Regional Conservation

Floristic Inventories of Conservation Areas in Lee County, Florida. 2006-2007. Conduct floristic inventories and rare plant surveys by plant community and over different seasons at Caloosahatchee Creek and Yellow Fever Creek Preserves in southwestern Florida. $26,000 contract with Lee County. Principal Investigator.

Long-term Monitoring of Old World Climbing Fern (Lygodium microphyllum) in Southern Florida. Since 2002. Analysis of rate of spread of the exotic vine Lygodium microphyllum, its impact on native plant communities, and future effects of the introduction of biocontrol agents. Cooperative agreement with US Department of Agriculture. $100,000 budget for first five years of work. Principal Investigator.

Long-term Monitoring of Vegetation Affected by Brine Deposition in Everglades National Park, Monroe County, Florida. Since 2003. Establishment of long-term monitoring study to determine effects on native vegetation of brine deposition associated with a desalinization plant in the southern part of Everglades National Park. Incorporated rare plant surveys into the project. $20,000 cooperative agreement with Everglades National Park. Principal Investigator.

Monitoring of Hydrologic Restoration in Southwest Florida. 2005-2006 Establish permanent vegetation monitoring plots to gauge plant community response to hydrologic restoration in Picayune Strand State Forest as part of Greater Everglades Ecosystem Restoration. $63,000 contract with South Florida Water Management District. Principal Investigator.

Rare Plant Monitoring and Restoration on Long Pine Key, Everglades National Park. 2002-2007. Survey and establish long-term monitoring protocols for 30 rare plant species covered in IRC’s book, Rare Plants of South Florida: Their History, Conservation, and Restoration as part of Everglades National Parks Critical Ecosystems Study Initiative (CESI). Develop recommendations for augmentations and reintroductions of extirpated species. Develop methods to evaluate the effects of changed in hydrology associated with the Everglades Restoration on rare plant populations. $300,000 budget for first five years. Principal Investigator.

Status Survey of the Federally-threatened Garber’s Spurge (Chamaesyce garberi) in South Florida. 2006-2007. Determine distribution, estimate populations, identify threats, and assess conservation needs. 2006-2007. Principal Investigator.

Technical Assistance to Miami-Dade County and Participation in Natural Areas Management Working Group, Miami-Dade County, Florida. Since 2002. Collaborated with Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden and provided technical assistance to establish a rare plant monitoring program based on the recommendations in IRC’s book, Rare Plants of South Florida: Their History, Conservation, and Restoration. Also assisted with the writing of Miami-Dade County’s first comprehensive multi-habitat management plan covering all county-owned conservation areas. Cooperative agreement with Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. Principal Investigator.

Botanical Training in Southwestern Florida. 2006. Compiled preliminary plant list and trained professional consulting staff in plant identification at Babcock Ranch in Charlotte County. $5,000 contract with Johnson Engineering. Principal Investigator.

Projects Completed in 2005

Aerial Surveys of National Wildlife Refuges in Southern Florida. 2005. Conducted aerial surveys and prepared maps of exotic pest plants in nine National Wildlife Refuges using a fixed wing aircraft at 500 feet elevation, Trimble GPS units and ArcMap GIS. $47,000 contract with the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Principal Investigator.

Coastal Upland Restoration in Martin County, Florida. 2005. Assisted with selection of plant palette, design of vegetation, layout, and physical staking for coastal upland restoration project. $6,800 contract with Martin County. Principal Investigator.

Conservation Assessment of Key West Botanical Garden, Key West, Florida. 2005. Conducted assessment of living plant collection and natural areas. $3,400 contract with Key West Botanical Garden. Principal Investigator.

Floristic Inventory of Conservation Area in Lee County, Florida. 2005-2006.Conducted floristic inventory and rare plant surveys by plant community and over different seasons at Wild Turkey Preserve in southwestern Florida. $17,000 contract with Lee County. Principal Investigator.

Floristic Inventories of Conservation Areas in Monroe County, Florida. 2005. Conducted floristic inventories and rare plant surveys by plant community in two recently acquired conservation areas in the Florida Keys. $4,750 contract with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Principal Investigator.

Ground Truthing of Vegetation Maps of Everglades National Park and Big Cypress National Preserve. 2004-2005. Collected transect data within 300+ randomly selected plots to assess accuracy of vegetation maps prepared by the University of Georgia. Utilized transect data collected during four years of floristic inventory work to develop preliminary assessment of accuracy. $115,000 cooperative agreement with National Park Service. Principal Investigator.

