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Picayune Strand WMA consists of more than 76,000 acres in Collier
County two miles east of Naples south of I-75 and north of U.S.
41.
This land was logged for cypress in the 1950s and 1960s and was
then ditched and roads constructed for South Golden Gate
Estates, a famous “swampland in Florida” scam. In 1985 under the
Save Our Everglades program, the state began acquiring this land
from thousands of absentee landowners. Today the area is a mix
of pinelands, cypress, marshes, and pasture, and provides
habitat for wide-ranging
Florida panthers as well as
black bears,
bald eagles,
wood storks, Big Cypress fox squirrels, and
swallow-tailed kites. Hunting is available on the area. The Sabal
Pine Hiking Trail, jointly owned by Collier County, consists of
two short loops (1.9 and 1.3 miles) and traverses a dwarf
cypress forest. The trail can be accessed from Sabal Palm Road.
A 22-mile horse trail winds across the Belle Mead Tract from
Miller Boulevard to Benfield Road. An oak-shaded primitive
camping area can be found near the mid-point of the trail.
Additional campgrounds are located on 52nd Ave SE near the
Division of Forestry Office and on 134th Avenue, SE. Camping is
allowed by special-use permit from the Division of Forestry. The
numerous canals on the area are available for fishing and small
boats. A boat ramp is located on the Fakaunion Canal.
Parts of the area will be closed at varying times due to
Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Project construction. |
