E.
al. (1979) point out the fresh water injection
is considered a form of estuarine pollution by
83
Clark & Sarokwash (1975) addressed the problems of watershed
management and stated that preservation of natural (as opposed to
constructed) drainage channels was beneficial not only for general flow
characteristics but for purification processes as well. They stated
that:
"...all permanent and temporary rivers, streams, and creeks, and
all intermittently flooded drainageways such as sloughs and swales, which
convey land runoff toward coastal waters, should be kept as near to
their natural state as possible."
They further recommended that significant alteration of the natural
volume. rate. and pattern of runoff from watersheds and coastal
waterbasins should be avoided by controlling the extent and manner of
land clearing, grading, draining, surfacing, and structures and
excavations in the watershed.
12. Conclusions and Recommendations
It should now be apparent that the protection of Collier County's
water resources requires the maintenance of the quantity and quality of
both surface and ground water systems. Under the natural system water
quantity and quality were maintained throughout the year despite the
seasonal cycling between rainy periods and dry periods. The historic
pattern was characterized by the gradual increase in the water levels in
sloughs and surrounding areas during the rainy season and the movement
of water by sheet flow at the season's peak. Moreover, the slow
transport of water across - the land and the retention of water in the
deep sloughs and wetlands retarded the discharge of fresh water to the
Gulf. In this way water produced during six months of the yeat: was
available well into the dry season. In addition, the retention of
water by wetlands and other seasonally inundated areas not only tended
to maintain water quality by the filtration and assimilation of
nutrients but allowed for the recharge of aquifers through percolation.
The maintenance of a high watertable created a head of fresh water that
prevented or at least slowed the intrusion of saltwater.
The alteration of the natural water systems by land development
and other associated activities have irreparably disrupted this natural
balance. The construction of roads with insufficient culverts has
blocked the flow of water beeween and through wetlands. The excavation
of d8#P canals has resulted in the rapid drainage of water from the land
surface and the sudden discharge of large amounts of fresh water into the
coastal bays. Tbe rapid removal of water by canals from the land surface
has also reduced the chance for enhancement of water quality.
Because the County's shallow auqifers are recharged from
adj acent overlying areas, any land development or alteration may lead
to the degradation of ground water resources. Rapid surface water
drainage and the creation of artificial impermeable areas reduces the
quanity of ground water resources by preventing the recharge of
aquifers. The water quality of these shallow aquifers, which serve as
the county's maj or potable water supply is also susceptible to surface
activities. The spraying of pesticides, the leakage of chemicals and
,
L
84
.. ",..
petroleum products, and the effluent from sanitary landfills and sewage
treatment plants can all infiltrate the shallow aquifers and degrade the
potable water supply. In coastal areas the heavy pumping of the
shallow aquifer associated with lowering of the water table by surface
drainage also increases the potential for salt water intrusion.
The legal aspects of all of this, particularly in regard
to Golden Gate Estates, are usually overlooked, in spite of, in depth
studies by Hole et al (1977), Chestnut (1979) and Maloney et al.
(1979) . These ramification" can form a sound legal basi.o both for
environmental permitting, and for proposed schemes for re-establishing
some or all of the previously existing water flowways (e .g. CH2M
Hill, 1978, 1979; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 1980, 1986).
In both human and natural populations, water is one of the
major factors limiting population size and viability. The existence of
Collier County's natural systems as we know them today, as well as the
human population both now and in the future, depends on maintaining the
quantity and quality of the County's surface and ground water
resources, Positive actions must be taken to closely integrate both land
and watermanagement activities.. High water tables and surface flooding
during the rainy season should not be considered a problem, but a
mechanism to maintain the water resources necessary for the survival of
the County's populations. A coordinated, interdepartmental program,
designed to evaluate all proposed land use activities in light of their
impact on the County's water resources and to correct, where possible,
mistakes of the past (e.g. non-culverted roads, uncontrolled canals),
should be immediately instituted to ensure that sufficient water is
available to sustain the populations of Collier county now and in the
years to come. (Figure 24).
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85
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PRESERVATION
Figure 24.
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Developed, potentiallv developable, and preservation
areas superimposed on-major water drainage subareas
0: the Big Cypress Watershed. The two major categories
i~ both the developed and potentially develo?able areas
are residential and agricultural, based on present zonin~
(Modified from Carter et al. 1973).
86
VEGETATION
1. Introduction
The flora of South Florida, thought to be 3,000 to 5,000 years old,
,is made up of over 1,650 indigenous and naturalized plant species. Of
these, 60 percent are of tropical origin and 4 percent are endemic to
South Florida (Long and Lakela, 1971). Tbe actions of water, fire,
soils, frost, and other less frequent but important environmental
factors such as hurricanes, have molded this flora into distinct plant
eommunities. These communities are distributed across the South Florida
peninsula along environmental gradients based on the plants' tolerance
to the above-mentioned factors (see Haunert et. a!. 1979 for summary).
As noted in the section on Hydrology (p. 49 ff.), the distribution
of plant communities and their associated wildlife is tied closely to
topography. ~ute differences in elevation have a major effect on the
hydrological characteristics of a site (i.e., a small change in elevation
resul ts in a large change in the depth of innundation and hydropedod).
South Florica ~egetation types are closely associated with these
dif:erences in water characteristics. For example, strands occur in
shallow troughs and drainageways while cypress heads exist in isolated
depressions in the ground surface. Both these areas receive and retain
an adequate flow of surficial water throughout the year. Wet prairies
are found on higher elevations adj acent to cypress strands. Only a
slight increase in elevation results in flooding being restricted to the
rainy season, Pine flatwoods and palmetto prairies exist on the highest
and driest sites. These flood for only a short time at the peak of
extreme rainy seasons. (Figure 25).
The flow of this water across the landscape ties all South Florida
biotopes into one intergrated biosphere, Water concentrating in
depressed, low areas provides for the persistence of productive wetlands
in the seasonally dry climate. Wetlands contribute to the ecosystem by
providing for aquifer recharge, improving water quality, and extending
the hydroperiod far into the dry months of the year.
However, dry season water shortage is a recurrent phenomenon in
many native biotopes. Extreme annual rainfall fluctuations also
characterize the hydrological cycle. Rainfall records for South Florida
indic~te long-term variations between annual rates of 30 and 105 inches
per year. In addition, these periods of low and high rainfall are often
grouped together resulting in successive periods of severe drought
followed by years of extreme flooding.
2. Wetlands
Wetlands are defined as those areas where water is present on an
annual or seasonal basis and is the dominant factor controlling and
supporting the existing assemblage of plants and animals. In Collier
County extensive interior wetlands include cypress forests, mixed
hardwood swamps, marshes, wet prairies. and low pinelands. Mangrove
forests and brackish marshes compose the coastal saltwater wetlands.
'.
\
87
88
"
Wetlands possess a number of functional attributes that make them a
valuable and essential component of the South Florida ecosystem and
irrevocably tie them to the health of coastal lagoons. The moderate
environmental conditions of wetlands favor plant growth. Some of the
most diverse plant communities in South Florida are found in wetland
settings. Not only is there a great number of plants occurring there J
but the species richness (aonualsJ perennials, shrubsJ vinesJ trees) is
quite high. The diverse plant cover of these wetlands makes them prime
habitats for wildlife. A wide variety of South Florida wildlife
including wood storks t and other wading birds J deer J otter J foxJ and
other small mammals, numerous reptiles including alligators t and the
endangered Florida panther utilize these diverse habitats as breeding
and foraging areas. The favorable environment and the diversity of
plants and animals make wetland ecosystems among the most productive in
the world. Tbe high levels of primary production spurred by the
availablility of nutrients and water and the large number of food chain
links make wetlands a biological system of prime importance. In
addition. the slow movement of water through these wetlands and the
absorption of nutrients and other compounds by plant growth make wetland
ecosystems excellent water purification systems (Odum et al, 1982; Odum.
198"-) .
The vegetation in Collier County forms a complex and diverse
assemblage of pristine native species, conglomerates of invaded and
altered communities. and areas of introduced and escaped noxious exotics.
At least 20 clearly delimitable native and non-native assemblages occurJ
many of which are restricted to areas exhibiting distinct geological or
physiographical features (Table 5), A large number of such assemblages
consist of numerically or ecologically dominant and recurring species.
and are called biotopes. Others consist of intermingled species from one
biotope or another, either as a consequence of ecological succession, or
as a result of natural (e.g. hurricanes, tidal overwash) or man-made
(land clearing, introductions) alteration.
A ranking system was established for all of the biotopes or
vegetational combinations. Each assemblage was assessed Class 1, 2 or 3
(see Table 6) using definitions from Table 3. This ranking was meant to
be an analagous to, but not precisely identical with, the classification
presently used to rank marine waters according to their environmental
quality (see Florida Administrative Code. Chaps. 17-3J 17-4).
This allowed biotopes in Collier County to be classified according to
quality, with the pristine or undisturbed receiving the highest class
(1); more disturbed or transitional areas were denoted Class 2 or 3.
These are discussed below and summarized in Tables 5 and 6.
Because of the plethora of classifications employed by State (DNR,
DER, Florida Natural Area Inventoriest etc.) and Federal (U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers) agencies. there is often much definitional overlap. A
summary of the classification used by Collier County NRMD as it relates
to the most comprehensive FNAI categorization is presented in Table 7.
I
i
L.
89
3. Classification of Critical and Non-critical Biotopes
Class 1 biotopes are usually particularly fine examples of
vegetational assemblages. They often compose (or are found within)
environmentally critical areas which are necessary for maintenance or"
enhancement of the prevailing ecosystam, and/or its hydrological
features. In addition they act as refugia in safeguarding the well-
being of the contained biota or that occurring in adjacent or contiguous
systems .
Class 2 biotopes may exhibit many of the features of those in Class
1, but are in the middle stages of successional change following
historically recent disturbances. In some cases they may be entering or
completing a semi-natural transition, as seen for example in logged
cypress domes or strands which are developing into hardwood hydric
forests or swamps. In other instances, owing to arson or water-table
drawdown, they may be passing into a less desirable assemblage such as
that of the invaded pinelands which now support a complex and shrubby
understory of undergrowth and noxious ~~otic species. Class 2 biotopes
are round in ever; Unit in all three zones but appear to be particularly
distributed in the northern to northwestern portions of each Zone. They
often lie adjacent to developed or semi-developed areas such as old farm
fields. abandoned tramways or borrow pits. In some cases. such as the
residential areas along the Tamiami Trail in the Turner River Unit the
remnant Class 2 biotopes are clearly trending toward Class 3
assemblages. Some Class 2 biotopes can conceivably be considered as
critical areas because they contain the only extant examples of their
former vegetation. In some cases they can still function as refugia or
ecological corridors between Class 1 biotopes adjacent to them.
Class 3 biotopes are those which have been heavily modified owing
to a combination of natural and artificial causes. In these areas the
characteristic vegetational assemblages of the original biotope are
nearly completely altered, invaded or isolated. There is usually a
noticeable second growth of both native and exotic species which appears
vegetationally uncharacteristic for the general area (e.g. numerous
second-growth sabal palms within an overburned coastal prairie). Often,
evidence of fire. land clearing or logging operations is prevalent years
after the events have occurred. Many other areas are immediately
recognizable by the extensive growth of Brazilian pepper or melaleuca.
Biotopes in this condition usually have little chance of regaining their
former status because the rapidly colonizing and growing exotics preclude
normal successional patterns. Unless reclaimed (or developed), many
will probably continue the trend toward total decline. becoming little
more than large waste fields. Altered biotopes in this Class are
particularly noticeable in the northwestern portion of Golden Gate
Estates just south of Alligator Alley.
90
The classification and listing of critical biotopes is me.ant to
portray general aress within Collier County which should be carefully
scrutinized. Such areas should have an extensive ecological evaluation
made before any large scale alterational activities are permitted. Many
of these areas are the only remaining examples of relatively pristine
vegetational and faunal assemblages in Collier County. Other have
already undergone some form of vegetational succession (e.g. pine
barrens. invaded cypress domes) but are still viable and valuable
habitats having au important function in the overall biome.
91
Table 5. Biotopes and vegetational assemblage-combinations in Collier
County. Numerals show Class as per Table 4.
1 Cypress (1)
strand or dome
Area consists of at least 70% cover
of Taxodium distichum (including T.
distichum var. nutans*); understory
variable, comprising few or s
monoculture of plant or tree species
or by a dominant or secondary
assemblage of hydric hammock-type
trees including pond apples (Annons
glabra) and pop ash (Fraxinus
caroliniana), as well as associated
emergent hydrophytes (pickerelweed,
arrowhead, fire flag.) *[- T.
ascendens ex auth.]
2 Cypress-Hardwood (2)
Patchy or sub equal distributions of
hardwood tree species (maple, sweet
bay, red bay, oak) throughout the
cypress-dominated area; cypress
comprises approximately 50% or tree
cover; understory primarily of ferns
or low mL~ed shrubs.
3 Cypress-Mixed (2)
Patchy or subequal distributions of
hardwoods and cabbage palms (Sabal
palmetto) throughout the cypress:-
dominated area; cypress comprises at
least 40% of the observed tree
overstory; understory mixed with
shrubs and grasses dominant.
4 Cypress-Pine (2)
Patchy distribution of Pinus
elliottii throughout a cypress-
dominated area; cypress comprises at
least 50% of tree cover; understory
vegetation usually grasses or low
shrubs.
5 Pine-Cypress (2)
..
Pine comprises at least 50% of the
observed tree cover with cypress
noticeable (30-40% of cover); under-
story variable, shrubby or mixed
small trees (wax myrtle, palmetto),
or various grasses.
92
Table 5 (cont.)
6 Pine Flatwoods (1)
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7 Pine Barrens (2)
8 Coastal Prairie (1)
9 Coastal Prairie-Cypress (2)
10 Coastal Prairie-Pine (2)
11 Cpastal Prairie Mixed (2)
Pine comprises at least 70% of total
tree cover; cypress or other hard
woods occur singly or in very small
patches; undrestory predominantly saw
palmetto (Serenoa repens), wire
grasses (Aristida spp.), cordgrass
(Spartina bakeri), or with understory
reduced or absent owing to dense pine
needle mat.
Pine compriese at least 50% of the
total tree cover; cabbage palm and
mixed hardwood species (red bay,
sweet bay, wax myrtle, oaks) comprise
30-40% of remaining cover; understory
primarily tangled or dense shrubby
plants and vines.
Vegetational cover at least 90% wire,
cord or panic grasses, either mixed
or nearly pure monoculture.
Associated shrubs or trees sparse and
scasttered; latter often patchily
distributed in islands consisting of
mixed assemblages of cabbage palm,
pine, cypress or hardwoods intermixed
with palmetto or tangled low shrubby
species.
Vegetational cover 50-70% grasses
noticeably interspersed with
scattered dwarfed adult cypress or
cypress saplings, plus various other
patchily distributed shrubs and trees
(saw palmetto, wax myrtle).
As above but with slash pine replacing
or predominating over cypress.
Vegetational cover at least 50%
grasses, interspersed with invading
shrubs or shrubby trees including wax
myrtle (Myrica cerifera), willow
(Salix caroliniana), buttonbush
(Cephalanthus occidentalis ), and
slash pine seedlings and saplings.
93
Table 5 (cont.)
12 Coastal Hardwood Hammock (1)
13 Hardwood Hydric Hammock (1)
14 Freshwater Marsh (1,2)
15 Xeric Scrub (1,2)
16 Dune Strand (1,2)
..
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Hardwood dominated forests composed
of 50% or greater hardwood tree
species, plus patchy or subsequent
distrubution of cabbage palms through-
out the area; understory mixed with
shrubs dOminant, ferns reduced, grasses
usually absent, never prominant.
Hardwood forests periodically or
permanently inundated, composed of 50%
or greater tree or understory species
having extensive water tolerance or
requiring an extended hydroperiod
(e.g.sw8mp maple, pop ash, pond
apple, water oak) and in which cypress
form clearly less than 40% to the
total tree species.
