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Chris Tucker
Wetlands
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The spring-fed Santa Fe River forms a mile long boundary along
the eastern portion of Fort White, located in northern Gilchrist
County between Branford and the town of Fort White. The 1,328-acre
area was established in 1998 through the
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s
Mitigation Park Program. Fort White’s natural features include
hardwood hammock along the Santa Fe River and 800 acres of longleaf
pine sandhills. The area is managed to
protect and enhance this ecosystem for protected species such as the
gopher tortoise and Sherman’s fox squirrel. The site is the
original location of Fort White, a military outpost operated during
Florida's territorial period, including the Second
Seminole Indian War (1835-1842). No remains of the fort are visible
today. Small portions of the property were used for agriculture and
commercial pine production, with timber harvesting occurring as
recently as the mid 1980s. Visitors may fish along the banks of the
Santa Fe River, launch canoes or kayaks for river exploration or
hike three miles of trails through sandhills and hardwood hammock.
The area is the domain of gopher tortoises, Sherman’s fox squirrels
and a variety of resident and migratory birds.
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