By:
Chuck Woods (352) 392-0400Source(s):
Victoria Tschinkel vtschinkel@tnc.org, 407-682-3664
John Hayes hayesj@ufl.edu, 352-846-0643
GAINESVILLE, FLA. — The University of Florida and The Nature Conservancy celebrated 25 years of research and education on Nov. 4 at the Katharine Ordway Preserve and Carl Swisher Memorial Sanctuary in Putnam County.
The event also marked the upcoming gift of the 3,000-acre sanctuary from The Nature Conservancy to the University of Florida Foundation and naming the combined facilities as the Ordway-Swisher Biological Station.
Approximately 100 guests attended the event by invitation of UF President Bernie Machen and Victoria Tschinkel, state director of the conservation organization in Orlando.
Machen said UF research, education and conservation programs at the sanctuary have benefited from a long relationship with The Nature Conservancy, which he described as one of the world’s leading conservation organizations working to protect ecologically important lands and water.
He said the Ordway-Swisher Biological Station, which is managed by UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, is a biological field station established for the study and conservation of unique ecosystems.
“The celebration turns a new page in the relationship between UF and The Nature Conservancy,” Machen said. “We are looking forward to a close partnership that pairs environmental conservation with education, research and outreach.”
Tschinkel said, “We see this as an enhancement to our partnership that will bolster the Ordway-Swisher Biological Station as a research area and tool for the University of Florida science program. This will also allow us all to manage this beautiful and important place more efficiently and effectively.”
She said UF provides an important service in learning about the biological secrets this important Florida preserve holds, and in providing a place where the next generation of forest managers can learn and be inspired.
Tschinkel said the mission of The Nature Conservancy is to preserve the plants, animals and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive.
John Hayes, chairman of UF’s wildlife ecology and conservation department, said the property is a mosaic of wetlands and uplands that include sandhills, hammocks, upland mixed forests, swamps, marshes and lakes. A variety of fauna inhabit the station, including a number of state and federally listed species.
“The station’s research program focuses primarily on supporting research and education activities for UF students and faculty,” Hayes said. “The station’s education program includes workshops on environmental stewardship and training in conducting prescribed fires. Other universities and colleges, along with state and federal agencies, also utilize the station for research and education.”
Hayes said 46 UF graduate projects – 29 master’s degree and 17 doctoral degree projects – have been conducted at the station since 1982. About 170 research publications and reports have been generated from university, state, federal and private research studies at the station.
“Much of the research has focused on understanding the processes and dynamics of the sandhill ecosystem,” Hayes said. “This understanding has also been advanced by studies on water quality, acidification, ground water and chemical budgets of lakes, nutrient limitations and recharge effects to the water table aquifer from rainfall. The isolated, ephemeral ponds in this upland landscape are an important feature in the life histories of many species.”
He said about 516 species of plants and 284 species of vertebrates have been identified at the station. Of these, 26 are fish, 27 are amphibians, 45 are reptiles, 149 are birds and 35 are mammals. The Florida mouse, Sherman fox squirrel, eastern indigo snake, gopher tortoise, striped newt, rosemary wolf spider, bald eagle, gopher frog and black bear are examples of species that frequent the site.
The Swisher Family of Jacksonville bought the land in the 1930s and used the tract for 50 years as a private hunting and fishing preserve. In 1979, the Swisher Foundation approached The Nature Conservancy for assistance in establishing a wildlife sanctuary as a monument to the late tobacco industrialist, Carl Swisher. Two tracts of land, totaling 3,000 acres of wetlands and prairies, were donated to The Nature Conservancy, and the acreage was named the Carl Swisher Memorial Sanctuary.
In early 1980, the Goodhill Foundation awarded a grant to the UF Foundation to purchase 6,100 acres of upland high-pine sandhills from the Swisher Foundation. The acreage was preserved in the name of Katharine Ordway, the 3M Corporation heiress who founded Goodhill. At the same time, The Nature Conservancy agreed to lease the Carl Swisher Memorial Sanctuary to the UF Foundation, and both organizations signed a joint stewardship agreement for the combined properties.
The Goodhill Foundation also established an endowment administered by the UF Foundation for the management and protection of both the Katharine Ordway Preserve and Carl Swisher Memorial Sanctuary. UF was designated as the managing body for both properties. In order to more clearly identify the use and management of the properties, the UF Board of Trustees named them the Ordway-Swisher Biological Station earlier this year.
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