Areas composed primarily of emergent
reedy type hydrophilic vegetation
(Cyperus, Scirpus, Typha, Cladium)
which comprise 75% or more of the
dominant plant cover, and in which
trees or hydrophilic shrubs are
confined to the margins, scattered
only sparsely throughout, or form
less than 10-20% of the dominants.
Open "sugar sand" areas composed
of 75% or greater xerophilic vegeta-
tion in variable mixtures, including
stunted or dwarfed hardwoods (scrub
oak, turkey oak) xeric shrubs (rosemary,
rusty lyonia) and associated understory
(saw palmetto, lupines).
Beach Foreshore and dune line areas
supporting pioneer vegetation consisting
of trailing vines (railroad vine,
beach morning glory) xeric ground covers
(sea rocket, scaevola, beach cakile,
dune grass) and grading into associated
maritime shrubs (groundsel, saw palmetto,
cocoplum) and trees (sea grape, Jamaica
dogwood, gumbo limbo).
94
Table 5 (cont.)
17 Salt Marsh (1)
Predominant vegetation consists of more
than 50% of one or several species
of rushes (Juncus spp.) cordgrasses
(Spartin~ spp.) reeds (Phragmites
Cyperus , Scirpus ) and associated
halophytic graminoids (Distichlis
spp.). Trees, if present, are most
numerous around the margins, although
isolated tree islands may occur on
higher ground within the marsh proper.
r
I
I
18 Mangrove (1)
Mangrove trees of one or all three
species comprise more than 75% of
the total canopy and understory cover;
associated understory may also include
leather fern (Acrostichum spp.and
various salt-worts (Batis spp.) and
glassworts (Salicornia spp.) plus
various shrubby halophytes in higher
areas.
19 Sea Grass (1,3)
Submerged or periodically emergent
subtidal or littoral estuarine or marine
areas composed of 50 - 100% of marine
grasses, including turtle grass (Thalassia),
Cuban shoal grass (Halodule), manatee
grass (Syringodium) in mixed or mono-
cultures, and usually supporting a diverse
flora of marine algae.
20 Invaded (2-3)
Cypress Invaded
Cypress domes or strands which owing
logging, land-clearing, natural
fire or arson, have become invaded
with plants or trees able to tolerate
less extended hydroperiods including
noxious exotic species or weedy scrub-
shrub assemblages.
~oastal Prairie Invaded (2,3) Wet prairies which owing to logging,
land clearing, natural fire, arson
man-made distrubance (e.g. swamp
buggy trails) have become invaded
with native shrubs (e.g. wax myrtle
or cabbage palms), or noxious exotic
species.
Pineland Invaded (2,3) Pine flatwoods or pine barrens
invaded with noxious exotic species
or scrub-shrub assemblages as a
result of fire or land-clearing
activities.
95
Table 5 (cont.)
Salt ~~rsh Invaded (2)
Predominant vegetation as above, but
with shrubby halophytes (Baccharis
spp.) and more upland associated shrubs
(e.g. wax myrtle, Myrica ), trees
(Cabbage palm, Sabal palmetto ), and
freshwater marsh flora (cattails,
Typha spp.).
21 Altered (3)
Communities now almost totally
destroyed owing to natural or man-made
conditions but retaining definite
indications of the previous overstory
or biotope configuration.
l.
96
Table 6. Biotope Classes in Collier County
CLASS 1. Biotopes of highest quality, pristine or relatively
undisturbed:
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Mangrove Forests
Salt Water Marshes
Cypress Domes, Strands, Sloughs or Ponds
Coastal Prairies
Freshwater Marshes
Hardwood Hydric Hammocks
Pine Flatwoods
CLASS 2. As above but transitional via succession or alteration toward:
A) Class 1 (e.g. altered or invaded cypress strands)
B) Class 3 (e.g. pine barrens, invaded coastal prairies)
CLASS 3. Greatly modified vegetational assemblages:
A) Without well-defined biotop.e assemblages
B) With small, isolated, or remnant biotope assemblages
C) With areas heavily altered or destroyed by land clearing
D) With areas noticeably or completely invaded by exotic species
E) Non-recovered burned-over areas
. .
l
97
Table 7. Comparison of Freshwater biotopes in this report and natural
communities categories defined in the FNAI report
Biotope
Natural Community Category (FNAI)
Coastal Prairie
Terrestrial:
Terrestrial:
Palustrine:
Palustrine:
Paulstrine:
Pine Flatwoods
Terrestrial:
Palustrine:
Cypress Strands,
Sloughs or Ponds
Palustrine:
Palustrine:
Lacustrine:
Hardwood Hydric Hammock
Palustrine:
Freshwater Marsh
Palustrine:
-------------------------------------
Basin Wetlands; Basin Marsh
Mesic Flatlands; Dry Prairie
Mesic Flatlands; Prairie
Hammock
Floodplain Wetlands; Swale
Wet Flatlands; Marl Prairie
Wet Flatlands; Wet Prairie
Mesic Flatlands; Mesic
Flatwoods
Wet Flatlands; Wet Flatwoods
Floodplain Wetlands; Slough;
Strand Swamp
Basin Wetlands; Basin Marsh
(including Depression Marsh)
Dome Swamp (in part)
Flatwoods Prairie Lake,
Sinkhole Lake, Swamp Lake
Wet Flatlands; Hydric Hammock
Note: Biotope definitions and delineations in the resource
management literature have not.yet been standardized, owing to a continual
misconception by previous authors concerning the concepts of "habitat" versus
"biotope". For examples of some other classifications see Cowardin et al.
(1979), Palik & Lewis (1983) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (1978).
In this report the concept "biotope" sensu Hutchinson (1978) is
expanded and defined as follows:
A taxpnomically distinct and geographically circumscribed floral
and faunal assemblage consisting of one or a series of
repetitively occurring, ecologically associated, plant or animal
species, of which at least one can be considered either
numerically or ecologically dominant, and which can therefore be
used to characterize the assemblage.
"Habitats" consist of one or a combination of biologically,
hydrologically or geologically delineated areal units within a
biotope, which are usually occupied by a characteristic and
species-specific flora and fauna.
98
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4. Summary of Collier County Vegetational Features
A. COASTAL Zone
The predominant vegetational assemblages in Collier County south of
US 41 extend in four relatively well-defined, strips more or less
parallel to the coastline. Progressing from the estuary landward (and
generally northward) these are: (1) the mangrove forests, reticulated
coastal swamps, and their associated marine seagrass beds, located along
the margins of a series of bays beginning with Dollar Bay and extending
into and throughout the Ten Thousand Islands area; (2) the saltwater-
freshwater marshlands contiguous with and generally shoreward of the
marginal mangrove fringes along the entire southwest and southeastern
coast; (3) the maritime pine barrens and pine-cypress forests on the
higher COASTAL lands above the marshes; and (4) the maritime coastal
prairie-cypress dome systems in the freshwater drainage areas to the
northeast. (Figure 26).
Many of the major biotopes in the COASTAL zone are either completely
submerged or periodically inundated during tidal ingress. These
biotopes, which include the marine grassbeds, shallow bays and associated
mangrove and marsh wetlands, are recognized as important components of
the Collier County COASTAL ecosystem. Indeed, the mangrove forests in
the County are among the largest and least disturbed water-associated
ecosystems in the United States. These, and the adjacent salt and
freshwater marshes, provide the multitudes of organic materials and
detritus which forms the basis for the coastal food chain, and which
ultimately supports the abundant shellfish and finfish resources of
southwestern Florida. Moreover unaltered areas in the COASTAL Zone
ecosystem function not only as a haven for birds, fish and other
wildlife, but can also provide necessary refuge for those species that
have been driven from adjacent, heavily altered or extirpated ecological
systems.
B. INLAND Zone
In contrast to the alignment seen in COASTAL Zone vegetation, the
assemblages in the INLAND Zone (and UPLAND see below) tend to be aligned
either more or less north-south, or normal to the lower coastline. As
discussed earlier, this alignment is a consequence of hydrology,
particularly surface sheetflow and shallow subsurface groundwater
presence and flow pattern. Infrared satellite imagery, for example, shows
many .of these assemblages as a series of elongate straight or curved
lines oriented toward the south or to the southwestern coastline.
Moreover, in contrast to the relative simplicity of the COASTAL
vegetation (predominantly mangrove swamps or salt marshes) the interior
vegetation assumes an increased complexity, usually forming large,
speciose, and topographically diverse assemblages, particularly in the
less developed regions east of CR 951.
Most of the southwestern part of the COASTAL zone proper is
bordered on the interior (1. e. north and eastward) by this series of
undeveloped or only sparsely populated INLAND Zone wetlands, s~amps, or
fores ted and vege ta ted uplands. These biotopes, many of which further
100
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connect directly to UPLAND ecosystems. can be generally categorized as
cypress, pine or hardwood forests (or a mixture of these), and coastal
prairies and freshwater marshes. These INLAND wetlands and associated
drier lands are contiguous with the COASTAL Zone, and thus they are an
integral connecting component to all of the southwestern Florida
coastline ecosystems. The suite of biotopes forming a major portion of
the INLAND region east of SR 951. south of SR 84 (Alligator Alley) and
north of US 41 (Tamiami Trail) are contiguous in a north-south direction
throughout the entire coastal strip. The most pristine examples of these
biotopes are found scattered throughout the six easternmost INLAND Units.
As with the COASTAL Units many of these biotopes are periodically
inundated, but with freshwater, and hold standing water during part or
all of the rainy season. (Figure 27).
C. UPLAND Zone
The major biotopes in the UPLAND Zone can be synopsized as: (1)
more or less permanently inundated wetlands (marshes, lakes, swamps); (2)
periodically inundated semi-wetlands (hydrically transitional pinelands,
cypress-hardwood forests, coastal prairies); or (3) predominantly dry
lands (active or abandoned farmfields, pasturelands, pine-palmetto
flatwoods). These biotopes mor~ or less radiate outward from Immokalee
and generally proceed from north to southward, respectively.
The largest area of permanently standing water occurs above CR 846
in the vicinity of Immokalee where the Okaloacoochee and Corkscrew
Systems. Lake Trafford, and several smaller swamps and strands (e.g.
Baucom Cypress Swamp, Summerland Swamp, Rice Straw Strand) contain water
the year round. Extensive (and frequently nearly pristine) cypres~-
hardwood forests characterize these areas. Because large amounts of
seasonal surficial sheetflow still occurs, nearly all of the area south
of CR 846 experiences at least some standing water for periods of time
during June through September. In places, the permeability of the soils
and existing canals act quickly to remove much of this water. But a
perusal of aerial photographs still shows numerous ephemeral ponds and
mini-lakes, many being at one time viable cypress-dominated ponds before
logging during the late 1940's and 1950's changed their ecology forever.
False color infrared photography also clearly delimits areas which were
destroyed or heavily altered by such logging. At ground level these
regions are characterized by second growth maple, bay, dahoon, and laurel
oak forests which have sprung up in the interim. They tend to occupy the
old ,trand depressions and are rapidly maturing into lush, densely
forested successional ecosystems.
Scattered above CR 846 but increasing in areal extent below that
highway are several less hydrophilic biotopes. Predominant among these
are pine-cypress assemblages, pine-cabbage palm-palmetto hammocks and
pine flatwoods. Remnants of coastal prairies. and even some relatively
undisturbed cypress domes attest to a previously longer hydroperiod.
Standing water usually does not now occur year around, and most of theae
biotopes are inundated, or flushed only seasonally, during the now
fore-shortened hydroperiod resulting from Golden Gate Canal System
drawdown.
102
--- .-.......
The higher lands both above and below CR 846 support pine flatwoods,
and mixed pine barren assemblages, and scattered pine-cabbage palm-
palmetto hammocks. Many of these areas were converted to farmlands in the
1920's and 1930's and much of the area particularly south of Randall Blvd
and east of De Soto Blvd remains active and productive. Other lands, now
fallow, have reverted to a weedy scrub-shrub assemblage which exhibits
evidence of repeated fire damage. (cf. Figure 20, p. ).
D. Other Vegetational Systems
Interspersed within each of these major systems are numerous
subsystems consisting of numerically dominant species-groupings that
reflect more localized ecological conditions. Some examples are the
sabal palm-halophyte islands east of Collier-Seminole State Park, the
isolated tropical hardwood hammock islands within portions of the COASTAL
mangrove forest, and the high island xeric communities seen on Horr' s
Island, or in their remnant state on southeastern Marco Island.
Ecotones, or transitional vegetational assemblages, also are found
between one dominant community and another. Of no less importance than
the major biotopes just delineated, ecotones function either as
intergradational areas for plant species in major waterflow regions, or
as species refugia for those plants which would be outcompeted, or which
are excluded by resident ecological factors from growing in any
abundance, in the larger adjacent systems.
In several delimited areas large stands of RUE (Rare, Unique or
Endangered) vegetational assemblages occur (q. v. p. 3). Examples of
these include a mature coastal hardwood (predominantly oak) hammock on
Cannon Island, a unique Mastic-Gumbo Limbo hammock on Little Marco Island
adjacent to Cannon Island, a complex and now unique high island xeric-
hydric forest community ou Horr's I~land, and large hydric cypress-maple-
oak forests in the Camp Keasis and Fakahatchee Units. North of US 41
large nearly pristine pine flatwoods, and mixed swamp hydric hardwood
strands ("swamps") are found from east of SR 951 to the Turner River and
Big Cypress Units in the INLAND and UPLAND Zones.
5. Vegetation, Drought and Fire
Drought and fire go hand in hand in Collier County. Prolonged
periods of little or no rainfall, particularly in the spring following
the nQrmally dry winter months, coupled with human and agricultural water
usage, can cause serious drawdown of canals and water tables and lead to
over-drying of vegetation. If summer rainfall (historically and
climatically the period of highest precipitation, particularly if caused
by hurricanes and tropical storms) fails to meet quotas then serious
drought conditions arise (e.g. during 1954-1956, 1970-1971). With the
great increase in residential development in the south, and agriculture
and citrus crops in the north County, such a situation becomes
increasingly possible, particularly as Florida's weather follows what
appears to be a cyclical trend between superabundance, adequacy, and
serious deficiency in rainfall (see Thomas 1974).
103
~'~'S""~'.I"'"
Fire has played an important role in the evolution of South Florida
ecosystems. Subsurface layers of charcoal and ash as well as burn scars
on pine and cypress trees indicate that fire has long been a part of the
environment. Prior to the arrival of modern man, the severity and
impact of wildfires was tied closely to the seasonal and annual
variation in the hydrological cycle. Fires which occurred during the
summer as a result of lightning strikes were most often restricted to
elevated areas where standing water was not present. Only during
periods of severe drought did wildfires extend into the deeper
sterands. Those plants occurring in areas with a long hydroperiod are
not as adapted to fire survival as those growing in prairies and pine
flatwoods which are dry for most of the year. As droughts are prolonged
and the frequency of fire increases, communities not adapted to
periodic fire are replaced by others that are more tolerant.
The beneficial and detrimental effects of fire have been thus well
documented, especially in regard to maintenance of pineland versus
hardwood forests, control of understory and resultant litter, burn down
of accumulated soils and peats, destruction of native species and
invasion of exotic species, and promotion of new forage for cattle (see
Bamberg 1979; The Conservancy, Inc. 1986, for summaries).
Particularly in the INL~~ Ecosystem an important result of
modifications of the waterflow systems, coupled with the extensive
clearing of certain areas, has been the increased potential for frequent,
intense and spatially extensive fires. It is true that many of the
INLAND (and UPLAND) biotopes are fire-ecology systems which require
burning over a periodic cycle to maintain system status. However, the
hotter and more massive fires (whether naturally occuring or the result
of arson) have totally devastated much of these remnant ecosystems in the
north and central I~~ Zone. area. Recovery, if it occurs at all, is
usually slow and torturous, with the noxious exotic species such as
Brazilian pepper or melaleuca becoming rapidly established in the absence
of viable competition by native plant species (see Hofstetter 1974).
