Buckingham Trails Preserve Land Stewardship Plan 2012 Buckingham Trails Preserve Land Stewardship Plan 8000 and 8790 Buckingham Road Fort Myers, FL 33905 Prepared by the Land Stewardship Section Lee County Department of Parks and Recreation Approved by the Lee County Board of County Commissioners: January 10, 2012 Acknowledgements We would like to thank the following for their assistance in the development of this document: The Conservation 20/20 Land Acquisition and Stewardship Advisory Committee, Roger Clark, Cathy Olson, and other Lee County staff for carefully reviewing the Buckingham Trails Preserve Land Stewardship Plan; Wanda Wooten and Karen Bickford (Division of Natural Resources) for advice on hydrologic restoration activities. Lee Waller Sherry Furnari Laura Greeno Laura Wewerka Table of Contents VISION STATEMENT ........................................................................................... 1 I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................. 2 II. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................. 4 III. LOCATION AND SITE DESCRIPTION .......................................................... 5 IV. NATURAL RESOURCES DESCRIPTION ..................................................... 8 A. Physical Resources ..................................................................................... 8 i. Climate ....................................................................................................... 8 ii. Geology ..................................................................................................... 8 iii. Topography .............................................................................................. 8 iv. Soils ....................................................................................................... 11 v. Hydrologic Components and Watershed ................................................ 13 B. Biological Resources ................................................................................. 15 i. Ecosystem Function ................................................................................. 15 ii. Natural Plant Communities ...................................................................... 15 iii. Fauna ..................................................................................................... 20 iv. Designated Species ............................................................................... 20 v. Biological Diversity .................................................................................. 20 C. Cultural Resources .................................................................................... 20 i. Archaeological Features .......................................................................... 20 ii. Land Use History ..................................................................................... 23 iii. Public Interest ......................................................................................... 30 V. FACTORS INFLUENCING MANAGEMENT ................................................. 30 A. Natural Trends and Disturbances .............................................................. 30 B. Internal Influences...................................................................................... 30 C. External Influences .................................................................................... 35 D. Legal Obligations and Constraints ............................................................. 38 i. Permitting ................................................................................................. 38 ii. Other Legal Constraints ........................................................................... 38 iii. Relationship to Other Plans .................................................................... 38 E. Management Constraints ........................................................................... 39 F. Public Access and Resource-Based Recreation ........................................ 40 i G. Acquisition ................................................................................................. 45 VI. MANAGEMENT ACTION PLAN .................................................................. 51 A. Management Unit Descriptions .................................................................. 51 B. Goals and Strategies ................................................................................. 54 VII. PROJECTED TIMETABLE FOR IMPLEMENTATION ............................... 62 VIII. FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS ............................................................... 63 IX. LITERATURE CITED ................................................................................... 64 X. APPENDICES ............................................................................................... 65 ii List of Exhibits Figure 1: Location Map ........................................................................................ 6 Figure 2: 2010 Aerial ............................................................................................ 7 Figure 3: Topography Map ................................................................................... 9 Figure 4: LiDAR Map ......................................................................................... 10 Figure 5: Soils Map ............................................................................................ 12 Figure 6: Watersheds Map ................................................................................. 14 Figure 7: Plant Communities Map ...................................................................... 19 Figure 8: Cultural Resources Map ..................................................................... 22 Figure 9: 1944 Aerial .......................................................................................... 25 Figure 10: 1953 Aerial ......................................................................................... 26 Figure 11: 1970 Aerial ........................................................................................ 27 Figure 12: 2002 Aerial ........................................................................................ 28 Figure 13: 2007 Aerial ........................................................................................ 29 Figure 14: Internal Influences (Ditches) ............................................................. 33 Figure 15: Other Internal Influences ................................................................... 34 Figure 16: External Influences ........................................................................... 37 Figure 17: Proposed Master Site Plan Map ....................................................... 44 Figure 18: STRAP Map ...................................................................................... 47 Figure 19: Acquisitions and Nominations Map ................................................... 48 Figure 20: Future Land Use Map ....................................................................... 49 Figure 21: Zoning Map ....................................................................................... 50 iii Figure 22: Management Units Map .................................................................... 53 iv List of Acronyms ATV all-terrain vehicle BRCP Buckingham Rural Community Preserve BTP Buckingham Trails Preserve BAAF Buckingham Army Air Field BOCC Lee County Board of County Commissioners C20/20 Conservation 20/20 CLASAC Conservation Lands Acquisition and Stewardship Advisory Committee CREW Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed ECWCD East County Water Control District ESA Environmental Site Assessment FDACS Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services FDEP Florida Department of Environmental Protection FGCU Florida Gulf Coast University FDOF Florida Division of Forestry FLEPPC Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council FLU future land use FNAI Florida Natural Areas Inventory FPL Florida Power & Light FWC Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission GMTR Ground Moving Target Ranges IRC Institute for Regional Conservation LCDCD Lee County Department of Community Development LCDCL Lee County Division of County Lands LCDNR Lee County Division of Natural Resources LCDP Lee County Division of Planning LCPR Lee County Department of Parks and Recreation LCDOT Lee County Department of Transportation LSOM Land Stewardship Operations Manual LSP Land Stewardship Plan LiDAR Light Detecting and Ranging MU Management Unit SFWMD South Florida Water Management District STRAP Section-Township-Range-Area-Block.Lot (Parcel) USACOE United States Army Corps of Engineers USFWS United States Fish and Wildlife Service v VISION STATEMENT Vision Statement It is the vision of the Lee County Parks and Recreation Department and the Conservation 20/20 Program to conserve, protect, and restore Buckingham Trails Preserve to a productive, functional, and viable ecosystem. Restoration of disturbed communities and the reintroduction of fire onto the Preserve through prescribed burns will further improve habitat for many rare native plant and animal species including endangered species such as the gopher tortoise. The Preserve will also protect the cultural resources and provide for educational opportunities for visitors. 1 I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Buckingham Trails Preserve (BTP) is located in eastern Lee County, within Sections 17 and 20, Township 44 South, Range 26 East. The Preserve contains