Region: North Palm Beach County
Size: 548 acres
Hours: Daily from sunrise to sunset
Location:
6161 Haverhill Road North, West Palm Beach, FL 33411 (not a mailing address). The natural area is located just south of Dyer Park on the west side of Haverhill Road, approximately 0.4 mile north of 45th Street.
Public Use Facilities:
None at present; hiking, photography, wildlife viewing, and other passive recreation activities are allowed on the site. Parking, restroom facilities, and drinking water are available in Dyer Park.
Site Information:
The natural area contains six native Florida ecosystems: mesic flatwoods, wet flatwoods, hydric hammock, depression marsh, wet prairie, and dome swamp. It was acquired by Palm Beach County in 2001. Approximately 235 acres of agriculturally-altered land are being restored to shallow-water and deep-water marshes through removal of invasive nonnative vegetation, removal of canals, installation of three water control structures, and extensive excavation. Native vegetation has been retained in five small islands within the excavated area to provide future rookery habitat, and a sandy/gravelly nesting island was created for terns. A moat was excavated around the islands to protect any nesting birds, and flats and a shallow pond were created as foraging areas for wildlife. Nearly 1,650 native trees were removed from the areas being excavated and relocated on the upland portions of the site and another 500 were relocated to the site as part of a road widening project. There will be a 3.4-mile canoe/kayak trail when the site work is completed. The soil removed during the excavation process was sold to the Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County for use at its nearby landfill. The natural area is managed by Palm Beach County. It is part of the Northeast Everglades Natural Area.
Plants:
Plant species relocated or transplanted on the site include cabbage palm, live oak, laurel oak, red bay, pond-cypress, and red maple. Other species observed on the site include slash pine, netted pawpaw, tarflower, royal fern, and common buttonbush. The excavated areas are anticipated to revegetate over time with other native wetland and upland species.
Wildlife:
Animal species observed on the site include bald eagle, nine-spotted ladybird beetle, rough greensnake, peninsula cooter, anhinga, green heron, loggerhead shrike, belted kingfisher, yellow-billed cuckoo, blackpoll warbler, and raccoon.
Links:
Coastal