While it may seem unlikely that any type of disastrous fire could
occur in the UPLAND Zone owing to the large areas of wetlands, and the
almost equally large areas of cleared agricultural and citrus lands, such
is not always the case. In a detailed survey of fire causation,
consequences, and monetary impacts The Conservancy, Inc. (1986) listed
several fire prone or fire devastated areas within the northern Camp
Keasis (Golden Gate Estates) area.
.
Although much fire damage occurs within the middle and lower Camp
Keasis and Belle Meade Units, fire consequences in the Big Corkscrew
Island Fire District (the northern sections of Camp Keasis, Belle Meade
and Corkscrew Units) were "negligible" because of its sparse population.
In another interesting conclusion, this same report stated that sections
of land in Golden Gate Estates adjacent to or near Golden Gate City
burn from 10-16 times more frequently than other areas of the Estates
(Camp Keasis Unit). Fire thus plays a significant role in this Zone,
whether deliberately set (controlled burn), maliciously set (arson) or
naturally ignited (lightuing strikes, spontaneous combustion). Although
10 ~
~~~......-....; -
part of their statistical treatment of rainfall: fire occurrence is not
completely valid (data for 4 of 5 successive years in their regression
analysis were not considered), their data do show that fire continues to
be an important, and at times catastrophic, factor in this Unit.
Data summarized in Table 7-2 of the Conservancy Report show that:
". . . Collier County experienced more than twice as many acres burned as
Lee County and almost six times as many acres burned as Hendry County.
Since the number of fires in Collier County was only about 20% more than
in Lee County, the mean acreage burned per fire was significantly higher
in Collier (88.9) than in Lee (53.8). Hendry County, which experienced
26 percent as many fires as Collier also had a significantly lower mean
acreage burned per fire (57.6) than Collier. II (The Conservancy, Inc.
1986:75).
5. Wetland Alteration ~ !!! Consequences
The destruction of wetlands by drainage and filling as well as the
loss of wetland function by modification and alteration has already had
a number of profound and long-term effects on the natural enviromnent of
South Florida and on the suitability of the area as a site for future
population growth (Hamann, 1982).
It is now known that draining, filling or otherwise altering
wetlands Significantly reduces their capacity to store water. Fresh
water falling as rain is quickly drained by canals and shunted to the
Gulf. Drainage operations diminish the retention of water by the
wetlands and the recharge of aquifers. Drainage results in less water
available for the maintenance of vegetative cover during the dry season
and for human use. In addition, because these surface water flowways
are often eventually converted to fields or residential lots s.evere
storm rainfall that is not adequately handled by canal systems produces
extensive flooding of these former wetland areas.
The elimination of standing water in wetlands by drainage often
results in the loss of organic soils vital to the survival and
re-establishment of wetland species. Following drainage, a rapid
breakdown or organic materials occur because of the exposure of these
soils to air. In addition, (as noted above) the elimination of standing
water increases the susceptibility of these areas to fire. Periodic
burni~g of drained watlands speeds up the elimination of deep wetland
habitats not adapted to repeated burns. Aerial observations of Collier
County wetlands that have been drained reveals evidence of burned-over
cypress heads and cypress swamps now colonized by fire-tolerant exotic
plants such as melaleuca and Brazilifn pepper, as well as palms, pines,
and palmettos. Fires which destroy peat make it very difficult for
wetland species to become re-established. Organic wetland soils hold more
water than sand. Reducing or eliminating these soils greatly diminishes
the capacity of drained wetlands to hold water.
105
Wetland loss can also affect salt water intrusion. Because it is
less dense than salt water, fresh water floats above salt water when the
two occur together. In the porous sediments underlying South Florida,
fresh water exists in aquifers that overlie a lower wedge of salt
extending interiorly from the Gulf. In theory, for every foot of fresh
water that extends above sea level forty feet occur below sea level.
Wetlands hold salt water at a greater depth by the maintenance of a
freshwater head above sea level. When wetlands are drained the preseure
of the hydrostatic head is reduced, the salt water rises, and the aquifer
becomes brackish. This process, known as salt water intrusion, has
caused the abandonment of coastal well fields and their subsequent
movement far inland.
The dra~nage of wetlands results in the degradation of water
quality. the elimination of wetland plants and the diversion of sheet
flow into man-made canals destroys the ability of wetlands to filter
storm runoff. Former wetlands converted to agricultural fields,
.residential lots, or commercial sites also introduce pollutants not
present in the original wetland systems.
Altering the water characteristics and plant cover of wetlands
reduces their productivity and ,opens these areas to invasion by exotic
plants. Melaleuca, Brazilian pepper, and downy rosemyrtle have been
introduced by man into south Florida and are rapidly colonizing altered
wetlands. Drainage or other forms of alteration also reduce the value of
wetlands as habitat for fish and wildlife because primary steps in the
food chain are eliminated and nesting areas are destroyed. In addition,
subtle changes in the water cycle of wetlands can affect wildlife
populational biology because of the close tie between the breeding cycles
and water conditions.
The des truc tion of wetlands, both freshwater and sal twa ter , also
affects estuarine lagoons. Point-source discharge of interior waters may
alter water quality and upset natural hydrological cycles. The reduction
of organic productivity from fringing wetlands in turn alters the
productivity of the estuaries and has far reaching effects on fish and
other wildlife. The elimination of coastal wetland vegetation from
intertidal areas reduces the storm protection and results in increased
erosion of interior shorelines formerly stablized by wetland species.
6. Summary:
Of the approximately 1650 species of plants in Florida over 850
species of plants are indigenous to southern Florida (Davis 1943). This
includes 90 species of trees, and probably a greater number than found
anywhere else in the United States except the Great Smoky Mountains,
where about 100 species are found. Moreover, there are 125 species of
small trees and shrubs, 8 native palm species, 130 species of grasses,
and 90 species of epiphytic and terrestrial orchids (Luer 1972, Gore,
personal observation) , and approximately 10 species of epiphytic
bromeliads, with several species in either group on the rare or
endangered species list.
106
.21..Jil..'-"-"t~
Because of the rapid development that has occurred, an extremely
large number of introduced landscaping species, plus an unknown number of
escapees or colonizing migrant forms, are present in the county. Many of
these forms are able to effectively compete with native species when
they escape from cultivation and several (Meleleuca, Casuarina, Schinus)
have formed large, thick and nearly impenetrable forests in the area,
much to the detriment or even total elimination of local forms.
With continued development, and continued introduction by nurserymen
of such exotics it is safe to say that there is no way to effectively
stop their competition, and to attempt to eliminate these species by
chemical or other means would be both prohibitively expensive and
environmentally catastrophic.
Fortunately, large areas of the county maintain nearly pure strands
and forests (e.g. Rhizophora-Avicennia, Pinus spp., Spartina-Juncus,
Quercus-Serenoa, etc.) 80 that seeding by exotics tends to be
prevented, or if it occurs, to become swamped by competition from native
forms. Unfortunately, continued real estate development usually requires
total elimination (or at least massive disturbance) of such stands,
thereby opening the way for exotic incursions. The fragile ecolos.:y of
the native flora, tied as it is to a soil-poor, water-rich substratum
allows little forgiveness once disturbed, and generally the ecosystem
deteriorates at a varying pace, depending on how severe the original
impact has been.
Coupled with landscaping efforts, and the large-scale development of
seemingly endless numbers of golf courses, is the detrimental
consequence, of fertilizer and pesticide applications to these areas.
On the one hand, eutrophication of standing or slowly moving surface
waters results, whereas on the other the delicate balance between
predaceous and herbivorous insects in permanently altered. It is
doubtful that any system will ever come back into equilibrium in this
respect and continued development probably signals the doom of many
native, non-landscape as well as landscape-oriented plants.
107
.......Joo.o...._ ."...~
RELATIONSHIPS OF GEOLOGY, HYDROLOGY, AND BIOLOGY IN COLLIER COUNTY
1. Water Use and Availabliity in Florida
The most important result obtained from a 5 year investigation
by Coastal Zone Management in Collier County is that fresh water both
shapes and controls the development of this County. Maintaining clean
water, providing adequate supplies and avoiding the potential for drought
are as much a problem for growth management as its overabundance,
eventual misuse, and subsequent waste. But the conclusion is also
inescapable that to fully understand these ramifications requires an
in-depth appreciation of Florida's geology, hydrology and ecology, and
how these factors have worked to form Collier County. Unfortunately,
this appreciation is not overly evident in the County today. Too often,
water control is equated with water removal, in spite of the generally
accepted knowledge that removal not only wastes Collier County's most
precious resource, but consequently degrades its ambient ecosystems which
have developed over evolutionary time as a result of that resource.
Perhaps the best way to appreciate the importance of water in Collier
County is to look first at the factors that control its abundance in the
State.
The amount and availability of water for any purpose can be
determined using the Water Budget Equation:
Pt + If - Et + Of + Cu + DSt
where Pt - Precipitation
If - Inflow (surficial)
Et - Evaporation/transpiration (vegetational)
Of - Outflow via runoff or canalization
Cu - Consumptive use
DSt - Change in the total Storage Factor (Impoundments)
It is easily seen that as long as the left side of the equation equals
the right there will be sufficient water available. If Pt and If
increase then the potential for excess water will occur. This may
result in flooding, but might also result in an abundance which could
conceivably be made available for greater consumptive use (Cu) if stored
in new or larger impoundments (DSt). On the other hand, a decrease in
precipation (Pt) and concomitant decrease in surficial inflow (If) can
quickly lead to drought conditions if the other factors on the right
side of the equation are not adjusted accordingly (Betz 1984).
It has been estimated that in a non-drought year over 150 billion
gallons of water fall on Florida each day (Fernald 1984). Over 40
billion gallons of this is lost to the sea in runoff, and another 60-80
billion gallons is lost through evaporation, transpiration, and other
natural usage. The remainder is stored in the aquifers, from which over
550 municipal, county and private water systems withdraw almost one
billion gallons a day. Another 320 million gallons a day are withdrawn
for domestic, farm, commerce and livestock use. A summary and ranking
of county water usage in comparison to Collier County is given in Table 3.
~<1 "'r .....0 '.
108
All of the above is predicated on the continuing use and
availability of groundwaters in subterranean aquifers beneath the
State. Of critical importance to Florida's water supply and functioning
as primary recharge areas, are the 8.3 million acres of wetlands, swamps
and marshes that comprise about 22% of the State. Yet over 5 million
acres of wetlands have been "reclaimed" since 1955. The concomitant
loss in floodwater storage, erosion control, aquifer recharge, water
quality improvement, wildlife habitat, runoff protection, barrier to
saltwater intrusion, and as nutrient and pollution sinks is
incalculable. One study placed a dollar value on wetlands of
$4000/acre/year (Fernald 1984).
The critical nature of Florida's water supply has long been
recognized. At the Govenor's Conference on Water Management in 1971 it
was stated:
"There is a water crisis in South Florida today. This crisis has
long range aspects. Every major water area in the South Florida Basin,
Everglades National Park, the conservation areas, Lake Okeechobee and
the Kissimmee Valley is steadily deteriorating in quality from a variety
of polluting sources. The. quantity of water, though potentially
adequate for today' s demand, cannot now be managed effectively over
wet/dry cycles to assure a minimum adequate supply in extended drought
periods."
To further understand the critical nature of water both in Collier
County and throughout the state one must comprehend the importance of
the following facts (cf Betz 1984):
FACT: Most of Florida's water 1s stored in aquifers and not on the
surface in reservoirs.
FACT: 50% of the State of Florida obtains its drinking water from
rainfall (i.e. all of the state south of a line extending from Cedar Key
on the Gulf Coast to New Smyrna Beach on the Atlantic Coast).
FACT:
70-77% of all the rain falls between May and October.
FACT: Most of the rainwater in Florida is stored in aquifers and not
in surface reservoirs.
FACT: Only 25% of this rainfall water is potentially available for
human-use owing to evaporation and vegetative transpiration.
FACT: Over 78% of the permanent population in the state lives in the
"50%" area (Le. south of Cedar Key - New Smyrna Beach line).
FACT: The population in the "50%" area is totally dependent on
rainwater and stored aquifer water.
FACT: The purity of both surface and aquifer water is a functio~ of
the existing ecosyst~ms, uncontaminated soils, and areal extent of
wetlands.
109
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Betz (1984: 124) further pointed out that:
"Because the greatest human demand for water occurs during the dry
months, users must then draw from water stored during the preceding wet
months. But storing water in the wet months necessarily entails letting
it accumulate on the land to give it time to seep slowly down into the
aquifers. The price for having adequate stores of water for the dry
months and dry years is to tolerate or even encourage a certain amount
of flooding during the wet times. The price for developing wetlands and
recharge areas by extensive drainage is a more severe water shortage when
the rains do not come."
2. Water Use and Availability in Collier County
Perhaps no where else in Collier County is the presence, absence or
relative abundance of freshwater of such an overriding concern as it is
in the UPLAND Zone. When the total areal extent of all the sloughs,
marshes, strands and lakes are considered, this Zone has more square
miles of standing or flowing freshwater than the INLA1~ Zone. Only the
COASTAL Zone has a larger overall areal extent of water in its
mangrove-forested Ten Thousand Ialands area. But it is the availability
and use of the UPLAND Zone water supply that will eventaully determine
not only how the INLAND and COASTAL Zone ecosystems survive, but also
our way of life and economy in the future.
It must also not be forgotten that Collier County is at the lower
"end of the creek" in relation to groundwater supplies. * At least 10
Florida counties to the north tap directly or indirectly into the
Floridan Aquifer, and the shallow aquifer is also utilized by its
immediate neighbors of Lee, Hendry and Glades Counties. With populational
pressures continually increasing on the east coast of Florida, both
Broward and Dade Counties may begin to explore the feasibility of drawing
from the Tamiami Aquifer once the Biscayne Aquifer (their prime potable
water supply) is exhausted or polluted.
3. Population, Agriculture and Future Water Usuage
In Collier County, as noted earlier, water is available from two
primary sources, the Tamiami and shallow surficial (Anastasia) aquifer,
and the deep well Floridan Aquifer. Insofar as agriculture is
concerned, water from either the Tamiami Formation, or the Floridan
Aquifer can be adequate. Although the latter tends to have a higher
chlorinity (i.e. it is very slightly brackish) it can be used in some
agriculture.
* In this instance Collier County's situation is analogous to the
State's where four of the five largest rivers entering Florida originate
in Georgia or Alabama. As Fernald (1984) emphasizes: "It is important
for Florida to know what wastes Georgia and Alabama place in our waters."
III
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Residential water comes from shallow aquifers. However, deep
aquifer water can conceivably be used for potable residential supplies
after treatment. And, of course, the possibility for desalinization or
ion-exhange distillation of Gulf of Mexico waters remains a viable
(albeit very expensive) alternative.
In Collier County a burgeoning population and expanding
agriculture, particularly citrus, if not carefully managed and regulated
will extract a great price on the present water-based ecosystems that
define the very essence of the County. Because these ecosystems
occur over aquifer recharge areas they assume an equally critical role in
maintaining a potential potable water supply. If these karst-formed
aquifers are polluted by residential or agricultural development the
chances are they will remain that way forever.
Over 85% of freshwater withdrawal in Collier County is used for
irrigation (Table 8; cf. Fernald & Patton 1984). Because agricultural
development is interested in obtaining and holding a good, consistent
water supply it made sense, historically, to place farm and citrus fields
near the water-rich soils of freshwater marshes and swamps. Until
recently, such areas were considered to be relatively worthless for
anything but agriculture and most were zoned that way. However, a mass
of data on Collier County's aquifers and hydrological regimes (Parker and
Cook 1944; Klein 1954, 1972, 1980; McElery 1961; Sherwood & Klein 1961;
McCoy 1962, 1967, 1972, 1975; Tabb et ale 1976; CHLM Hill, 1982; Knapp et
ale 1986) have changed this view substantially, and repeatedly emphasized
the importance of marshes and swamps for water storage and purification.
