Maple Leaf Golf and Country Club
A Resident Owned 55+ Community
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Fun fact of the day
Wildlife
Natural Resources Committee – Wildlife at Maple Leaf
Florida Wildlife
The wildlife of Florida is rich and varied. Florida has a Wildlife Corridor that encompasses 15.8 million acres. Over 1.46 million acres within the Corridor support Florida’s Forever Program and approximately 600,000 acres support the US Fish & Wildlife Services Greater Everglades Program. The Corridor provides habitat for 42 federally listed endangered species, 24 threatened species and 15 candidate species. At the state level, there are an additional 176 species listed as endangered, 56 as threatened and 29 as species of special concern.
Threatened and endangered species include Crested Caracara, Everglades Snail Kite, Florida Grasshopper Sparrow, Florida Scrub-Jay, Red-Cockaded Woodpecker, Whooping Crane, Wood Stork, Florida Panther, West Indian Manatee, American Crocodile, Green Turtle, Leatherback Turtle, Hawksbill Turtle, Gulf Sturgeon, Okaloosa Darter, Sand Skink, Eastern Indigo Snake, Frosted Flatwoods Salamander, Highland’s Tiger Beetle, Choctawatchee Beach Mouse, Piping Plover, Etonia Rosemary and the Okeechobee Gourd.
There are 992 named rivers and streams crossing the Corridor that include 1150 miles of designated paddling trails. There are also 920 miles of the Florida National Scenic Trail within the Corridor. The portion that comprises the Everglades covers 1.5 million acres of southern Florida. The Everglades include a vast diversity of flora and fauna in different freshwater sloughs, marl prairies, tropical hammocks, pineland, cypress, mangrove, coastal lowlands, marine, and estuarine eco-systems. One hundred and fifty thousand acres make up Everglades National Park, a component that protects an unparalleled landscape which provides important habitat for numerous rare and endangered species.
Florida has the richest concentration of amphibians of any State in the USA. Many species are common and easy to see; otters, opossums, manatees, fox squirrels, raccoons, white-tailed deer, key deer and armadillos are among the more commonly seen mammals. Some interesting facts are:
There are 45 species of snakes in Florida.
Anole are so common in buildings in South Florida that they are called house lizards.
More than 50 species of sharks can be found in the waters around Florida,
Florida is a birders paradise with nearly 500 native species as well dozens of established exotics.
Florida residents and visitors are typically familiar with the tourism profiled wildlife. Favorites being pelicans, flamingos, loggerhead turtles, dolphins, geckos, alligators, armadillos, manatees, panthers, sharks and tarpon.
MAPLE LEAF WILDLIFE
Property description
Maple Leaf Golf and Country Club is located on 272 acres of land. Table 1 shows the current designations of this land.
Table 1. Maple Leaf Land Designation (Acres)
|
Turf |
Garden |
Natural Plant Community | Pond/Lakes |
Streams/Rivers |
Pavement |
Lawns |
Buildings |
Total Property |
| 58 | 6 | 11 | 29 | <1 | 27 | 85 | 178 | 272 |
The landscape composition is 58 acres of turf grass primarily related to the golf course. Another 85 acres of grass coverage is homeowner lawns. There are 29 acres of watershed and 27 acres of pavement related to roads. MLG&CC green space and gardens cover 17 acres of which only 6 acres are considered viable wildlife habitat. The remaining 178 acres are developed with buildings.
Wildlife observations
The NRC site has a TOPIC SECTION on Birds. MLG&CC has a very active birding group. To date 93 different bird species have been observed here. Currently, MLG&CC is developing its own e-bird account.
There have been numerous observations of mammals. Most common are opossums, fox, squirrels, raccoons, armadillos, rabbits, and bobcats.
The park is home to many reptiles. Alligators are often seen, but are removed from the park for safety concerns if they become aggressive. We have two types of turtles, many tree frogs, snakes, moles, and cricket moles,
The ponds provide excellent fishing for largemouth bass and numerous other fish types. Fishing is catch and release due to health concerns.
Pictures
NRC is always interested in any pictures you obtain of wildlife in the park. You can forward these to [email protected]
See our picture gallery below!
Documents
– to be added
