These days, it can be hard to remember what any place in the U.S. was like before it was settled by Europeans. In Florida, this is especially true in areas that were once longleaf pine forests. Over 95% of this habitat is gone and, of what's left, only about 2,000 acres could be considered "old growth".
Fortunately, all of those 2,000 acres are within a 2 hour drive of Tallahassee. One of these parcels can be found just east of Madison, Florida in the Blue Springs Tract of Twin Rivers State Forest. Surrounded by agricultural fields on all sides, this tiny remnant preserves the towering old pines and open understory that greeted Europeans when they first arrived in North Florida. It's one of my favorite places in Florida to explore.
Heather and I took our friend, Marisa, to nearby Madison Blue Spring State Park for a cool dip on a hot day. The spring was crystal-clear and lived up to my hype that it is my favorite spring in Florida. The reason for its clarity comes from the fact that many of the uplands that feed it aren't developed. Water is able to enter the Floridan Aquifer without gathering too much run-off. While farms still impact the aquifer, Twin Rivers State Forest occupies a decent chunk of the area and ensures that rainwater filters into the ground through native plants and sand, rather than parking lots and cow pastures.
The temperature was rising quick as we arrived at the Blue Springs Tract. The property is a rectangle, so we walked up one end, crossed the middle, walked down the other side, and looped back to the car. Butterfly milkweed grew in profusion and healthy, seeding wiregrass indicated that this property receives prescribed fire frequently and during the growing season...the way it's supposed to be.
Within minutes of leaving the parking lot, we could hear the distinctive call of our first Northern Bobwhites echoing through the forest. Not long after, another pine forest specialist alerted us to its presence: the Bachman's sparrow. These sparrows have declined as longleaf pine forests have either been lost completely, or have been fire-suppressed. Fortunately, this tract clearly held a healthy population as evidenced by the numerous singing males we ultimately found.
A couple gopher tortoises said hello as we walked, but we saw little else. Still, simply experiencing an old, intact forest like this is plenty for me. Healthy forests, unfortunately, do not impact the temperature much so after some exploring we were ready to get back into my jeep's air conditioning. We spent the rest of the afternoon road-cruising for snakes, finding a dead coachwhip, southern hognose snake, and even our first Common Ground-Dove on some nearby sandy roads.
By all accounts, it was a successful, if sweltering, day.
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