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This 590-acre preserve is a good example of Florida’s enlightened
policy of public-land management. The objective of the Florida Park
Service is to maintain – and re-create where necessary - the plant
communities and ecological systems that prevailed in the area before
the first Europeans arrived in the early 16th century.
The
Blackwater is one of the few remaining sand-bottom rivers in the
South-east, and despite the darkish color of the tannin-stained
water, it is one of the cleanest. The water contrasts dramatically
with the pristine white of the ever-changing sandbars deposited on
the curves and oxbows of the meandering river. |
The
Blackwater, understandably, is a great favorite for both canoeing
and swimming, with its fine sand beaches. Other features are the
nature trails and a board-walk across a swamp to a picnic area where
you find the state’s champion Atlantic white cedar, a noble tree
indeed.
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Florida:
guide, hotels
The ecological systems here include the river
floodplain with swamps, and levees, and small lakes; the pine
flatwoods, dominated by slash pine with an under story of green
brier, fetterbush, and gallberry; and the high pine lands that
support long leaf pines, turkey oaks, and sweet leaf. White-tailed
deer and turkeys may be seen in the woods, and the river otter roams
the floodplain. Open year-round. |
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