Much development is underway, particularly alongside and within the
critical wetlands areas of the Corkscrew, Camp Keasis, Fakahatchee and
Turner River Units. The rapid growth of citrus-dominated agricultural
lands in the Corkscrew-Lake Trafford System on the west, and adjacent to
the Okaloacoochee Slough System on the east, may soon degrade the
existing surface water and eventually the shallow aquifer as well.
Because "Agricultural science is largely a race between the emergence of
new pests and the emergence of new techniques for their control. t1, the
necessity for using pesticides, fungicides, and high nutrient
fertilizers, not only will contribute to, but will ensure the
inevitability of this degradation.
The Collier County Planning Department has projected a County-wide
population increase to 150,600 people by 1990, and a total of 258,900
people by 2005 just 15 years later. Residential development will
therefore need large amounts of this same water, and at a substantially
higher level of potability than that required for field crops. But it
also requires the water to be under the ground not on its surface, and
is thus at odds with the acting constraints of the County's geology and
hydrology.
4. The UPLAND-INLAND-COASTAL Ecosystem Interlock
Davis (1943) noted the close relationship among topography, drainage
features, soils, and biological conditions, in Collier County and stated
that a particularly important correspondence exists between the kinds of
flora and fauna in an area and the existing topography and water
112
conditions. He drew attention to the undulating and partly dissected
Flatland plains produced by erosional activities along old sea terraces,
and pointed out the correspondence among the complex topography,
hydrology and biology of the Big Cypress watershed. To quote (1943:
110) :
"We may conclude, therefore, that the types of vegetation in southern
Florida are probably as much influenced by the amount of soil water as
any other of the conditions of the physical environment."
As previously noted, the Big Cypress Watershed is not only an
important recharge area for the shallow surficial and Tamiami Formation
aquifers, but provides the major surface region for overland sheetflow
during the wet season as well. This sheetflow is important in carrying
nutrients throughout the system, maintaining the requisite hydroperiods
for the endemic vegetational assemblages found therein, and for adding
the slow and measured amounts of freshwater required for maintenance of
estuarine ecological health.
The Big Cypress Watershed thus becomes one of the most important
factor in maintaining the UPLAND-INLAND-COASTAL hydrological-ecological
interlock. This is accomplished not only by the aforementioned seasonal
overland sheetflows, but also via a system of permanent strands, sloughs,
swamps and marshes which originate in the northern sectors of Collier
County (in the UPLAND Zone) and extend in a more or less north-south
direction through the INLAND Zone downward toward the estuaries and the
Ten Thousand Islands in the COASTAL Zone. The wider biological
importance of this connection was previously noted by Klein et al. (1970)
who stated:
liThe biota of the Big Cypress is interrelated with that of the Everglades
National Park; many species migrate between the two areas."
As Collier County becomes increasingly developed these connections
will become increasingly important, particularly in the northern areas of
the County. In fact, it is precisely because of earlier geological
conditions that the UPLAND Zone of Collier County remains so important,
not only as a major agricultural area, but also as the single most
critical zone for maintaining the hydrological and ecological integrity
of the INLAND and COASTAL Zones below it. Moreover, it is because of
this importance that the most careful consideration must be given to any
propo~ed development, whether agricultural or residential, throughout
that area.
5. Effects of Development and Alteration on Ecosystem Interlock
Before alteration and development by man, the vegetational and
physiographical relationships of Collier County's COASTAL ecosystems
extended northward to link with similar systems in Lee County, and
southward to blend with the coastal ecosystems of the Everglades in
Monroe County. The INLAND and UPLAND systems, in turn, reached
northeastward and southeastward to unite with the coastal prairies and
pine and cypress islands of Hendry, Broward and Dade County, and
eventually also merged into the vast sawgrass and hammock-dotted plains
of the Everglades (Conservation Foundation, 1968).
113
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Now, because many areas in the COASTAL Zone north of Gordon Pass
have been completely altered, or are presently undergoing massive
destruction through developmental land clearing, the remaining COASTAL
ecosystems have become restricted to four main areas south of US 41.
These are (1) the Keewaydin Island-Rookery Bay estuarine lagoon and
coastal barrier systems in Water Management District No.6; (2) the large
and relatively undisturbed seagrass-mangrove-saltmarsh systems north of
Marco Island and east of SR 951, which extend to SR 92 in the Belle Meade
and Camp Keasis districts; (3) the vast reticulated coastal mangrove
swamps east of Marco Island comprising the western Ten Thousand Islands,
plus the associated freshwater marshes occurring from SR 92 eastward to
SR 29 in the Fakahatchee district; and (4) the complex reticulated
mangrove swamp-salt/freshwater marsh-cypress forest-coastal prairie
systems of the eastern Ten Thousand Islands area and the associated
maritime margins east of SR 29. These extend eastward into Dade and
Broward Counties.
The vegetational systems noted above all intergrade in one form or
another into the COASTAL estuarine system of Florida Bay. This region,
including the Ten Thousand Islands area, has been characterized as:
"...a complex system of tidal :creeks and mangrove swamps with islands
separated by shallow tidal lagoons and natural passes. Sand beaches are
infrequent in this area." (Warinner et a!. 1976).
This same report notes that important habitat and nursery grounds
for estuarine-dependant fish and shellfish, including commercially
exploited stock, occur throughout the region. At least 13 endangered
species of mammals and birds are found in these estuarine systems or rely
on them in some manner.
The distinctness of these connecting systems is especially apparent
in the INLAND regions north of US 41 along SR 84 (Alligator Alley) where
a noticeable transition from saltwater halophytes to freshwater sawgrass
prairie to cypress dome prairie can be seen in a 5-10 mile stretch
between western Broward and eastern Collier County. Both the COASTAL and
INLAND SYSTEMS depend on the quality, quantity and seasonal flow rate of
the shalllow subsurface and surface sheetflow from the north. It is now
known that the maintenance, and more importantly, the overall
productivity of the estuarine flora and fauna is dependent on this
sheetflow, relying on it for transfer of nutrients and the general
lowering of salinities during its extended seasonal occurrence (see
Twilley, 1985.
Most of the INLAND biotopes not only form an ecological continuum
with the COASTAL biotopes south to US 41, but with the UPLAND biotopes
north of SR 84 as well. For example, the biotopes which constitute the
Fakahatchee Strand biome extend from the coastal margins bounded by
Pumpkin Bay on the west and Chokoloskee Bay on the east, northward to the
Okaloacoochee Slough and beyond into Hendry County (Fakahatchee Strand
State Preserve Management Plan, 1987). According to that report the
Fakahatchee Strand is also hydrologically linked to the Everglades
National Park to the southeast. The Belle Meade Coastal Zone has also
been shown to be ecologically contiguous in part with the lagoonal
114
estuaries composing the Rookery Bay system (Rookery Bay Management Plan,
draft 1986), and is hydrologically tied to the north Golden Gate Estates
and Corkscrew land area as well.
It is therefore clear that the more these INLAND and UPLAND water--
recharge areas are damaged, from whatever cause, the greater will be the
associated impact on the COASTAL biotopes. The Everglades/Ten Thousand
Islands systems are acutely sensitive to freshwater supplies, so that
severe curtailment of freshwater inflow can be expected to decrease
overall amounts of mangrove and marshland habitats, affect salinities and
flushing of waters through these systems, and induce additional
phsiological stress on the fauna and flora.
Reinforcing this aspect, Carter et a1. (1973) have noted that:
"The potential consequences of poor surface water conservation practices
have serious economic as well as ecological implications. The apparent
superabundance of water in south Florida is a pernicious illusion.
Without adequate water reserves the inevitable series of low rainfall
years will impose economic hardships on the human population of south
Florida. Effective surface water control schemes should involve the
utilization of natural ecolog~cal systems, which incorporate water
conservation "practices" as part' of their normal functioning."
6. Parks. Preserves and Enviromentally Critical Lands (Figures 28, 29,
30).
One way to keep the requisite water stored both above and below ground is
to use Parks, Preserves and Environmentally Critical Lands as water
conservation areas. As Odom and his co-workers (1975) and Brown (1978,
1981) have shown, wetlands are exceedingly 1mpor~ant not only for
short-term water retention, but also for long-term storage and water
purification as well. Brown (1978, '1981), for example, suggested that
cypress ecosystems not only conserve water but increase the hydroperiod.
In a reodel of the Green Swamp area she found that removal of 80% of the
wetlands associated with the Green Swamp would reduce the available water
to the associated region by 45%. Water savings resulting from wetlands
were 96,000 acre-ft/year.
In the UPLAND Zone there are several natural water-conservation
areas immediately available, viz. Corkscrew Marsh, Lake Trafford,
Corks~rew and Bird Rookery Swamps, Okaloacoochee Slough, Big Marsh, and
East Hinson Marsh. Development within these natural, easily-protected
basins should be severely (if not totally) restricted. In the INLAND Zone
the Southern Golden Gate Estates below SR 84, the Fakahatchee Strand,
and Big Cypress Preserve function similarly and must be completely
protected. Many rare and endangered species (McCoy 1981) use these areas
as major refuges. (see also Table 8).
Of equal importance to hydrological solutions, however, is the
maintenance of the ecology within the systems. It is now apparent that
a major committment must be made to ~reserve representative old growth
systems (both wet and dry) still extant in Collier County. This will
ensure their continued viability as functioning wetlands, and enhance
their function as species source-pool areas. Although the main wetland
115
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areas having sufficient acreage (i.e. greater than 200 acres) to serve
as replacement continents are located in the eastern portion of the
County (e.g. Big Cypress National Preserve, Fakahatchee Strand) there
are remnant areas in the southeastern Colden Gste Estates below Stewart
Blvd, in the northeastern Estates in the Stumpy Strand area, and
throughout the northeastern and northwestern Corkscrew Unit
(Okaloacoochee Slough, Lake Trafford) which can function as replacement
islands in a north-south directed archipelago. These areas can serve as
floral-faunal conservation areas and ensure representative gene pool
availability as well.
Harris (1984) has emphasized that old growth islands must be placed
in strategic positions relative to large preserves, where possible. The
overall system thus has a much higher probability of conserving aud
enhancing the local faunal and floral resources. Such an intergrated
system of preserves old growth islands and localized biotopes can serve
in place of the original continent of continuous habitat and attendant
species that once existed in an area. If diverse enough it can also
serve as ~ species source pool, enchancing both dispersal and maintenance
of adaptable native species, although it may never be as rich or diverse
as the original unaltered region.
In a later paper, Noss and Harris (1986) wrote:
"A comprehensive approach to conservation of native diversity, however,
must include representatives of each indigenous ecosystem type in each
landscape. and whenever possible in natural relative abundance and
juxtaposition patterns. . . certain sites [should] receive top priority
for protection in a landscape; but to function in perpetuity, these sites
must be buffered, interconnected and ermitted to interact with surround in
natural habitats. My emphasis .
The concept of Critical Ecological Corridor is based on these
ideas. Using the analogy that continental or landbridge islands that
become isolated by vicariance events from a larger species pool area
will ultimately support more species than comparable oceanic islands,
Harris held that:
" . . . old growth islands that can be salvaged from existing large
tracts will be superior to those derived from the development of
isolated replacement stands."
That "is, sundered strands will be biologically more desirable (with a
larger species pool) than re-developed assemblages. The ideal strategy
thus is 1) conservation of remnant old growth stands; 2) establishment
o_Ladjacent replacement stands (to replace the ageing old growth areas);
and 3) provision to allow reinvasion into both areas by species that
have become locally extirpated. As Noss and Harris (1986) have noted.
the ultimate indicators of success or failure within such networks are
the most demanding species (e.g. large carnivores like the Florida
Panther or Black Bear).
120
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The presently existing species-pool system includes the "continents"
of Everglades National Park, Big Cypress National Preserve, and the
Fakahatchee Strand State Preserve. The associated "archipelagos" are
the Okaloacoochee Marsh, Lake Trafford, Corkscrew Marsh and Swamp, the
smaller isolated swamps and strands south of Lake Trafford, the Golden
Gate remnant Strands, and portions of the eastern Belle Meade Unit in
both the UPLAND and INLAND Zones. However, in delineating these areas it
must be remembered that the "continental" source pool for old growth
"islands" is also subject to extirpation if land development or
euvironmental alteration goes unchecked. Sundering of portions of the
Fakahatchee System, for example, will result in a series of smaller and
smaller undisturbed islands which eventually will be surrounded by an
urbanized or agriculturally-altered "sea", with no continental source
pool left from which to draw their species compliment. The end result
will be minimal immigration and colonization from remnant island to
island by a severely depauperate biota.
Noss and Harris (1986) point out that fragmentation of habitats
into small or isolated "islands" creates two formidable problems: 1)
How to prevent the loss of large, wide-ranging or ecologically
specialized species that cannot. be contained within the now undersized
patches (or which are now surr~unded by human disturbed areas); and 2)
How to modify or control the increasing domination of the undersized
patches by opportunistic species that are characteristic of humanized
landscapes. Recent evidence in"Collier County dealing with the probable
extirpation of the Florida Panther and Everglades Kite, on the one hand,
and the large colonization of Brazilian Pepper and Melaleuca trees on the
other, emphasizes these problems.
7. How Much is Enough?
One might conceivably argue that with over 50% of the County
already in "Parks and Preserves" status there should be little need to
set aside more lands under any, sort of environmental restrictions. This
is a myopic viewpoint based on a superficial appreciation of what
preservation-conservation lands really are. Existing reserves are more
than just areas set aside to "protect" nature, provide scenery, and
promote recreational opportunities. For in such a case they would be
little more than open air zoos or gardens. Proponents of this
philosophy fail to appreciate that a natural ecosystem must have
sufficient area to not only contain, but maintain its characteristic
speci~s of animals ~and plants (Noss & Harris 1986). Thus, the
maintenance of biological diversity extends beyond simply establishing
boundaries for nature preserves, but of necessity must include
hydrological and ecological considerations as well. Indeed, and as
emphasized above, a primary function of such preserves must also be to
maintain watersheds.
The "enough" viewpoint also totally ignores the. , existing
hr~rological situation in Collier County where water flowways 1) enter
f"rom" outside the county; 2) pass predominantly from northeast to
southwest; 3) function best in their historical mode, that of slowly
channeling seasonally large amounts of surface water toward the
121
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estuaries; and 4) are therefore absolutely critical for aquifer
recharge. Unfortunately, these flowways often also occupy large areas
scheduled for or undergoing residential and agricultural development.
Such develpment was, and always will be, constrained at least in part by
the geological and hydrological history of Southwest Florida. "
Unfortunately, the proponents of this development have too often chosen
to ignore these constraints with the resulting adverse consequences
(e.g. Golden Gate estates).
8. Recommendations and Implementation
It is pertinent to emphasize two unassailable facts. First of all,
there can be no doubt that Collier County is a water-dependent County.
This water occurs above its land area in the seasonal rains and
occasional hurricanes that occur; on its land surface in the standing
water and overland sheetflow produced by precipitation; and below its
surface in the vast "leaky roofed" aquifers of the Anastasia and Tamiami
Formations. Second, it is absolutely false to consider any portion of
Collier County completely isolated, in an ecological sense, from any
other. portion. The fact that the majority of biotopes in the County are
water-based, water-supported, water-tolerant, or water-connected provides
the best argument for this interrelationship.
To ensure that adequate amounts of clean water will exist to supply
the projected increases in population, and that the presently existing
ecosystems remain viable, the identification and establishment of CEC,
RUE and RFD areas must be accomplished as soon as possible. .Fa1lur.~
to safe&uard, the hydrological and ecological systems still remaining in
"the north County will eventually place in jeopardy much of the connecting
systems to the south, with the ultimate impact being felt in Collier
County's estuarine systems.
