PINE RIDGE NATURE PRESERVE
Pine Ridge Nature Preserve is a 100-acre Longleaf Pine/Turkey Oak ecosystem, which provides opportunities for researchers and visitors to learn more about the sandhill ecosystem. The Preserve is home to six listed plant species, including Warea amplexifolia, and to endangered species such as the Indigo Snake and Gopher Tortoise. Habitat management projects include:
- The Fire and Management Plan for Bok Tower Gardens’ Natural Areas (Babb, Carpenter, and Price, 1989)
- A Vegetation Management Plan for the Pine Ridge Preserve
(Zander, 1998) - Annual counts of endangered Warea amplexifolia and Polygala lewtonii
- Annual collection of seed, propagation, and reintroduction of native sandhill plants
- Annual use of prescribed fire
- Control of invasive species
ENDANGERED SPECIES
Bok Tower Gardens is located on Iron Mountain, the highest point on the Lake Wales Ridge. The Pine Ridge Nature Preserve at Bok Tower Gardens gives visitors a chance to walk a 3/4-mile walking trail through this endangered longleaf pine and sandhill ecosystem and view many endangered plants and animals found nowhere else in the world. The variety of animals that live in the Garden emphasize the symbiotic nature of all environmental areas. Edward Bok, the Garden's founder, initially wanted to create a bird sanctuary. Bok Tower Gardens is listed on the Great Florida Birding Trail and is a wonderful spot to see many endangered and threatened birds, such as the Wood Stork and Florida scrub-jay.
Gopher Tortoise
The
gopher tortoise is the landlord of the longleaf pine and sandhill
community. This land turtle lives in deep burrows in the sandy
soil. Scientists have found more than 350 different animal species
living with the gopher tortoise or in its burrow, including the
rare and endangered indigo snake and Florida mouse, which also
call Bok Tower Gardens home. Some of these exist nowhere
else in the world and depend on the gopher tortoise for their
survival. Because so many animals depend on the gopher tortoise
to survive, it is called a keystone species. It is a lumbering,
gentle creature whose numbers have been declining due to hunting
and habitat destruction. Once used as a food source by Native
American and European settlers, the gopher tortoise is now protected
by law. Many plants also benefit from the burrowing. The open
sand created by excavating provides a nursery for germinating
seeds in the otherwise densely growing wiregrass. Several hundred
gopher tortoises live at Bok Tower Gardens.
Eastern Indigo Snake
The
eastern indigo snake is the largest non-venomous snake in North
America. It has been affected by two threats: habitat loss and
unsustainable use. Population declines have been so substantial
that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed indigo snakes
as a "threatened species" in 1979. Indigo snakes have
full protection as a threatened species in Florida. Preservation
of the Lake Wales Ridge habitat is important to the survival
of the indigo snake. By protecting and managing the longleaf
pine and sandhill habitat for birds and gopher tortoises, Bok
Tower Gardens is creating conditions that will enhance indigo
snake survival. Because approximately 95% of the longleaf pine
habitat in the Southeast have been destroyed, protection and
management of the remaining habitat is critical.
Gopher Frogs
Gopher frogs are secretive, winter-breeding frogs that breed only in characteristic breeding sites throughout their range. The breeding ponds are typically located in upland, longleaf pine forests such as the Lake Wales Ridge. Relatively shallow and temporary, these ponds lack fish and other large predators. Gopher frogs do not remain in these ponds throughout the year, they migrate to these sites to breed from their non-breeding season habitat. During the non-breeding season, the frogs take residence in gopher tortoise burrows, old mammal burrows and holes associated with dead trees.
Florida Mouse
The primary habitats of the Florida mouse are longleaf pine and sandhill forests such as the Lake Wales Ridge. The Florida mouse is a ground dweller and typically lives in burrows, favoring those of the gopher tortoise. Its diet consists of seeds, acorns, nuts, fungi, other vegetation, insects and other small invertebrates. The Florida mouse is threatened by widespread destruction of its restricted habitat. Overprotection from fire has allowed vegetation in many other areas to become too dense and shady. The species has disappeared from much of the Florida coast and interior and is becoming increasingly rare.
Habitat Preservation
Bok Tower Gardens burn program manages more than 60 acres of the Lake Wales Ridge. The plants found here are not only dependent on fire for their survival, but also have several characteristics that encourage fires to burn. Dense grass or shrubs and trees with flammable oils catch fire rapidly. They need the burning to stimulate growth, flowering or seed production. Land managers use prescribed burns, intentionally set fires, to promote and preserve the rich biological diversity of nature preserves and native forests. Animals that live in this habitat are able to find food and shelter more easily after the thick groundcover has burned.
