We have a unique opportunity to protect the biodiversity of our region’s plants and animals with the purchase of the Hickory Preserve.

The Hickory Preserve is a 99-acre tract of forested Red Hills land in Leon County, Florida. It is located northeast of Tallahassee, just east of the Miccosukee Canopy Road Greenway. It is part of the Black Creek sub-basin of the St. Mark’s River watershed.

Our goal is to preserve and restore this land.

Preserving this land would:

  • Protect a rare piece of original Red Hills Hickory-Oak slope woodlands.

  • Restore rare Red Hills Shortleaf Pine/Oak/Hickory woodland habitat.

  • Protect and conserve forested wetlands and water resources.

  • Protect and improve wildlife habitat, and increase the connectivity of wildlife habitat and conservation lands into the future.

  • Provide an ideal place to locate a conservation cemetery that would be a part of the restoration of the land.

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An introduction to the land.

This land is home to a rich diversity of plants and animals including:

Maple swamp: A beautiful maple-dominated swamp occurs on the lowest portions of the property. This wetland is contiguous with, and drains to Black Creek and its large downstream wetlands (see map). Within this forested wetland occurs an intermittent or seasonal stream that drains into Black Creek and is part of the large Black Creek wetland system. This piece of the Black Creek watershed helps maintain water quality and quantity in Black Creek and the St. Marks River basin. Protecting both wetlands and adjacent uplands on this site would help preserve water quality and quantity going to all downstream ecosystems.

Hickory/oak woods: A rare piece of original Red Hills Hickory-Oak slope woodlands, with large, old Mockernut Hickory and Live and Laurel Oak trees, can be found in a zone just upslope from the forested wetlands. This is a valuable piece of one type of remaining Shortleaf Pine-Oak-Hickory woodlands which were once widespread in the Red Hills but are now rare. There also are still wildflowers surviving here that are rare remnants of the once rich groundcover that was maintained when these were open lands.

Wildflowers

Some wildflowers from the land…. Many more will return and multiply as the land is restored.

Mistflower (Conoclinium coelestinum)

Goldenrod (Solidago sp.)

Climbing Hempweed (Mikania scandens)

Carolina Wild Petunia (Ruellia caroliniensis)

Starry Rosinweed (Silphium astericus)

Mixed pine/oak woodlands: Mixed stands of planted pines, young oaks and scattered large live and laurel oaks occur on the highest portion of this land. Much of the upland portion of this land was cleared and used for agriculture until recent decades when it was planted with pines and then allowed to naturally reforest. At one time most of this upland portion of the property was likely Shortleaf pine/Oak/Hickory woodlands - habitat that was once widespread in the Red Hills but is now very rare. This land is ideal for restoration to Shortleaf Pine-oak-hickory woodlands. It lies between two other remnant Shortleaf Pine-Oak-Hickory woodland sites, one on the Miccosukee Greenway to the west and the other on private lands to the east. This is the area that will include the conservation cemetery and will be the focus of our Shortleaf pine/oak/hickory restoration work.

Some large, old oaks, pines and hickories occur, mostly in the eastern portion of the property on the steeper slopes toward the swamp. Some scattered large live and laurel oaks grow in the western part of the land also.

Wildlife: This land is home to bobcats, white-tailed deer, foxes, raccoons, opossums, migrating and resident birds including the threatened swallow-tailed kite, barred owls and red-shouldered hawks. It is also home to many small mammals, reptiles and amphibians, and insects (including lightning bugs/fireflies that require dark skies). Protecting this land will allow these species to continue to thrive, and restoring it will greatly improve habitat for wildlife. Protecting this land will also benefit wildlife into the future by serving to help provide a vital connection between existing conservation lands to the east and west.

Swallow Tailed Kite

The unforgettable sight of Swallow-tailed kites soaring through the summer sky is a frequent occurrence at the Hickory Preserve site during the spring-summer breeding season. Often occurring in groups or pairs they depend on the forested wetlands and adjacent uplands to forage and nest.

Migratory Birds

A host of small, colorful birds, including many songbirds, cuckoos and hummingbirds use the habitat and food resources that Hickory Preserve provides for parts of the year as they migrate between their northern breeding areas and their more southern wintering areas.

Common Yellow-throat

Hooded Warbler

Yellow-billed Cuckoo

Northern Parula

Scarlet Tanager

Resident Birds

Many birds are year-round residents.

Many birds are year-round residents.

Carolina Chickadee

Barred Owl

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Pileated Woodpecker

Moths and Butterflies

These moths and butterflies represent a few of the many types of insects that inhabit this land. Birds and other animals depend on insects, including the caterpillars and larvae of butterflies and moths.

Red-spotted Purple Butterfly

Imperial Moth

Red-banded Hairstreak Butterfly

Io Moth

Zebra Longwing Butterfly

An example of our restoration goal: Native Shortleaf Pine/Oak/Hickory Woodland with open canopy and diverse ground cover of grasses and wildflowers.

We have a unique opportunity to purchase and preserve this special land. It has rare, old oak-hickory forest, a beautiful maple swamp and many acres of land with scattered large oaks, ideal for restoration to pine-oak-hickory woodland. It is also a perfect place for a green burial conservation cemetery on a portion of the property (20-30 acres).

With your help, we can protect this special part of the Red Hills ecosystem for generations to come.