These environmentally critical areas should be established in
addition to maintaining presently existing Parks and Preserves. The
Fakahatchee Strand, for example, is listed as an Outstanding Florida
Water (Appendix in Fernald & Patton 1984), but is still not out of
danger from surficial or groundwater pollution from the ag1cultural
concerns to the north. (see also Gore 1985 b) The establishment of Lake
Trafford as an Aquatic Preserve would do much to ensure good water
quality in the Corkscrew-Lake Trafford System. Yet agricultural
development around Immokalee threatens that system as well.
..
Harris (1984) noted that most national parks and nature reserves
will rapidly become green islands surrounded by agriculture, logging
operations, or urbanization. In Collier County this has already begun
al9pg the barrier i~lands (see Martens, 1931, Kurz, 1942 for historical
perspective) and with the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, and portions of the
Fakahatchee Strand State Preserve. Logging has already taken its toll in
the Big Cypress, Fakahatchee and Camp Keasis Units, and agriculture is
encroaching on most of the UPLAND water flowways. The only reason
urbanization has not yet encroached is due to the essential
uninhabitability of most of the land area east of SR 951. Nevertheless,
Community Development estimates that the population in Golden Gate, the
122
Rural Estates, Royal FakaPalm and Corkscrew communities each will more
than double by the year 2005. Other communities closer to the coast
will increase concomitantly, from 1.6-1.8 times their present numbers.
In conclusion it should not be forgotten that Collier County is in a
relatively precarious hydrological situation because:
1. It is on the lowest downstream side of all upland-generated
waterflow;
2. Sister counties to the north are using groundwaters before
they arrive in Collier County and may be returning waters of poorer
quality into the aquifer;
3. Recent evidence of wet-dry cycles and periodically occuring
droughts, with resultant wildfires, has shown how critical the sheetflow
system is to the county;
4. Projected populational increases over the next 15 years will
severely tax presently available water supplies in good wet years,
whereas in dry or drought years well draw-down or exhaustion may result
in disaster both at the commercial-residential as well as agricultural
levels;
5. Present water policies are directed primarily toward removing
standing water during heavy-rainfall years, with no consideration or
provisions for storage above or below ground against years of drought j
6. Stand~ng surface waters -are no longer percolating downward to
.recha~ge shallow aquifers in the amounts that they did for millenia, but
instead are shunted from canal to canal and eventually pour out into the
,Gulf of Mexico;
7. Loss of surface recharge increases drastically the possibility
of saltwater intrusion in shallow aquifers, with further resultant loss
of potable supplies;
8. Incipient sea level rise, predicted to range from a few inches
to nearly a foot over the next century will exacerbate the salt
intrusion problem both to humans and to the surrounding ecosystems
(Titus and Barth 1984);
-
9. Incipient sea level rise will also drastically affect the
ecology of lowlying coastal areas via inundation, or by erosion and
displacement caused by longshore current systems (Titus 1984);
10. As water supplies decrease it will become increasingly
expensive to find, obtain, treat and provide such water to a burgeoning
coastal population, most of whom desire a lifestyle totally foreign to
the prevailing environment.
123
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SUMMARY OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS IN THE COLLIER COUNTY
NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT ZONES
1. Introduction
The overview provided above is sufficient to introduce the reader
to the complex interrelationships formed by geology, physiography,
ecology, biology, and climate in Collier County biomes. As development
proceeds in the various Units delineated in the COASTAL, INLAND, or
UPLAND Zones, the impacts from such development will vary. The following
overview, given for each of the major Units east of CR 951 beginning in
the north at the County line and extending southward to the Gulf of
Mexico, points out major ecological environmental features, concerns and
existing or projected land use impacts on these.
2. Management Unit Summaries
A. Water Management No.6
This Unit is restricted to the COASTAL Zone and delimited on
the east by CR 951, and extends no farther north than Davis Blvd (SR 84).
Water Management No. 6 is an important region for three reasons. First,
Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve occupies a large portion
of the Unit. Although delimited as an estuarine "sanctuary". its ties to
the surrounding ecosystems, including pine barrens and adjacent salt
marshes are strong. Alteration or loss of these biotopes would
undoubtedly affect habitats within the ecosystem to a large degree (see
e.g. The Nature Conservancy, 1968 and LaRoe, 1974).
Second, this Unit contains the northernmost part of the
functioning Dollar Bay-Rookery Bay-Johnson Bay estuary and its contiguous
mainland, and Keewaydin Island and associated Barrier islands ecosystems.
The maritime lands in particular remain critical to the health of the
estuary at large, and have come under pressure in recent years to be
developed as large, country-club PUD' s both south and north of US 41
(See Black et al 1974a).
Third, the last unspoiled remnants of coastal barrier islands
occur within this district, and include not only Keewaydin Island noted
above (the longest barrier island) but the important RUE lands of Cannon
Islansl and Little Marco Island, both of which are unique in Collier
County, and both of which are presently held in private ownership.
It is for these reasons that nearly all of the sections
surrounding Rookery Bay, and throughout the Dollar and Johnson Bay area
have been recommended for protection. Because much of the land is
presently mangrove forest the pressure to develop will undoubtedly be
shifted to the upland maritime systems which are predominantly pine-
cypress forests.
Farther south and east, along Barfield Bay and adjacent to John
Stevens Creek in the Goodland area, exists a remnant area of prime
coastal hammock. Nearby. Horr I s Island, a unique high island with RUE
124
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coastal hammock and xeric-high island pine assemblages, lies directly in
the center of the estuary and points toward Caxambas Pass and the open
Gulf of Mexico. Also of great importance are Kice and Morgan Islands
south of Marco Island. Although the latter are usually considered
coastal barriers, their areal extent and accretional tendencies suggest
that: they are more correctly considered incipient headlands which have
not yet united with Marco Island (itself a headland in formation). Kice
and Morgan Islands are nearly pristine areas, supporting coastal hammock,
fringed by extensive beach and dune assemblages or surrounded by
extensive mangrove forest.
B. Belle Meade
(i) UPLAND Zone (Figure 31).
In the UPLAND Zone of this Unit land use can be roughly
divided into three major categories: primarily agricultural truck
farming in the north third, an extensive residential single family
portion in the middle, and a relatively undeveloped area in the south
third. The latter has undergone some agricultural impact via livestock
grazing, and small farming plots. A large rock quarry exists at the
eastward terminus of 16th Ave, ~W and south of the westward extension of
the Golden Gate Canal. This area was proposed as a potential water
storage and conservation unit by the US Army Corps of Engineers in their
feasibility study on restoration of the Golden Gate hydro-regime.
The lands south and east of Golden Gate form a large and
valuable aquifer recharge area (Broward, Keri, Arzell and Pompano sands).
Aerial photographs of the cypress-pine vegetation along the coastal
prairie margins also reveal clearly delimited water sheet flowways. Some
of the surface sheetflow is undoubtedly collected by the Alligator Alley
swa1e canal. The proposed 1-75 construction provides several culverts
to channel this sheetflow through to the southern part of the Belle
Meade. This connection is critical to INLAND and COASTAL ecosystems to
the south.
Residential development will form the main impact in the
future as the Golden Gate area becomes more developed. Unfortunately,
much of this development will interdict natural flowways from north to
south through the Unit. Agricultural development along the northwestern
margin will also have some impact on the Corkscrew-Bird Rookery flowway.
(ii) INLAND Zone (Figure 32).
In the INLAND Zone, except for the southernmost portion,
the Belle Meade Unit is either partially (residential) or completely
(agricultural) developed. Agricultural development is most extensive in
the northernmost portion below the east bend of 5R 846 (Immokalee Rd)
and continues southward to the vicinity of SR 858 (Oil Well Rd). Here,
the farm fields (many abandoned, others undergoing active agriculture)
give way to the most prominent altered feature in the Unit, the four
contiguous sections of land (5 13, 14, 23, 24 T 48 S R 27 E) wldch were
projected as North Golden Gate City, but which presently are platted as a
primarily residential subdivision called Orange Tree.
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The western portion of northern Golden Gate Estates
connects with Orange Tree ou the southwest, and continues southward. In
this area, i.e. from SR 846 and Randall Blvd southward, previous (and now
essentially abandoned) agricultural activities, and canal-induced drawdown
of the water table, have altered the ecology. Much of the vegetation is-
transitional (class 2-3), changing from what was at one time essentially
hydric-dominated species into more xeric (or at least less hydric)
assemblages on the one hand, and to large scrubby and weedy areas
supporting numerous exotics on the other. Here and there. however, some
class 2 areas retain some or much of the original hydric vegetation.
This is particulalry evident west of the northward branch of SR 846
opposite Orange Tree Development (into the easternmost Corkscrew Unit),
and to a much larger extent south of Golden Gate Blvd down to the
vicinity of the Golden Gate Canal.
South of the Canal the land is nearly unspoiled, altered
only by sugar-sand roads through class 1 pine flatwoods and pine barrens,
and interspersed with numerous small to intermediate-sized cypress domes
and mixed cypress-hardwood strands. The surficial sheetflow patterns
were equally evident in aerial photographs and during ground truth
surveys. Although the area is _predominantly unaltered, pastureland and
some very small residential development is scattered throughout.
Numerous local vegetable and truck crop farms, several large ranches, and
a small citrus operation also occur.
(iii) COASTAL Zone (Figure 32).
The Belle Meade district in the COASTAL Zone is a
critical area because it lies at the southern terminus of this major
sheetflow waterway, which in turn drains the lands in the vicinity of
Golden Gate Estates. South of US 41 the vegetation is predominantly
pine-barren, saltmarsh and mangrove ecosystems, -that comprise an
important and viable series of biotopes utilized by birdlife and other
estuarine fauna and flora. _ A series of ragged bays, oyster bars,
seagrass beds and mudflats make up the lower portions of the Belle Meade
system. These features undoubtedly enhance the maintenance of the
estuarine/marine ecosystems in the region. In addition to birdlife this
region is also noted for sport fishing, and is exploited commercially for
stone and blue crabs.
Critical habitat, including an RUE coastal hammock,
occur on John Stevens Creek in the vicinity of Goodland. A PUD by
Delto~a Corporation is in this area but the intra-mangrove coastal
hammock property has been set aside as a nature preserve.
The major concern with Belle Meade agricultural
properties is the requisite high amount of pesticides, herbicides,
fertilizers and livestock fecal matter that are an integral part of any
large scale agricultural, ranching, or grove operation. Much of the
northern half of the Belle Meade Zone is used as pasture land. whereas
the majority of farming takes place in the lower half. As noted earlier,
drainage in the Belle Me&de Unit flows south and southwest so that some
128
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surface or ground water will eventually reach and affect the Rookery Bay
National Estuarine Research Reserve and the lands adjacent to this
sanctuary. A mitigating factor, however, is the Tamiami Trail Canal
which probably functions in part as a collecting and spreader awale so
that much of the agricultural runoff is prevented from moving farther
south in the surficial sheetflow. The drawback, however, is that runoff
is also then concentrated and channelized eventually to empty into
Henderson Creek, the major freshwater input to the Rookery Bay estuarine
system (see Clark, 1974; Gore 1984a; Rookery Bay Management Plan 1986).
C. The Corkscrew Uuit (Figure 33).
Restricted entirely to the UPLAND Zone, the Corkscrew Unit,
extends from the vicinity of north Immokalee westward along CR 846
toward the Gulf Coast above Naples. It contains some of the most
pristine vegetational biotopes of all the Units. Unfortunately, it also
contains some of the most highly developed agricultural and citrus lands
in the County.
The town of Immokalee and its associated residential and
commercial areas, and rural. residential development also occur
throughout. Population densities, however, are relatively low (compared
to the Belle Meade Unit) because of the extensive agricultural
development of land. This situation. is not expected to undergo great
change.
The areas around Immokalee and adjacent to SR 82 are presently
undergoing intensive vegetable and citrus-related development. Indeed,
with the exception of the Corkscrew Marsh and Swamp flowway, and Lake
Trafford itself (ca. 28 sections), there is not a single section of land
in the Corkscrew Unit which has not undergone, or is presently being
used for, agricultural purposes of one kind or another. This Unit,
almost by default, has thus assumed importance as a primary agricultural
area in Collier County.
A critically important flowway, the Corkscrew-Lake Trafford
hydrological system, enters Collier County through the northern boundary
of the Unit. Associated with this flowway are two important natural
recreational features, the National Audubon Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary J
and Lake Trafford. Both are additionally important for their
hydrological and ecological contributions to the lower County. Both
sheetflow and aquifer recharge result from these areas, in addition to
their"well-known wildlife and aesthetic values. But, as can be seen in
aerial photographs, both of these features, and nearly all of the
Corkscrew-Lake Trafford system, are surrounded by large (often 1 section
or greater) agriculture fields. The impact on the flowways from
pesticide, herbicide and nutrient runoff is unknown but may be
considerable.
The northern and northwestern portion contains the Corkscrew
Marsh and Swamp J and the central area includes Lake Trafford and the
southeastern fork of the Corkscrew Swamp. Both hydrographic features
contain, or are surrounded by, relatively undisturbed class 1 freshwater
marshes, hydric hardwood hammocks, or virgin cypress-hardwood forests
and strands (Ouever et ale 1986).
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The western portion of the Corkscrew Unit grades from the Bird
Rookery Swamp (class 1) into the Cocohatchee River drainage (class 2-3),
an area also consisting of cypress-hardwood strands and associated
hardwood hammocks (in the undisturbed portions). pine flatwoods and pine
barrens, and a more extensive semidisturbed to completely altered class
3 region of active farm fields. As noted earlier, a part of the
Corkscrew Unit encompasses the Coral Reef Aquifer recharge area, an
important shallow water aquifer in the northwestern part of Collier
County.
D. The Camp Keasis Unit
(i) UPLAND Zone (Figure 34).
Golden Gate Estates was projected to be a massive land
development scheme. Upwards of 30,000 land owners bought parcels ranging
in size from 1.13 to 5 acres during the late 1950' s and early 1960' s
before sales slumped. Factors adversely affecting the projected
development included lack of municipal services and utilities, and the
general remoteness and wilderness character of the region. Civilized
amenities were slow in coming., few in number, and dependent on the
reliance of the individual prop.rty owner.
However, the ~ections in the Camp Keasis Unit will
become increasingly important in the next 15 years because much of this
area is (1) platted, (2) zoned "E" (Estates), (3) slated for development,
and (4) forms one of the last and largest land areas still immediately
available for single family residential development. Although the
easternmost and northernmost portions are sparsely settled, as the more
accessible and urbanized regions nearer Golden Gate City become developed
and property valu'es . rise concomitantly, the very rural portions will
become increasingly attractive to homeowners.
This development is proj ected to occur along two main
corridors, Golden Gate Blvd, and Randall Blvd-Immokalee Rd. The latter
area will probably be developed more quickly owing to its proximity to
the projected Orange Tree PUD located in the very northern Golden Gate
Estates area in the Belle Meade Unit. The Golden Gate Blvd corridor,
however, forms a major west-east linkage from the rural eastern Estates
into Golden Gate City and development will undoubtedly creep slowly
eastward and then southward along Everglades and DeSoto Blvds as power
and telephone lines become emplaced.
A large area, comprising about 21 sections of land in
the northeastern and eastern half of the Unit, east of DeSoto Blvd is
presently in active farmland (A1) and will undoubtedly remain as such
for the near future. These agricultural lands project into the old Camp
Keasis Strand flowway adjacent to Catherine Island. and continue
southward to the northern border of Stumpy Strand.
Beginning in the Camp Keasis UPLAND Zone southwest
of Immokalee and above north Golden Gate Estates, and extending southward
the picture is one of active and abandoned farmfields. These occur
131
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34. The Camp Keasis Unit; UPLAND Zone.
