Saving Special Places > Save Our Swamp >

A few decades ago, shallow, seasonal wetlands dominated the southwest Florida landscape, providing rich habitat and foraging grounds for endangered wood storks in the nation’s largest nesting rookery at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary. Today precious few natural areas remain, and these are threatened by developers, including Mirasol, which is seeking to build 799 houses and two golf courses on 1,700 acres, 1,400 of which are wetlands in Cocohatchee Slough, adjacent to the Sanctuary.

On Thursday, September 13, 2007, The South Florida Water Management District (District) Governing Board granted a permit to allow the Mirasol residential golf course project to move forward and destroy more than 600 acres of these wetlands. The Swamp’s best hope is that the Army Corps of Engineers and EPA reject the wetlands permit required by the developers to drain the swamp. Audubon and its allies, the Florida and National Wildlife Federations and the Conservancy of Southwest Florida, are determined to fight this horrible destruction of wetlands.

Audubon of Florida, and its partners in the Cocohatchee Slough Coalition, are employing every tool available to protect what wetlands remain in southwest Florida because they are vital to the reproductive success of federally listed endangered wood storks, as well as to our own quality of life.

Please don’t let Corkscrew Swamp and the Cocohatchee Slough fall victim to the needless destruction of valuable wetlands for another unnecessary golf course development. Please help us and sign the petition urging the federal government to Save Our Swamp!