Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary
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Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary is a National Audubon Society sanctuary located in southwest Florida, north of Naples, Florida and east of Bonita Springs. The sanctuary was established to protect one of the largest remaining stands of Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum) and Pond Cypress (T. ascendens) in North America from extensive logging of the tree that was ongoing throughout the 1940's and 50's. The Corkscrew Cypress Rookery Association was formed in 1954 to protect the area. The National Audubon Society accepted responsibility for management and started constructing the first boardwalk through the swamp in 1955. In all, nearly 4,500 ha (11,000 acres or 45 km²) of wetland was purchased or donated (most from or by the owners, Lee Tidewater Cypress Center Co. and Collier Enterprises).
Today, a boardwalk of a little over 3 km (2 miles) length provides walking access through (actually 'over') pine flatwoods, wet prairie, Pond cypress, Bald cypress, and marsh ecosystems within the sanctuary.
The sanctuary visitor center is a Living Machine demonstration site.
The sanctuary is an important breeding area for the endangered Wood Stork, and other wetland birds, and has good numbers of wintering passerines, including Painted Bunting. Specialist birds include Limpkin, Barred Owl and, in summer, Swallow-tailed Kite. As such, it has been designated as a 'gateway site' for the Great Florida Birding Trail.
American Alligators and Cottonmouths are also fairly tame here.