132
predominantly along the eastern side of the Unit. east of Everglades or
DeSoto Blvds, and are clearly positioned in old flowways. The flowways
themselves are also clearly demarked by class 2 and 3 cypress strands and
wet coastal prairies. On the west. predominantly class 2 mixed
cypress-pine forests, many invaded with exotics. gradually trend into.
class 2 and 3 scattered mixed pine-palmetto -cabbage palm woods and
hammocks intersperesed among hydric depressions containing
hardwood-cypress dominated assemblages. The agricultural lands continue
southward until the vicinity of 22nd Ave. SE. A large xeric area of
class 2 second-growth pine flatwoods also occurs west of DeSoto Blvd, and
is intermixed with cabbage palm-palmetto understory adjacent to
Everglades Blvd. Fire scarring is evident on much of the vegetation
throughout.
Immediately south of this area (at 34 Ave SE) the Ford
Test Tract facility (PUI) has been constructed. This facility impinges
directly into pristine Class 1 wetlands of the Stumpy and Lucky Lake
Strand areas. Water sheet flowways are particularly evident in aerial
photographs of this region. The lowermost portion just above SR 84
supports the western remnants of the aforementioned Strands. Old
tramways give evidence of logging activities in the 1950's. Cypress
removal allowed the hardwood-cypress forests and oak hammocks to develop
in lieu of the once extant pure cypress strands.
Although environmental concerns regarding possible water
table contamination were addressed in the original DRI for the Test Tract
development, the potential for this impact remains, particularly if
hurricane or high rainfall events exceed the storage capacity of the
bermed holding areas within the facility. The area is fenced so that
access through it by the Florida Panther or other large mammals (e. g.
deer, bear) is curtailed.
The most southerly portion of the Camp Keasis UPLAND
Unit will be isolated when the 1-75 corridor is completed and access via
DeSoto and Everglades Blvds is cut off. Present plans call for a fly-
over viaduct into the south Estates at Everglades Blvd but no
interchange; DeSoto Blvd will dead-end at the presently existing borrow
canal north of the Alligator Alley.
(ii) INLAND Zone (Figure 35).
.. Only five good quality paved thoroughfares run north and
south: Miller, Everglades. DeSoto, Merritt and Patterson Boulevards.
West-to-east thoroughfares include Stewart (-lOOth Ave. SE) and Lynch
(-128th Ave. SE) Boulevards. A short paved stretch of 116th Ave connects
Patterson Boulevard on the east with Merritt Boulevard on the west.
Except for a small number of sections paralleling SR 84 and extending
southward to about 62nd Ave. there are today no powerlines or telephone
service throughout the southern portion of the Estates.
The western portions of Camp Keasis are a melange of
class 2 and 3 mixed hardwoods, pine barrens, remnant, altered and invaded
drying strands, and burned over flatwoods. Large areas of coastal
prairie appear relatively undisturbed until ground-truthing reveals
133
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( Ie f t)
and
FAKAHATCHEE
(right)
and
134
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invasion by both native and exotic understory species. Ephemeral ponds,
some trending in a northwest-southeast direction, form a decaying
necklace of waterways down through the area. Tabb et al. (1976, fig. 16)
provide a detailed schematic overview of this area.
For an area that has undergone extensive logging
operations and received such massive impact from development, the Camp
Keasis Zone in the INLAND and in part of the lower UPLAND Zone, is
nonetheless remarkably well-preserved. This is undoubtedly a consequence
of two factors: (1) cessation of cypress cutting once the supply was
depleted, and (2) the failure by G.A.C. Properties, Inc., to realize the
projected residential development of the area. As a consequence, other
than deteriorating gravel-bed roadways and the Golden Gate Canals ("C",
"0", "E", "F", "J", "K") the region today receives only minimal human
impact and usage. The presence of altered biotopes, overgrown abandoned
tramways, and logged-out cypress ponds containing huge stumps provide
evidence of previous and more wide-scale human impacts. Most of these
have been overgrown and reclaimed by the extensive growth of hardwood
hydric forests.
Of greater import is the fact that much of the southern
area below SR 84 consists of re~tively low and natural wetlands.
During the rainy season these lands become heavily flooded in spite of
the four large canals constructed to drain standing surface water (Black
et al. 1974b). Because much of the Estates is natural wetlands both DER
and US Army Corps of Engineers have jurisdiction in regard to permitting
of dredge and fill operations. Consequently, the preceived adversity of
developing a homesite in such "Florida swampland", particularly by
persons who were lured into purchasing land for their eventual retirement
homes, caused many property owners to postpone building or, in many
cases, to abandon their holdings altogether.
The south Golden Gate Estates area is not completely
isolated or abandoned, however. The area receives relatively heavy use
during hunting season when both local and out-of-county residents
illegally occupy it for hunting deer, game birds, and an occasional wild
hog. The four canals extending north-to-south are used by local
fishermen and Collier County maintains the 2 westernmost ("C". "0") for
aquatic weed control and water level recording. Many of the more
isolated land areas are used seasonally by tent or R/V campers. Vacation
or hunting cabins and camps run the gamut from primitive squalor to
relat~vely palatial semi-permanent retreats. The few scattered single
family residences in the northwest, near Alligator Alley, are typical
Florida-style CBS homes. Other (non-conforming) residences, particularly
those occupied by squatters, range from old buses to clapboard shacks, or
house trailers and the like.
The entire southern portiou of the Unit should be
delineated a wildlife and botanical conservation area. The entire Camp
Keasis INLAND Zone is a haven for wildlife. Florida panthers have been
tracked and sighted in this region. Deer, bobcats and black bear have
been seen particularly in the coastal prairie and logged cypress ponds
east of Everglades Blvd. Approximately 40 species of songbirds, 8 or 9
135
_':'~J.
raptors (hawks, kites, eagles) and at least 4 species of owls are
permanent or seasonal residents. In addition to deer, the area also
contains otters, racoons. opossums, rabbits, armadillos, several species
of turtles. numerous species of snakes, and a variety of native rodents.
Several hundred species of plants (in addition to some
30-40 species of trees) occur in this Unit. At least 5 species of
terrestrial orchids and another 8 epiphytic species have been noted. The
most extensive and diverse vegetation is seen in a recommended RUE
area, a large NE-SW trending tract that delineates the remnant of the old
Picayune Strand and the portions of North Swan, South Swan, Doe and Plate
Prairies associated with the Strand. It also includes in the COASTAL
Zone (See below) a large unnamed prairie south of Lynch Blvd and west of
the Faka-Union Canal near the Port of the Islands. This prairie was at
one time contiguous with the Dan House Prairie to the east. The area
contains lush, heavily forested cypress-hardwood swamps, large oak-
dominated hardwood hammocks, extensive and nearly pristine coastal
prairies and elongated cypress strands.
Preservation of the INLAND biotopes in the Camp Keasis
Unit is of additional importance because they are hydrologically and
ecologically interlocked wi~h the Buttonwood-Pumpkin-Faka-Union-
Fakahatchee Bay system and the Ten Thousand Islands area to the south
(Carter et al. 1973). The suggested. RUE. areas offer easily accessible
examples of remnants of biotopes that once covered the entire southern
INLAND and northern COASTAL Zones. They also provide a prime example of
ecological succession and recovery in areas heavily disturbed by logging
operations.
(iii) COASTAL Zone (Figure 35).
Most of the land in private ownership is salt marsh and
mangrove forests, although a large parcel of coastal hardwood hammock and
associated sabal palm-halophyte island assemblages occur adjacent to and
within Collier-Seminole State Park. Much of the coastal fringe is
primarily low-lying mangrove islands that form the northwestern gateway
to the Ten Thousand Islands. This area consists of relatively remote and
mosquito-infested black and red mangrove forests. As such, it 18
undevelopable; instead it functions as a major recreational area for
local boaters and fishermen, and contributes to a stone and blue crab
fishery (see Browder et al. 1986).
Of additional importance in the Camp Keasis district are
the lands draining the southern terminus paralleling US 41. and the large
mangrove forest-saltmarsh ecosystem that lies on the western boundary of
the Fakahatchee Strand State Preserve. The Cape Romano-Ten Thousand
Islands Aquatic Preserve is found predominantly in the Camp Keasis
district and incorporates many of the southernmost Ten Thousand Islands
and much of the shallow nearshore Gulf of Mexico bot tomlands in the
Gullivan Bay area.
136
.4- ), ..
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E. The Fakahatchee Unit
(i) UPLAND Zone (Figure 36).
The UPLAND sections in this Unit encompass several
important hydrological features and numerous RUE areas. The most
important is the Okaloacoochee Slough which enters the Unit on the
eastern border. Connecting with the Slough is the Big Marsh area, a vast
system of small strands, ponds and prairies among which are interspersed
higher islands. The latter are presently active agricultural lands,
particularly the Catherine Island and Smallwood Island are (T 49 Sand
48 S). Agricultural development is heaviest along the SR 29 corridor
approaching lmmokalee.
r
I'
North of CR 858 are a series of isolated (Rice Straw
Strand) or semi-connected (Balcom Cypress Swamp) RUE areas which connect
to the south fork of the Corkscrew Swamp. Extensive agricultural
development has resulted in these wetlands becoming surrounded by farm
and citrus fields. South of Oil Well Rd (CR 858) the area becomes more
open wetland, although several large fields exist adjacent to it, and
other areas contain isolated .cypress domes and hammocks. The region
grades into the Big Marsh-Fakahatchee Strand system in the vicinity of
T 49 S. From here it extends south-southwestward across SR 84 into the
INLAND Zone where it becomes the well-known Fakahatchee Strand State
Preserve.
South of Immokalee in the Fakahatchee Unit is a mosaic
of farmfields interspersed with old karst ponds and other circular water-
filled depressions. Most retain a ring of class 2 or 3 hardwoods around
their periphery. Many are isolated, 81nall, tree-ringed pond "islands" in
an agricultural "sea". Proceeding southward the area abruptly becomes
almost completely developed into farm and citrus fields, particularly in
the vicinity of CR 858 (Oil Well Rd). South of this road the transition
is again abrupt into a nearly completely undeveloped region of class 1
marshes, prairies, pine-cabbage tree islands and associated mini-strands
which eventually grade into the Fakahatchee Strand State Preserve south
of SR 84 in the INLAND Zone. Even the presence of agricultural land in
the upper parts cannot completely erase the vestiges of old flowways and
surface water channels that meander through the Unit, and which become
quite evident in the lower portion.
(ii) INLAND Zone (Figure 35).
The main Fakahatchee Strand is located entirely in the
INLAND Zone. This area is a critical hydrOlogical subunit of the larger
drainage system which includes the Okaloacoochee Slough immediately to
the north, and which eventually connects with the Devils Garden area in
Hendry County. The Fakahatchee Strand is thus one of several strand
systems that extend northward from Collier County for approximately 60
miles (Gore 1985b; Alvarez, 1978j Austin et al. 1986).
137
.<..
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..
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o
FAKAHATCHEE
.:. .
.' ....
....... .'
.~ '.":~"J .
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-
Figure 36. The Fakahatchee Unit; UPLAND Zone
138
The Strand itself contains examples of the karst
topography which becomes so noticeably prevalent in the Turner River and
Big Cypress INLAND Zones to the east. Several small sinkhole-formed
lakes run north to south through its center, and eventually drain the
southward waterflow into shallow surface channels that empty into the
Fakahatchee, East and Ferguson Rivers in the COASTAL Zone south of US
41. Although the outlying portions of the Strand may dewater during the
dry season, parts of the deep interior of the Strand remain wet for the
entire year. This factor accounts in part for some of the unique
vegetational assemblages found therein (see, e.g. Gore 1985b; Austin et
a1. 1986).
The Fakahatchee Strand has been misleadingly called the
only cypress-royal palm forest in the world, but as noted by Austin et
ale (1986) th18 greatly oversimplifies the complexity of its contained
vegetational patterns. Over 475 species of plants have been collected
or recorded from the region, with 69% of the trees, 88% of the orchids,
and 86% of the ferns being of tropical affinity. Most of these occur in
pockets within the Strand which, overall, is a mixture of both tropical
and temperate flora. These authors emphasize that:
"In fact, the Strand and its._ surrounding habitats form an extremely
complex mosaic of plant communities which Support species not found
elsewhere within the United States."
In general, the Strand and the land associated with it
consist of hydric hardwood hammocks ("mixed swamps") and pond apple/pop
ash sloughs in the interior areas, and pristine, invaded or altered
coastal prairies and associated pine barrens or cypress domes around the
perimeter of the Strand itself. A more complete breakdown of the
associated vegetational assemblages is given by Austin et ale (1986) who
define or recognize 10 "habitats": (1) Wet Prairie, (2) Wet Prairie
Transitional, (3) Low Hammock, (4) Heads, (5) Disturbed Sites, (6)
Complex Swamps, (7) Mixed Swamps, (8) Cypress Transitional Swamps, (9)
Willow-Maple Swamps, and (10) Mixed-Cypress Transitional Swamps. These
habitats correspond to the Coastal Prairie (1,2), Hardwood Hydric
Hammocks (3), Cypress-Hardwood Mixed Forest or Swamp (6-10), the RUE
designated Tree Islands (4), and the several Invaded-Altered categories
(5) used in this report (see Table 5).
This portion of the INLA1~ Zone has had as checkered and
convoluted a history of development and mismanagement as the adj acent
Golden Gate Estates area in the Camp Keasis Zone. The entire region from
the Fakahatchee westward into Colden Gate Estates was logged beginning in
1944. Old tramways can still be seen on aerial photographs of both
INLAND Zones. When logging first began more than 500,000 board feet of
cypress per 40 acre tract were being logged (Fakahatchee Strand State
Preserve Management Plan, 1978). By 1948, when the southern portion of
the Strand was recommended for a National Monument approximately 1
million board feet of cypress were being logged per week.
In 1966 the Lee-Tidewater Cypress Company sold 75,000
acres to the Gulf American Land Company (GAC). Parcels were platted to
be sold as part of the Golden Gate Estates and Remuda Ranch subdivisions.
139
.....-.... - -......-::
In 1972 GAC began negotiations with the State of Florida to sell their
holdings, or attempt to rebuy land already sold and transfer that to the
State. Progress stopped when GAC was cited for illegal dredge and fill
activities and eventually the Environmentally Endangered Lands Program
at the State level took over purchase, and established the Fakahatchee-
Strand State Preserve.
(iii) COASTAL Zone (Figure 35).
In the COASTAL Zone the lower part of the Fakahatchee
Unit is almost completely given over to reticulated coastal mangrove
swamp and saltmarshes, and innumerable small, oyster-bar built mangrove
islands. These areas support a multitude of fishes and invertabrate
(Evink, 1973). The coastline maritime areas are critical because roughly
50% of these lands lie in the flowway for the eastern margin of the
Fakahatchee Strand and the northwestern Everglades National Park. These
lands form an important saltmarsh-freshmarsh interlock between
Fakahatchee and Faka-Union Bays. They are thus extremely important as
sheetflow and tributarial watercourses for the region.
It seems probable that SR 29 forms a dike of sorts
within this area, directing sheetflow and tributarial flow westward into
the Ten Thousand Islands and Chokoloskee Bay. This input probably does
not match in importance that of the Faka-Union Canal. This canal drains
freshwater from much of the Golden Gate Estates subdivision and thus
produces relatively low salinities within Faka-Union Bay, in contrast to
higher and more natural salinities (28-30%) in Fakahatchee Bay.
F. Tbe Turner River Unit
(i) UPLAND Zone (Figure 37).
The Turner River Unit is one of the largest of the
Units. It is also one of the wettest, sharing this distinction with the
Corkscrew Unit (UPLAND Zone) with which it abuts directly on the west
along SR 29, and with the Fakahatchee and Big Cypress Units to the south.
The total wetland area, based on aerial photography, is conservatively
estimated to comprise approximately 300 square miles. The maj ority of
these lands lie in the Okaloacoochee Slough, and East Hinson Marsh
flowways.