Floristic and Faunistic Inventory, Miami-Dade County, Florida. 2005. Compiled lists of plants and animals for newly acquired recreation area to determine conservation needs. $2,000 contract with Village of Palmetto Bay. Principal Investigator.

Re-mapping of Vegetation in the Greater Everglades Ecosystem. 2005. Assisted team from Florida International University (FIU) and the US Environmental Protection Agency in re-monitoring vegetation plots in Everglades National Park, Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, and Everglades and Francis S. Taylor Wildlife Management Areas. $14,000 contract with FIU. Principal Investigator.

Restoration Consultation in Southwestern Florida. 2004. Conducted rapid assessment and provided ecological restoration recommendations for degraded coastal wetlands in the Caloosahatchee Creeks Preserve. $1,200 contract with Lee County. Principal Investigator.

Collection of Herbarium Specimens at Big Cypress National Preserve. 2003-2004. Collection of several hundred herbarium specimens in an attempt to fully voucher this 730,000 acre conservation area. $10,000 contract with National Park Service. Principal Investigator.

Floristic Inventory and Rare Plant Assessment of the Miami Circle, Miami-Dade County, Florida. 2004.Conducted inventory and assessment of this State Historic Site along the Miami River. $800 contract with the Florida Department of State. Principal Investigator.

Floristic Inventory of Conservation Area in Lee County, Florida. Conducted floristic inventory and rare plant surveys by plant community and over different seasons at Prairie Pines Preserve in southwestern Florida. $15,000 contract with Lee County. Principal Investigator.

Floristic Inventories of Conservation Areas in Monroe County, Florida. 2004. Conducted floristic inventories and rare plant surveys by plant community in two recently acquired conservation areas in the Florida Keys. $2,400 contract with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Principal Investigator.

Inventory of Vascular Plant Species of Big Cypress National Preserve . 2001-2004. Conducted comprehensive quantitative floristic survey of the 730,000 acre Big Cypress National Preserve by establishment and data collection along randomly placed line transects throughout the preserve, surveys of randomly selected 1 square km cells, and data collection in randomly placed rectangular plots. Collected herbarium vouchers for plant species not previously collected in the preserve. $107,000 contract with National Park Service. Principal Investigator.

Inventory of Vascular Plant Species of Biscayne National Park . 2001-2004. Conducted comprehensive quantitative floristic survey of the 173,000 acre Biscayne National Park by establishment and data collection along line transects throughout the preserve, and surveys of all 1 square km cells in the park. Collected herbarium vouchers for all plant species in the park when fertile material was available. $42,000 contract with National Park Service. Principal Investigator.

Monitoring of Fire Effects in Pine Rocklands in Miami-Dade County, Florida. 2003-2004. Collaborated with Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in study of relationship of fire frequency and fragment size to plant diversity in conservation areas managed by Miami-Dade County. $5,200 contract with Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. Principal Investigator.

Status Surveys of Two Rare Coastal Endemics in Southwestern Florida. 2003-2004. Conducted field surveys and herbarium research on two rare species in southwestern Florida (Harrisia aboriginum; Helianthus debilis ssp. vestitis) as recommended in IRC’s book, Rare Plants of South Florida: Their History, Conservation, and Restoration). $20,000 contract with US Fish and Wildlife Service. Principal Investigator.

Projects Completed in 2003

Collection of Vegetation Data for Wildlife Study, Southwestern Florida. 2003. Collaborated on study relating wildlife habitats to vegetation assemblages including invasive exotics at Prairie Pines Preserve. $5,500 contract with Lee County. Principal Investigator.

Fragrant Prickly-Apple (Harrisia fragrans) Annual Monitoring and Mapping, Savannas State Reserve, St. Lucie County, Florida. 1999-2003. Conducted demographic monitoring of a population of the endangered cactus Harrisia fragrans in St. Lucie County and analyzed demographic trends. $43,000 grant from Florida Division of Forestry. Principal Investigator.

Rare Plant Workshops, South Florida. 2003. Conducted six day workshops drawing nearly 100 participants from 26 public and private conservation agencies throughout South Florida. Workshops included review of the book Rare Plants of South Florida: Their History, Conservation, and Restoration, identification of rare plants, management discussions, and conservation planning. $12,500 grant from Elizabeth Ordway Dunn Foundation. Principal Investigator.

