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Audubon’s Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary Leads the Way in Research and Restoration for America’s Everglades

While many people associate Audubon’s Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary in Naples, Florida with its cypress swamp boardwalk and extraordinary wildlife viewing, fewer realize that it is an active laboratory. Behind the scenes, Audubon researchers, land managers, educators, and policy advocates work to unravel the threats facing Corkscrew’s watershed and prescribe a course of restoration that will benefit the entire Western Everglades.

Audubon’s Dr. Shawn Clem led analysis of 60 years of data for the region, pinpointing 2000 as the tipping point after which overdrainage and heavy development in wetlands coincided with chronically low water levels during dry seasons every year since. The watershed’s altered hydrology has resulted in wetland and wildlife losses, declines in Wood Stork productivity, catastrophic flooding and wildfires, invasive plant infestations, and dwindling water supply.

In addition to identifying the causes of declines, Audubon is also pioneering innovative solutions. On the ground at Corkscrew, landmanagers are undertaking an ambitious project to mechanically remove the invasive willow choking wetlands, while working with neighboring landowners upstream to restore the hydrology of Corkscrew’s important marshes. When this work succeeds, it will serve as a roadmap for restoration of marshes elsewhere in the Greater Everglades Ecosystem.

Policy staff use Audubon research like Dr. Clem’s to fix the underlying systemic problems, advocating for policies that either require or incentivize wetland restoration on public and private lands in the region. Audubon also advances proposals for conservation land acquisition and restoration through Florida Forever. With support from Audubon educators, this information reaches thousands of Audubon members, interns, students, and conservation partners.

Corkscrew is well known as an incubator of sorts for Wood Storks, but it is an equally important incubator for the restoration techniques and policy advancements needed to restore America’s Everglades. On your next visit to Audubon’s Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, enjoy exploring the swamp and know that Audubon experts are working to restore and protect this special place so that others may enjoy the same experience for generations to come.
 

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