. Progressing from north to south, beginning with the
Innnokalee area and the Turner River Unit, the UPLAND Zone can be
characterized as a high and relatively dry island of farmlands and pine
woods surrounded by hydric areas and continually flooded wetlands. These
include much that could still be classified as intermittent wetland.
These wetlands, consisting mostly of class 1-2 quality freshwater
marshes, modified coastal prairies. hardwood hammocks and associated
cypress-dominated or willow-invaded sloughs, drain toward Lake Trafford.
the Corkscrew Swamp, or through the Okaloacoochee Slough to East Hinson
Marsh and Strand.
140
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Figure 37. The Turner River Unit; UPLAND Zone
141
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Most of this development has taken place in the upper
third of the Unit, extending from the western portions of T 46 to T 48 S.
The aerial extent of the Okaloacoochee Slough in the latter township has
been artificially constricted by a series of dikes south of SR 840. The
Slough, therefore is now actually delimited by agriculture lands beginning
in the UPLAND Zone and continuing southward along almost its entire
length. The exception is the portion above the East Hinson Marsh in
the lower southeastern corner of the Unit just north of SR 84.
Along the eastern margin of Turner River Unit, the
Okaloacoochee Slough is the prominent hydrological feature, and its
associated class 1 wetlands, and transitional and isolated class 2 pine
flatwoods and pine barrens form the predominant assemblages. The region
is also characterized by mixed cypress-pine assemblages (class 2),
coastal prairies either pristine (Class 1) or as grazed pastureland
(class 3), scattered marshes, bayheads and cypress mini-domes which
coalesce into thin strands. Much of this area is utilized as
pastureland; other portions are active vegetable farms or are slowly
being converted to citrus.
The western portion of this Unit is slated for massive
citrus development. The South florida Water Management District (SFWMD)
approved a permit application covering water useage and discharge for 23
sections of land in T 46 S, R 29-30 E. This development, adjacent to
the town of Immokalee and surrounding the Immokalee Airport, proposes to
place 7889 acres of citrus groves in a gross drainage area of 9518 acres,
leaving 1629 acres as reservoirs. Another 1660 acres will be left as
"wetlands and setbacks"; the total proj ect acreage thus exceeds 11,000
acres. The reservoirs include many of the previously mentioned karst
ponds and lakes which comprise the Okaloacoochee Slough proper. The
proposed modification of these ponds into cachement basins, their
consequeot removal from the main flowway of the Slough, and their
subsequent isolation via cultivated groveland, will certainly have an
important ecological and hydrological impact on the Okaloacoochee System
and the biotopes to the south.
The receiving bodies of water for this agricultural
discharge are tbe Okaloacooche Slough and the Barron River Canal. The
latter is a borrow canal excavated to provide right-of-way fill from
along the eastern side of SR 29 during its construction. The Canal
empties eventually into the Barron River north of Everglades City in the
Turner River Unit of the Collier County COASTAL Zone. Although listed as
a sep~rate "watershed" the Canal actually drains waters from the western
portion of the Okaloacoochee System, and in fact is interdicted by the
Okaloacoochee System where the latter empties into East Hinson Marsh.
The effects of discharge, however, may not necessarily
be restricted to the Turner River Unit. The location of the proposed
grovelands almost directly above the northern boundary of the Fakahatchee
Unit (delimited by the NW-SE SR 29 corridor), and the probable outflow of
surface waters through culverts in the highway suggest that impacts to
the farmlands, and to the Fakahatchee Strand system to the south may also
occur.
142
.- .._~
(ii) INLAND Zone (Figure 38).
The middle and lower portions of the Turner River Unit
is almost completely undeveloped, although old oil pad roads and swamp
buggy trails are evident. This region also exhibits complex karst
topography as seen in the innumerable small circular lakes, ponds and
cypress domes and reticulated freshwater marshes and wet coastal
prairies. The Turner River, a small meandering nine-mile long stream
originates in the lower south-eastern corner of this zone and empties
into Chokoloskee Bay in the COASTAL Zone (Rosendahl and Sikkema 1981).
This topography becomes more extensive and increasingly
characterizes the Big Cypress Units as one progresses to the east. This
hydrogeology is particularly evident in Townships 49 and 50, Range 30 E
where the Okaloacoochee Slough flowway is clearly visible. It is class
I wetlands par excellence.
The majority of the INLAND Zone Turner River Unit,
except for a small longitudinal strip along the western margin adjacent
to SR 29, is within the Big Cypress National Preserve. The Unit here
contains some of the finest examples of pristine coastal prairie and
cypress strands in Collier County. RUE vegetation includes these strands
and prairies, plus unique pine-palmetto ridges and islands that are
scattered in a north-south trending direction throughout the area. Karst
topography is both prevalent and prominent and is especially noticeable
on aerial photographs of the region. Deep Lake Strand is a major
freshwater strand that runs northeast-southwest through the Turner River
Unit. Adjacent to this Strand (which rivals portions of the Fakahatchee
Strand in some places) are vast and nearly unspoiled coastal prairies
(see Gunderson & Loope 1982c). Scenic vistas of breathtaking beauty can
be seen from along the north portions of Wagon Wheel Road (SR 837), and
from some of the abandoned oil pad roads in the Vicinity.
The one small settlement of Ochopee on the southeastern
border of the Unit is not expected to expand greatly in population. This
area is listed as a "Development Zone" in the General Development Plan of
the Big Cypress National Preserve (Fagergren et a1. 1982, p. 20-21).
Much of the land in the immediate vicinity has already been
vegetationally altered, and noxious exotic species such as Brazilian
pepper and melaleuca have heavily invaded certain areas. The existing
residential development in the pine flatwoods communities north and west
of Oc~opee and which fringe the lower portion of the Copeland Prairie is
not expected to have severe impact on existing ecosystems. Development
will not proceed further because the area has now been incorporated in
the Big Cypress National Preserve.
Within the entire confines of the Big Cypress National
Preserve (which also includes portions of Hendry, Collier and Monroe
Counties) some 225 parcels are presently exempt from condemnation
purchase by the U. S. Government (Fagergren, personal communication and
Ferrell, unpublished). The Turner River Unit contains 49 of these.
Three exempt categories have been established: (1) lands totally exempt
from acquisition because owners had improved the parcels prior to 23
November 1971j (2) lands provisionally exempt because owners have sold
the property to the Government but have retained use and occupancy rights
143
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Figure 3a.The TURNER RIVER
144
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............ -- .
for a period of years; and (3) lands exempt via life estates, in which
the owner retains use until death. In the Turner River Unit the exempt
parcels are widely scattered and consist primarily of improved homesites
along SR 837 (Wagon Wheel Road) and SR 839 (Turner River Road).
(iii) COASTAL Zone
In the Turner River COASTAL Zone, with the exception of
a large parcel lying parallel to SR 29, most of the lands belong to the
Federal Government, either as part of the Big Cypress National Preserve
or as Everglades National Park. The State of Florida has some scattered
holdings. Tbe remainder of the area ownership is with miscellaneous
small owners in the incorporated section containing Everglades City and
its environs.
The land adjacent to SR 29 is either mangrove forest or
saltwater or freshwater marsh. Approaching US 41 the land begins to
intergrade into coastal prairie although freshwater marsh remains
extensive. It is probable that the salinity of this region is determined
in large part by lunar tidal ingress and storm-tide modification.
Mangroves are seen north of US 41 in an area otherwise given over
primarily to cattail (Typha) ma~sh.
G. The Big Cypress West and Big-Cypress East Units
Both Big Cypress Units are almost completely unaltered. The
predominant artificial feature (other than several small oil pad
roadways, scattered "homesteads" and hunting camps, and buggy trails) is
the southeast extension of the L-28 Interceptor Canal and its levee which
runs from Hendry County into Collier on the easternmost border. Not
visible on aerial photographs but apparent on ground-truthing are areas
which have been altered by cattle grazing, particularly ex-coastal
prairies. Here, exotic plants, including Brazilian Pepper and Me1aleuca,
have begun to invade. However, both the observed herds and the invading
plant demes were small and scattered, and the overall impact was not
severe enough to presently warrant concern. Several large cattle
companies use portions of both units for this purpose, and this impact
may be expected to continue.
Recreational use is devoted primarily to hunting and can
occur anywhere in the Unit. The Bear Island Wildlife Management Unit
undergoes relatively intense useage during hunting season from about
November through March; camping and hiking also take place. Most hunting
activities are more or less controlled, although ORV use in the marshes
and wet prairies has produced some scarring.
Oil exploratory activity has occurred and remnant oil
well roads are scattered throughout. Except for land clearing around the
pad proper the general vegetational destruction is relatively minor.
Large oil companies, however, continue to express interest and there is
no doubt that future exploration and test wells will be conducted with
possibly serious environmental consequences.
145
.-..............,
Nowhere does the prevalent karst topography a southwestern
Florida show up so well as in these two Units. Water flowways are
clearly delimited and flow patterns can be followed from north to south
through all three Zones down into the estuaries and Ten Thousand Islands
area.
(i) UPLAND Zone (Figures 39, 40).
The sections in these Units are among the least
developed of any in Collier County, owing to their remoteness, the lack
of general County services, and the nearly constant standing water found
throughout. Except for some small semi-isolated settlements (e.g. Bear
Island area; SR 84 mile marker 31, and Ochopee in the COASTAL Zone),
there are no towns. Both Units thus form an excellent and nearly
undisturbed wetland-upland complex. The western 35 sections in the
UPLAND Zone are justifiably included in the Big Cypress National
Preserve; the remaining 110 should be.
Access into the area is limited to oil-well roadways and
another private roads. The terrain is rugged, wet, and difficult to
traverse, requiring swamp buggies or airboats. The karst-associated
vegetational assemblages are almost completely undisturbed and form one
of the finest examples of cypress-dominated wetland ecosystems in the
United States.
These two Units are presently not undergoing much
pressure for development. Aerial photography of the remote areas near
the Hendry County line, and ground truthing above SR 84, shows that the
area is mostly coastal wet prairies (colloquially called 'marl prairies')
pockmarked with innumerable tree islands, cypress domes, shallow tree-
ringed ponds and small lakes. Strand lines and. hammocks are scattered
throughout in the higher land. Portions of these Units adjacent to the
Turner River Unit support large stands of more or less virgin slash pine.
The greater threat at present is in the potent~al
development plans for the large amounts of land controlled by several
enterprises in the UPLAND Zone. Interest has been expressed in logging
(pine), farming, and most recently in citrus grove development. Any of
these activities would be inimical to the general ecosystems and
hydrology of the Unit owing to the large areas of destruction such
development would entail. The impacts on wildlife ecology would be
enorm9.us and permanent.
The remainder of the UPLAND Zone (and all of the INLAND
and COASTAL Zones) in these Units function as a critical
ecological or hydrological flowways. A potentially serious situation
could develop if agriculturally defined lands directly to the north in
Hendry County are developed, because the general flowways southward
travel directly throgh both Big Cypress East and West Units. A series of
small strands and marshes, (Harold Strand, Kissimmee Billy Strand, Dark
Strand, Little Marsh), easily visible on high altitude satellite imagery,
all attest to important flowways oriented in a generally northwest-
southeast direction. The flow pattern is different than that seen
farther to the west where orientation is predominantly northeast-
southwest.
146
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(ii) INLAND Zone (Figures 41, 42).
The Big Cypress West Unit in the INLAND Zone consists of
approximately 244 square miles of nearly pristine cypress domes, coastal
prairie and associated hardwood, pine and sabal palm forests and
hammocks. Tree islands are a prominent feature in aerial photographs,
as 18 the obvious karst geology of the entire region. The East Hinson
Strand is a major vegetational assemblage in the northwestern corner of
the Unit and extends southeastward through the upper third. This mixed
hardwood-hydric forest and cypress-hardwood swamp connects on its western
margins with the Deep Lake Strand, one of the most prominent vegetational
features within the area of the Preserve. South and east of the Hinson
Strand the vegetation changes to cypress domes, pine forests, and coastal
prairies with sabal palm-palmetto-pine ridges and islands. A brief but
succinct summary of extant vegetational types has been provided by
McPherson (1974) for the entire Big Cypress area. Carter et a1. (1973)
provided extensive data and a general analysis of the Big Cypress Swamp
and its associated estuaries south of US 41.
The entire area undergoes a prolonged hydroperiod that
results in standing water from. about June through October depending on
the onset and extent of the r.siny season. This is a consequence of
seasonally heavy rainfall which, during the years that hurricanes and
tropical storms occur (e.g. 1947), may reach 75 inches, with average
monthly precipitation of 8-10 inches. Contrarily, in the dry season
rainfall may be as sparse as 1.5 inches per month with a seasonal average
of less than 10 inches (see Thomas 1974; MacVicar 1983). The standing
water and rainfall become part of the overland sheetflow which moves
primarily to the south and west in this Unit. General waterflow
sheetflow areas are easily descerned on aerial photographs. Gannet,
Skillet and Monroe Strands, so indicative of these patterns, are oriented'
in a general southwesterly direction along the southern margin of the
Unit, and extend south of U.S. 41 into the COASTAL Zone.
The Big Cypress National Preserve comprises all but 72
INLAND sections in these two Units. Eleven of these sections are
oversized and are equivalent to doubled sections so that an areal
equivalent of 83 sections or about 85 square miles are not included in
the Preserve. This corner consists of the "northern stairstep"
portion of the Preserve (so called because the Preserve boundaries
continue in a stepwise manner toward the east and the adjacent Broward
Count~ Line). The lands north of the stairstep are presently in private
ownership but are being actively pursued by the State of Florida so that
they can be incorporated into the overall Big Cypress National Preserve.
They are also a major component of the Area of Critical Concern
established by the State of Florida in this region.
Except for some oil exploration activities and limited
agricultural development (primarily cattle grazing) the vast majority of
Big Cypress West and East INLAh~ Zone is utilized primarily by hunters
and fishermen, ORV-ATC explorers, and campers and vacationers. Scattered
throughout the more remote areas are an estimated 500-600 mini-camps most
of which are accessible only by swamp buggy or airboat. Only a few of
149
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The BIG CYPRESS WEST INLAND Zone.
150
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The BIG CYPRESS EAST INLAND Zone.
151
these are exempt properties, which in the Big Cypress West INLAND Zone
number about 43 parcels. Unless owners give consent or the property "is
subject to, or threatened with uses. . detrimental to . . . the
Preserve" these properties will not be acquired (Ferrell, unpubl.). The
exempt parcels are scattered throughout townships 50, 51, 52 and 53 Sin"
Ranges 31 and 32 E, and are located in some of the most remote parts of
the Preserve. These camps were built before 1971 and are composed of 3
acres or less of land. In addi tion, several small lease-holdings are
still current but the lands will eventually be acquired by the Big
Cypress National Preserve in the future.
r
I
The Big Cypress East Unit in the INLAND Zone consists of
approximately 265 square miles of nearly total wilderness. The species
richness and diversity of the vegetational biotopes in this Unit and the
one immediately adjacent to the west is matched only by those in the
Fakahatchee INLAND Zone. For example, Black & Black (1980) list over
500 species of vascular plants occurring in this and the adj acent Big
Cypress West Unit. Gunderson & Loope (1982a,b) describe coastal
prairie, cypress and pine-cabbage palm-palmetto forest assemblages in
the eastern portion.
The complexity_of these plant associations also rivals
that of the Fakahatchee. Carter et a1. (1973) provide 5 appendices
l18ting by species and relative abundance the dominant plants found in
Cypress Strands J Sloughs, Coastal Prairies and Sandy Marl-Wet Pine and
Palm areas in the Big Cypress Swamp. Although algae and the cryptogams
such as mosses, liverworts and lichens (which also form a not
inconsiderable community) were excluded, the assemblages compared very
favorably with those seen in the Fakahatchee. The extent and diversity
of vegetation is undoubtedly a consequence of the low level of man-made
disturbance throughout most of the region.
