For 70 years, Audubon has protected our Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary and the wildlife that call it home — first from poachers, then from logging. Today, more than 80,000 annual visitors enjoy our 2.25-mile boardwalk through the largest remaining stand of old-growth cypress forest on the planet, a designated Wetland of International Importance. The Sanctuary spans twenty square miles of increasingly rare freshwater marsh, cypress swamp, and pine flatwoods, supporting iconic wildlife like Florida panthers, Snail Kites, Roseate Spoonbills, and ghost orchids. We need your help.
A New Threat
The proposed Kingston development upstream from the Sanctuary’s northern boundary is one of the biggest threats this special place has ever faced. Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary currently has the cleanest water quality in the region, which this development will almost certainly degrade.
Why it Matters
Water and fertilizer use by the 10,000 homes and 750,000 square feet of commercial space proposed at Kingston threaten the survival of the Sanctuary’s marshes, while the conversion of this sprawling 6,700+ acre tract from agriculture to rooftops will sever wildlife travel corridors, especially for Florida panthers. The Kingston development will severely restrict the ability of conservation neighbors to use prescribed fire to maintain habitats — a practice that in turn reduces the risk of large, damaging wildfires that would also threaten the proposed Kingston homes and businesses.
Audubon spent several years trying to negotiate with the developer to build common-sense protections for Florida panthers and water quality protection into their designs, without their substantial cooperation. We shared our concerns with permitting agencies in the hopes they would condition their approvals on requiring protective measures for wildlife and water, with no response.
Now we are dismayed to learn that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has issued the project’s last major permit, clearing the way for this threat to Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary to proceed.
What Audubon is Doing
This leaves us only one remaining recourse: To challenge the validity of the permit in court. We do not undertake litigation lightly, but when a neighbor proposes to cause avoidable impacts that threaten the integrity of our property, we cannot sit idly by. Especially when that property is the beating heart of wild Southwest Florida, home to panthers and ghost orchids, spoonbills and storks, as well as ancient bald cypress that cannot fight for themselves.
We Need Your Help
Protecting Corkscrew is neither cheap nor easy, and we will need your help.
Help us stand up for the survival of this special place and its irreplaceable wildlife.
