COLLIER COUNTY, Fla. — Audubon’s Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary has partnered with Big Cypress Basin to restore wetland habitats. Big Cypress Basin is providing $100,000 toward the multi-million dollar effort to restore ecologic function to wetland habitats within the Sanctuary taken over by invasive plants.
“Partnerships like this are crucial for accomplishing the vision we have for Corkscrew Swamp,” said Sanctuary Director Lisa Korte, Ph.D. “These grant funds will pay for us to restore an additional 200 acres and will bolster the financial support that we’ve already received from community donors and other supporters for this five-year project.”
Restoring these wetlands also protects portions of Golden Gate Estates and the Corkscrew Island Neighborhood surrounding Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary by lessening the risk of catastrophic wildfire
The Sanctuary’s wetlands are a critical source of water flowing back into the aquifer and water flowing to the Imperial and Cocohatchee Rivers that feed Estero Bay’s estuaries.
These estuaries connect with the Wiggins Pass Estuarine Area and Cocohatchee River System of northwest Collier County.
Also, the wetlands store water in the dry season that reduces the risk of catastrophic wildfires.
