Over the past six months, Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary has hosted site visits with organizational partners as part of a collaborative effort to address wetland loss and degradation across our state.
Audubon staff excitedly welcomed members of the St. John’s River Water Management District to share best practices and discuss Carolina willow control and wetland restoration. Their team has tackled willow control in Northeast Florida for many years and they were very impressed with our work in the Sanctuary thus far.
A tour with Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) focused conversations on Audubon’s work to refine restoration methods for maximum restoration benefits while minimizing disturbance at the site. DEP staff members proposed using our restoration as a model to develop guidance and best practices for other landowners seeking to restore ecological benefits to wetlands that have been altered by willow on their properties.
Also visiting this spring were South Florida Water Management District and Big Cypress Basin officials. As the group toured the boardwalk, they were briefed on several key Audubon policy objectives, including restoration, watershed protection and management work, wetland regulatory reforms needed, and the roles that inland wetland restoration and protection play in climate resilience.
Introducing New Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary Director
Keith Laakkonen joined the Audubon team in January. As Sanctuary Director, Laakkonen oversees the management of the 13,450-acre Sanctuary and its 25 full- and part-time staff responsible for habitat stewardship, research, policy, and public engagement.
Laakkonen is a Southwest Florida native with more than 20 years of environmental management experience as a public servant. He most recently worked for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection as regional administrator for the Office of Resilience and Coastal Protection.
“I am grateful to the amazing volunteers and supporters who dedicate their time and treasure to help us conduct our science and education work, which is so important for Southwest Florida," says Keith. "Additionally, we have some big plans to elevate our work in a really significant way in the coming years, and I’m thrilled to be part of this transformational time for the Sanctuary.”
Laakkonen is also an avid birder and considers this to be his dream job. Welcome, Keith!
Visit the Sanctuary
Visit Audubon’s Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary this summer! Open daily with a variety of activities, join us bright and early for an Early Birding Walk or be a night owl on a Sunset Stroll or Night Walk. From the Corkscrew Hammock Day celebration on July 21 (we provide the hammocks) to a magical evening at the Moonlight on the Boardwalk event on August 1, explore the 2.25-mile boardwalk that serves as the gateway to an enchanting wilderness, with giant cypress trees more than 500 years old.
Florida residents receive discounted daily admission for the months of August and September! Visit corkscrew.audubon.org for details and our schedule of events.
This article appeared in the Summer 2023 Naturalist. Read the full magazine here.