As noted, karst topography is evident in aerial
photographs of the region. In addition, the observer flying over this
and the Big Cypress West Unit is impressed by the low undulating mounds
formed by cypress and pine forests which extend for miles every direction
and progress onward toward the horizon. As discussed by Carter et al.
(1973) these vegetational assemblages are distinctive and unique to the
area and are a consequence of the geological features occurring therein.
With cypress domes forming in karst-related depressions, and pine-
palmetto tree islands and ridges forming in areas of slightly higher
elevation, the entire effect is very similar to a vegetated moonscape
with cypress in the craters and palmetto on the coastal prairie "marias".
No other vegetational features. with the exception of the elongate finger-
like hardwood strands, so emphasizes the complete dependency of the
southwestern Florida peninsula on the presence and continuation of
surficial water sheetflow.
The greatest area of alteration is seen at the site of
the Dade-Collier Jetport Training Facility. Land in 8 of the 13 sections
set aside for the facility has been cleared, dredged and filled in part
(including 8 large borrow pits), or otherwise topographically altered to
allow construction of hard runways capable of handling jet airliners.
152
.. "
.........~.~....,.-~.."
The jetport facility has had a long and contentious history. Originally
scheduled in 1968 to become a separate functioning commercial airport
west of Miami it aroused the concern of several environmental groups and
agencies. A series of political comprises resulted in it being
downdraded to a training facility, but not before construction had begun-
and extensive alteration of the property taken place. Carter et al.
(1973) summarize this activity. The surrounding land of predominantly
coastal prairie and scattered cypress-hardwood strands is slowly
recovering although parts of the prairie have become invaded with both
native and exotic plants. According to Fagergren et al. (1982) the full
development of the jetport as a commercial facility is incompatible with
the values of the Big Cypress Preserve.
The small settlement at Monroe Station on the Tamiami
Trail, and several Indian Villages along the same road constitute the
only major commercial-residential centers. Small homesteads occur along
the north and south sides of both US 41 and SR 84 as well.
Major population centers are confined to several small
commercial-residential Indian Villages. and widely spaced small
homesteads on either side of US 41. The Big Cypress National Preserve
Oasis Ranger Station is also located on US 41. According to the Big
Cypress General Development Plan (1982) about 50 commercial properties
exist within the entire Preserve and most are exempt from acquisition.
The total exempt properties in this Unit number about 62. As with the
previous Units which are contained in the Big Cypress National Preserve
boundaries. US Governmental jurisdiction applies.
As in other parts of the Big Cypress, oil and mineral
explorations are allowed. The Raccoon Point field, located in the
eastern margin of Big Cypress East INLAND Unit is one of 12 -fields
located in the south Florida area (3 of which are now plugged and
abandoned). These fields consist of some 85 operating wells which have
produced more than 75 million- barrels of crude oil. The Raccoon Point
oil field began operations in 1978 and is estimated to have reserves
totalling 13-15 million barrels. Three major assemblages were documented
by Gunderson & Loope (1982b), pine-cabbage palm-palmetto, cypress dome,
and cypress [-coastal] prairie. There is apparently little disturbance
to the natural community with the exception of seasonal fires set by
hunters in the pine-cabbage palm islands.
The major commercial land use is presently in grazing
land for cattle, primarily in the pine flatwoods and associated higher
lands (pine barrens, oak-sabal hammocks, and mixed upland hardwood
assemblages). Although some environmental damage does occur, a general
assessment based on ground-truthing of the region suggests that cattle
grazing at the presently existing levels constitutes a low-priority
threat.
153
. ............ .....
(iii) COASTAL Zone
Within the COASTAL Zone, the entire area south of US 41
is nearly pristine but undergoes some stress with extensive swamp buggy
and airboat usage, the trails of which are clearly visible on aerial
photographs. Just what effect these seasonally periodic trail scars
will have on the coastal prairie ecosystems remains to be seen.
Both districts comprise some of the most beautiful land
in Collier County. Vast expanses of coastal prairie, interrupted by the
green domes of cypress forests, and scattered cabbage palm hammocks on
tear-drop shaped islands in the northern margins of the River of Grass,
all add up to a scene of untrammeled and exquisite wilderness beauty.
Because it -is greatly removed from urban hubs the landscape offers a
peaceful serenity that has been discovered by many Collier Countians,
who explore its verdant vistas on weekend escapes. Its Federal preserve
status will ensure that no major residential development will occur,
although agricultural, forestry and petroleum development remains
possible. The region should be maintained primarily for recreational
purposes, and as an important recharge and sheetflow area.
154
I. ',...
......;,t.....:.'V.__ __
t.
EPILOGUE
, .
, .
I
Much has been said about environmental concerns, and
much has been written about environmental regulation.
Ecologists can be as long-winded and repetitive as any other
person, but usually only because they need to be. Without
belaboring or belittling all that has been previously said,
it is, perhaps, appropriate to quote two of the most
influential environmental writers on this subject.
Florida's own Al Burt in 1985 wrote that:
II Swamp appreciation, like music appreciation, ought to
be part of every Florida child's education. The state needs
a new generation of swamp lovers to nurture and protect its
old swamps, and to establish some new ones.
Ideally, more of Florida's children would grow up near
swamps, so that they could taste the wild appeal of these
curious places before the prejudices of habit and convenience
blunt their sensitivities.-
Perhaps, then, they could love a swamp properly, as a
birthright and a blessing, the way real Floridians should."
Twenty years ago, Aldo Leopold in his Sand County
Almanac, ruefully noted that:
"One of the penalties of an ecological education is that
one lives alone in a world of wounds. Much of the damage
inflic.ted on land is quite invisible to laymen. An ecologist
must either harden his shell and make believe that the
consequences of science are none of his business, or he must
be the doctor who sees the marks of death in a community that
believes itself well and does not want to be told otherwise.
The practices we now call conservation are, to a large
extent, local alleviations of biotic pain. They are
necessary, but they must not be confused with cures. The art
of land doctoring is being practiced with vigor, but the
science of land health is yet to be born."
,.
Quite simply, management of natural
on what Aldo Leopold called a land ethic.
resources is based
He wrote that:
liThe case for a land ethic would appear hopeless but for
the minority which is in obvious revolt against these
"modern" trends.
The "key-log" which must be moved to release the
evolutionary process for an ethic is simply this: quit
thinking about decent land-use as solely an economic problem.
Examine each question in terms of what is ethically and
155
I
l
....~:.:...._"'t...
aesthetically right, as well as
expedient. A thing is right when
integrity, stability, and beauty of
is wrong when it tends otherwise.
It of course goes without saying that economic stability
limits the tether of what can or cannot be done for land. It
always has and it always will. The fallacy the economic
determinists have tied around our collective neck, and which
we now need to cast off, is the belief that economics
determines all land-use. This is simply not true. An
innumerable host of actions and attitudes, comprising perhaps
the bulk of all land relations, is determined by the
land-users' tastes and predilections, rather than by his
purse. The bulk of all land relations hinges on investments
of time, forethought, skill, and faith rather than on
investments of cash. As a land-user thinketh, so is he.
what is economically
it tends to preserve the
the biotic community. It
The evolution of a land ethic is an intellectual as well
as emotional process. Conservation is paved with good
intentions which prove to be futile, or even dangerous,
because they are devoid of critical understanding either of
"the land, or of economic land-use. I think it is a truism
that as the ethical frontier advances from the individual
to the community, its intellectual content increases.1I
Throughout the past five years, and in this final
report, I have endeavored to show that careful and thoughtful
regulation of development will ensure adequate clean water
and maintenance of the often unique subtropical ecosystems
that characterize Collier County; that make Collier County
what it is today,. and what it shall become in the future.
The regulatory task will be formidable but not impossible.
The choice today is clear for Collier County. In 15 years it
will be too late.
..
156
~~~''': . t ~a. -.,..;
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Although this document has but a single author, the data
contained herein were obtained by, or resulted from the
efforts of, numerous individuals. My grateful appreciation
and thanks are extended to Or. Mark A. Benedict, The
Conservancy, Inc., Naples, Florida, Ms. Maura C. (Curran)
Kraus, Collier County Environmental Health a~~ Pollution
Control Department, Ms Donna J. Devlin, Collier County
Natural Resources Management Department (NRMO), Or. Brandt F.
Henningsen, SWIM Program, Tampa, Florida, Or. C. Edward
Proffitt, Previously Director (NRMD) and now Florida
Director, Center for Environmental Education, Naples,
Florida, Mrs. Earlene Weber (NRMO), and Ms Linda S. Weinland,
Edison Community College, Collier Center, Naples, Florida.
All helped immeasurably in field, laboratory and office work
that formed the basis for this report. Many other
individuals aided in small but important ways, including the
staff of NRMD, and the Planning Department and Technical
Planning Section of Community Development, Collier County.
Grant monies for conducting the studies that resulted in this
series of Technical Repo~ts were provided through the Office
of Coastal Management, Florida Department of Environmental
Regulation, Tallahassee, Florida, Mr. James Stoutamire,
Director. To all of these my heartfelt thanks.
i
l .
.~_x_. _ .
157
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Alexander, T. R. and A. G. Crook. 1974. Recent vegetational
changes in South Florida. ~ Gleason, P. J. (ed.).
Environments of South Florida: Present and Past. Miami
Geological Society, Memoir No. 2:61-72.
Alvarez, K. C. 1978.
Fakahatchee Strand
Florida Department
Recreation and Parks.
A proposed plan of management for the
State Preserve. Unpublished report,
of Natural Resources, Division of
66 pp.
Austin, D. F., J.
Fakahatchee Strand.
L. Jones and B. C. Bennett. 1986. The
Palmetto (Magazine), Summer 1986: 3-6.
Benedict, M. A. 1984. Natural resources management plan.
Natural Resources of Collier County Florida, Technical Report
No. 84-1: i-vi, 1-98.
Benedict, M.A., R. H. Gore, J. W. Harvey and M. C. Curran.
1984. Coastal Zone Manaqement Units: Data Inventory and
analysis. Natural Resources of Collier County. Technical
Report No. 84-4: i-vi, 1-2J8.
Betz, J. V. 1984. The human impact on water. IN: Fernald,
E. A. and D. J. Patton (eds.). Water Resources Atlas of
Florida. Institute of Science and Public Affairs, Florida
State University, Tallahassee, Fl. Chap. 10.
Black, D.
National
plants.
1-28.
W. and S. Black. 1980. Plants of Big Cypress
Preserve. A preliminary checklist of vascular
South Florida Research Center Report T-587, i-iii,
Black, Crow and Eidsness, Inc. 1974a. Master plan for Water
Management District No.6, Collier County, Florida.
Engineering Report, February, 1974. Black, Crow and
Eidsness, Inc., Gainesville, Fl. [52pp] vii + pp. I-I to 6-8
plus additional tables, plates and unnumbered pages.
1974b. Hydrologic study of the GAC
Col~ier County, Florida. Project Report No.
I-I to 8-3 (66 pp), appendix A.
Blake, N. M. 1980. Land into Water--Water into Land.
A history of water management in Florida. University Presses
of Florida, Tallahassee, Fl. vii + 344 pp.
canal network,
449-73-53. pp.
\c
158
Browder, J. A., A. Dragovich, J. Tashiro, K. E.
Coleman-Duffie, C. Foltz and J. Zweifel. 1986. Executive
summary of a comparison of biological abundances in three
adjacent bay systems downstream from the Golden Gate Estates
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1983b. Location map of the Coral
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Yokel, B. J. 1975a. Study No.3, Esturaine water quality.
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Conservation Foundation, WaShington, D.C. 95 pp.
1975b. Study No.5, Estuarine Biology. ~. 112 pp.
1975c. A comparison of animal abundance and
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.'
170
APPENDIX I
IMPLEMENTING THE ERDAS SATELLITE LAND-RECONNAISANCE PROGRAM
The ERDAS LANDSAT THENATIC MAPPER program consists of l- or.
2-band false infra-red photographic images taken by satellite
during weekly fly-overs on selected trajectories above the
earth. The images are stored in, and retrievable from, a
sophisticated computerized program requiring special imaging
equipment and software. The projected images may contain up
to 255 different colors and hues, each of which is specific
for certain geophysical and vegetational features on the
ground. Photographs of selected areas (e.g. Collier County,
Fakahatchee Strand, Marco Island, Immokalee area) are
real-time images composed of a colored mosaic of pixels, each
of which has a "signature" for a particular ground feature.
Images may be purchased of past fly-overs and compared to
more recent photographs, or to images yet to be acquired. In
this manner, vegetational changes or aspects of development
may be contrasted to determine what effects are occurring.
Maximum resolution available in the program is 30 square
meters, or about 90 square feet.
The CQASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT SECTION of the Collier County
NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT has been working with
this facility at the Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research
Reserve (RBNERR). Both the hardware and software to
translate the images from the satellite are located here.
Presently, computer print-outs of'maps (at whatever
particular scale is desired) must be obtained through the
.FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES MARINE LABORATORY at
St. Petersburg.
The land-use program has three aspects:
1)
Ground reconnaissance of selected
County's COASTAL, INLAND and UPLAND
CZM staff since 1983J;
areas in Collier
Zones [conducted by
2) Coordination of ground-truthed data
imagery, at RBNERR;
with satellite
..
3) Attaching signatures to selected color-numbers based on a
comparison of 1) and 2) above.
Once a particular color-number (e.g. "125") is recognized as
a certain feature then that particular number can be
signatured for that feature, throughout Collier County.
Thus, number 125 indicates wetland vegetation in general,
and cypess-hardwood swamp in particular, with maple trees
predominating.
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Major vegetational assemblages are then identified,
color-signed, and the dominant species listed. These
assemblages are compared and coordinated with the general
satellite image. The assemblages are then capable of being
mapped using either the computerized 255-color print-out, or
transferred to an auto-cad program for more schematic
mapping.
Because 255 colors and hues are difficult to work with, and
often may blur or run together on a photograph owing to
limitations of the human eye, it was necessary to select only
the most prominent biotopes for land-use mapping. Twenty
such biotopes, consisting of major vegetational assemblages
indigenous to Collier County were selected. These biotopes
were then re-coded using arbitrarily selected but diyergent
colors. By limiting the assemblages to just 20 groupings,
and hence just 20 colors, the schematic picture became much
easier to use. Remember that only color-numbers were
transferred and re-coded. The original color-number does not
lose its informational content. Instead, everywhere on the
image where No. 125 originally appeared, an arbitrarily
selected number (say, "4''') replaced it. To further simplify
the program, original col~r-numbers were pooled once their
identity as to vegetational assemblage had been confirmed by
ground-truthing. In effect, the simplification of biotopes,
and their subsequent numerical simplification, allowed us to
see the forest instead of the trees, although the trees
remained available within the program under their original
color-number signature. Moreover, instead of having some 20
or more color-numbers (each delineating a particular plant
species or grouping per biotope, the plethora of numbers was
reduced to just one integer.
It is important to emphasize that no data ~ being lost.
Instead of delineating an assemblage as a
cypress-maple-oak-willow-cabbage palm-wax myrtle etc. etc.
assemblage, it was now described and color-coded simply as
"Cypress-hardwood".
Another advantage to the ERDAS program is that in the
photographs made available many prominent vegetational and
hydrological features stand out clearly. The false color
inf~a-red shows, for example, 15 or more hues of green which
have been signatured as bydrologically functional forested
wetlands. Approximately 10 hues of red can be assigned to
coastal prairies; brown or red-brown hues can be translated
into pine flatwoods and associated vegetational complexes.
Even roadways and altered (e.g. agricultural) lands sign on
as various shades of tan or white.
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Still another advantage in the ERDAS program is that total
acreage of any particular feature can be obtained. Thus,
percentages of critical or environmentally sensitive wetlands
or other natural features can be computed for any size land
parcel for any area in the County. These data provide a
powerful and accurate tool for assessing the best and highest
use of lands which may be developable.
.
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