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Program Reports by Sharon Holding
"Landscaping for Florida Wildlife" by Craig Huegel
Ph.D.
Unquestionably an
expert on environmental matters, Craig Huegel is an informative, entertaining, and charismatic speaker. Craig was an
urban wildlife specialist for the Florida Cooperative Extension Service before being hired by Pinellas County in 1992 to manage
the fledgling Brooker Creek Preserve. In 1999 he was promoted to oversee all the environmentally
sensitive lands throughout the county. He was very active
with the Pinellas Native Plant Society, and wrote "Butterfly Gardening with Florida’s Native Plants" and "Florida Plants
for Wildlife: A Selection Guide to Native Trees and Shrubs". He resigned from Pinellas County in 2004, and is now a consultant
for Biological Research Associates in Sarasota.
"Do Native Grasses Cause Turf Wars?" presented by George Kish, former
President of the Suncoast Chapter and current state Director-at-Large.
Like many of us, George lives in a "turf-centric
community." He is trying to change that mind-set by using native grasses in his own yard and helping to rewrite the outdated
landscaping guidelines for his subdivision. Grasses
make up the fourth largest family of angiosperms (flowering plants that reproduce via seeds within a closed ovary). Grasses
are wind-pollinated and have round, hollow stems with alternating leaf blades. Most are herbaceous perennials, but there are
a few woody species such as bamboo. Florida has 264 species of native grasses,
many of which can be used for landscaping. Why go with native grasses? George pointed to a number of reasons: many grasses
have an appealing form, texture and color, and can add a softening quality (bunchgrasses, in particular), most are drought
and flood tolerant and require no pesticides or fertilizers, as they are specially adapted to Florida's environment,
adding native grasses to the landscape allows for biodiversity, providing food and shelter for birds and other wildlife-something
a sterile expanse of turf grass cannot duplicate. Native grasses can be utilized
in different ways in the landscape: as a foundation along a fence or wall, as a specimen or accent plant, along borders and
paths, they can be "container" plants or part of a more natural or wild landscape. Low grasses such as Elliott love grass
and Purple love grass can be planted against a backdrop of medium to tall grasses like Lopsided Indiangrass, Pinewood dropseed,
and Sand cordgrass. Native grasses can lend to a landscape an attractiveness all their own and support wildlife, as well.
Maybe it's time to find a place for them in our own yards?
"Keeping Natural Areas Natural" was given by Steve
Dickman, an environmental specialist with Hillsborough County Parks. His presentation included an outstanding collection of
photographs clearly illustrating each phase of his talk. Hillsborough
County has about 42,000 acres to date in its land acquisition program and is now in the management phase. When land is acquired
for the purpose of maintaining its natural communities and/or restoring them as nearly as possible to their natural state,
a customized plan is first prepared. What kind of ecosystems does the land propagate? What were its past land uses? What,
if any, listed species and exotic species inhabit the land? The answers to these questions help determine what kind of land
management is needed. One major consideration of management is providing
security--protecting the land from people who cause great harm to it through their carelessness or ignorance. Trespassing,
dumping, off-road vehicles, hunting, poaching, arson are some of the problems that must be dealt with. Nature conservation
signs are posted every 500 feet to help enforce the law. Invasive exotic species of plants and animals are a big
problem facing land management officials. And very often there are only enough resources to deal with the most
pervasive species. Feral pigs destroy sensitive areas with their rooting around. Marine or Giant toads-- an increasing problem-eat our native species. Steve mentioned many of the exotic species plants
that he as come across in Hillsborough, plants such as tropical soda-apple (we have a native soda-apple with a bright-red
fruit),camphor tree, tuberous sword fern, coral aridisia, old world climbing fern, including one that we are probably most
familiar with: brazilian pepper. While there has been success in controlling some species, many are very difficult to get
rid of. Prescribed or controlled burning is an
invaluable tool for managing landscape, and Steve thinks probably the most cost-effective.
Florida's natural landscape was ruled and maintained by fire for thousands of years. In more recent times, people began to
suppress forest fires, resulting in the loss of much that has made Florida unique.