Projects Completed in 2002

Comprehensive Aerial Survey of Exotic Plants, A.R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, Palm Beach County, Florida. 2002. Aerial survey of the 150,000 acre A.R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge in a low flying aircraft for exotic pest plants, collection of data with Trimble GPS units, and incorporation of data into an ArcView GIS system. $8,000 contract with US Fish and Wildlife Service. Principal Investigator.

Establishment of South Florida Rare Plant Conservation Program. 2000-2002. Continued work on Floristic Inventory of South Florida, launched IRC website (www.regionalconservation.org) and Floristic Inventory of South Florida Database Online, and contributed to writing of Rare Plants of South Florida (see below). $17,500 grant from National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and $20,000 grant from Elizabeth Ordway Dunn Foundation. Principal Investigator.

Floristic Inventories of Martin County Conservation Areas, Martin County, Florida. 2002. Conducted floristic inventories and rare plant surveys by plant community in Martin County. Mapped rare plant occurrences. $17,000 contract with Martin County. Principal Investigator.

Writing and Publication of Book, Rare Plants of South Florida: Their History, Conservation, and Restoration. 1999-2002. Wrote and published a 1056 page book covering South Florida’s 355 regionally extinct and critically imperiled plant species. Covers the history of each species in the region and management recommendations. A chapter is also included providing data on rare plants in each of over 200 preserves in the region, with recommendations for rare plant management in each preserve. Received positive reviews from peers and in the journal Ecological Restoration. Primarily funded with internal funds. Principal Investigator and Author.

Projects Completed in 2001

Aerial Monitoring of Exotic Plant Species, Miami-Dade, Monroe, and Collier Counties, Florida. 2001. Conducted aerial surveys of the 1.5 million acre Everglades National Park, the 730,000 acre Big Cypress National Preserve, and the 173,000 acre Biscayne National Park in a low flying aircraft for exotic pest plants, collecting data with Trimble GPS units. $54,000 contract with National Park Service. Lead Principal Investigator.

Floristic Inventory and Rare Species Survey of Properties Owned by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission in the Florida Keys, Monroe County, Florida. 2000-2001. Surveyed 22 conservation areas throughout the Florida Keys to prepare a plant list for each property and collect GPS coordinates for rare plant species encountered during the surveys. $18,500 in contracts with Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Principal Investigator.

Projects Completed in 2000

Biological Monitoring of Exotic Plants, 10 Southernmost Counties of Florida. 1997-2000. Conducted aerial surveys for exotic plant species from a low-flying aircraft for all of South Florida from Lake Okeechobee south. Designed and initiated a long term monitoring study to analyze the rate of spread of the exotic vine Lygodium microphyllum and its impact on native plant communities. Developed the Exotic Plants of South Florida database on CD-ROM. $120,000 contract with the South Florida Water Management District. Principal Investigator.

Demography of Federally-listed Endangered Plant Taxa in Pine Rocklands, Miami-Dade County. 2000. Mapped positions of federally endangered Amorpha crenulata at a sub-meter accuracy using Trimble GPS units and collected life history data on individual plants. Mapped population boundaries of the federally endangered Polygala smallii and Galactia smallii. Provided database of locations of 6 federally endangered plant taxa. $15,000 contract with Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. Principal Investigator.

Floristic Survey and Rare Species Assessment of the Non-County Owned Properties in the Richmond Pine Rocklands, Miami-Dade County, Florida. 2000. Conducted surveys of 11 properties at the Richmond Pine Rocklands, developed floristic inventories for each property, and mapped rare plant occurrences. $5,000 contract with Miami-Dade County. Principal Investigator.

Projects Completed in 1998

Rare Plants of Florida Scrub in Martin, St. Lucie, and Indian River Counties, Florida. 1997-1998. Performed surveys and compiled plant lists for scrub sites in three counties along the Florida East coast; conducted surveys for endangered plant species in the region, including a taxon that was newly discovered by IRC staff, Dicerandra immaculata var. savannarum. Mapped the endangered cactus Harrisia fragrans at the Savannas State Reserve at sub-meter accuracy using Trimble GPS units. $48,000 cooperative agreement with US Fish and Wildlife Service. Principal Investigator.

Projects Completed in 1997

Management Plans for Juno Dunes and Juno Dunes Oceanfront Natural Areas, Palm Beach County, Florida. 1997. Co-authored state-required management plans for two county-owned conservation areas. Performed extensive surveys of the properties, compiled floristic inventories, and developed management recommendations for each plant community on each property, each rare plant species, and each exotic plant species. $10,000 in contracts with The Nature Conservancy. Author.