Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge
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Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge | |
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IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area) | |
Location | Dixie County, Levy County, Florida, United States |
Nearest city | Otter Creek, Florida |
Coordinates | 29°19′N 83°06′W / 29.317°N 83.100°W |
Area | 53,000 acres (210 km2) |
Established | 1979 |
Governing body | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service |
Website | Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge |
The Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge (LSNWR) is part of the United States National Wildlife Refuge System. It is located in southeastern Dixie and northwestern Levy counties on the western coast of Florida, approximately fifty miles southwest of the city of Gainesville.
The 53,000-acre (210 km2)
For tourists, the refuge offers bird and wildlife observation, wildlife photography, fishing, canoeing, hunting, and interpretive walks. As of 2005, a wildlife driving tour is under construction and several boardwalks and observation towers offer views of refuge wildlife and habitat.
Wildlife resources
The Suwannee River and nearby bottomland hardwood
The refuge's undisturbed coastal salt marshes, tidal creeks, and
Wading birds appear in the summer, including American white ibis, great egret, snowy egret, cattle egret, great blue heron, little blue heron, green heron, and tricolored heron, as well as the limpkin and wood stork; many of them forage along the Suwannee and roost in the islands of the nearby Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuge.
These refuges also serve as a valuable nursery for
Wildlife surveys and censuses provide useful information regarding various refuge species including bald eagles, swallow-tailed kites, breeding birds, and amphibians. Under special-use permits, the University of Florida and the United States Geological Survey are involved in on-going research activities on the refuge for various species including salt marsh voles and mosquitoes.
Human historical significance
A 9 meters (30 feet) prehistoric midden known as the Shell Mound, which may be as much as 3,000 years old, is enclosed within the refuge, along with other evidence of ancient human habitation.
Habitat management
Before the Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge was established, much of the area was under commercial
In 2001, a conservation easement on the nearby California Swamp was acquired by the Suwannee River Water Management District, improving habitat preservation throughout the area.[1]
Wildfires from lightning strikes have always occurred naturally throughout much of the United States and is a critical component of many Florida ecosystems: many species of wildlife such as the Florida scrub jay depend on fire to sustain their habitat. Today, many of those fires cannot be left to burn unmanaged due to development. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service is one of many agencies that use prescribed fire to mimic natural fires in a controlled manner. Fire lines are established with heavy equipment, trained personnel operate under a specific plan, and fires are intentionally set to help reduce hazardous fuels in the wildland/urban interface, replenish nutrients into the soil, and control vegetation by reducing undesirable species or vegetation heights. The goal is to burn areas that need fire every two to five years to maintain optimum habitat conditions.
At times, the refuge
References
- ^ "News & Announcements". www.forestsystems.com. Archived from the original on 2001-11-29.
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.