Environmental Changes Randy Mejeur, an ecologist with
the environmental consulting firm Glatting Jackson, gave a powerpoint presentation, “From Eden to Sahara: Florida’s Tragedy,” an historical perspective of the changes wrought on Florida’s environment,
and how our views have been affected. It is based on John Kunkel Small’s book of the same name. Small was a botanist
and taxonomist in the early 1900’s. His writings on Florida’s wetlands led to the creation of Everglades National
Park, and to the protection of other areas in the state. His notes relating where plants were observed helps us determine
their historical location. With this information comes the hope of reintroducing certain species where
possible. During the 1920’s land boom, Florida experienced massive changes
to its landscape for the first time. Small documented much of natural Florida knowing it would be lost forever due to the
intense drainage of wetlands for ifflid development. paving for roads. logging, land clearing for building. The prevailing
thought of the day, that fire is “bad” and must be suppressed. was disastrous for natural communities that relied
on frequent fire for maintenance. He also noted the particularly destructive power of some types of exotic plants on the natural
landscape. Through his writings, he issued the cautionary message that if Florida continued to be exploited with such destructive
force, this “Eden” that so many people flock to, would turn into a desert. The concerns he expressed back then
remain strong in present day Florida: 20 acres of land are lost per hour and 700 people per day make this state their new
home. We have much work to do!
Kristen Sommers talked to us about the subject of her research project at Brooker
Creek Preserve-the beautiful Catesby. or pine, lily. Kristen is a research biologist and currently Interim Research Program
Coordinator with the Environmental Lands Division in Pinellas County.
The Catesby lily is listed by the state as an endangered species. It grows in the open habitat of pine flatwoods and is a
good indicator of the health of that natural community. But, of course, much of this type of habitat has been destroyed by
logging, development and fire suppression. Kristen believes, however, that the lily may not be as rare as it is generally
thought to be. Many plants may just be dormant underground. This is a perennial fall-blooming plant with a stem that comes
up in June-though not every year. The flower has only four to seven days in which it may be pollinated. The palamedes and
spicebush swallowtails are its main pollinators. The plant shakes out 200 to 700 seeds over a months time. The seeds are wind-dispersed
and germinate at the surface. Seedlings appear from January to February. Brooker Creek Preserve has
over 2000 acres of pine flatwoods. In an area of those flatwoods that was being restored through prescribed burning and roller-chopping,
over 400 lilies came up. (The Catesby lily, and saw palmetto, are among the first plant species to appear after a fire.
Aside from requiring open habitat in which to grow, the Catesby is also selective in its moisture requirements- not too wet.
not too dry. In addition, the plant, which ranges from Virginia to at least Sarasota, Florida. needs some cold weather to
germinate.
We had Sue Walsh
present a program on successful butterfly gardening. Sue got started with this venture about 10 years ago, first researching
the species of butterflies that inhabit, or at least spend some time in, our area. (She discovered that there are about 109!)
Since then, she has created such a garden for the Nature Coast Botanical Gardens in Spring Hill, written a book, Butterfly
Gardening for Florida's Nature Coast, and started her own butterfly garden design service. The insect's life cycle from egg
to butterfly revolves around host plant and nectar plants. Female butterflies use their feet to locate the host plant on which
they will lay their eggs. Tiny caterpillars hatch out about a week later and spend the next few weeks as "eating machines"
munching away on the host plant before forming a chrysalis where it undergoes the incredible transformation to butterfly.
The butterfly feeds on plant nectar and spends much of its brief life engaged in mating and laying eggs, thereby starting
the cycle all over again. Aside from having an understanding of the life cycle of butterflies, the would-be gardener needs
to find out which butterflies inhabit the area, which host and nectar plants they use, which plants will grow there, where
they can be found, and how to group the plants in the most effective manner.
Florida black bears
are a subspecies that once inhabited most of the state. However, due to human encroachment-roadways, canals, development-their
populations have been fragmented. They are listed by the state as a "threatened" species. Biologist Judy Smith gave a very
interesting program that provided us with some insight into the nature of this unique bear and some of the problems facing
it today. Judy researched a small sub-population of bears in the Greater Chassahowitzka ecosystem from Weeki Wachee Preserve
to Homosassa. This population has probably been isolated for around 100 years. The area can sustain from 10 to 15 bears. The
Florida black bear is generally a shy herbivore whose diet may include acorns, palmetto berries, blueberries, gallberries
and cabbage palm hearts. They do not hibernate, but they do rest-female bears for up to 4 months, whether they have cubs or
not; males for a shorter period. Male bears are apt to roam long distances, while females prefer to maintain territories of
several square miles. Equipped with some survival skills early on, such as the ability to climb trees-and out of harm's way-cubs
nevertheless suffer a high mortality rate. Most do not survive their first year. Good habitat for these black bears appears
to be made up largely of mixed hardwood swamp, with a smaller percentage of uplands, non-forested wetlands and some open water
included. With much of its habitat being lost to ever-increasing development, the black bear's survival may depend on a combination
of strategies such as the creation of "greenways", corridors to connect populations, maintaining growth of the right kind
of vegetation through prescribed burning, and conservation of land.
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