Fakahatchee Strand.....A year in review

[Ghost Hunter]

Just be sure you don't go alone....and you absolutely must....must....must....at the very least take a compass with you. Best bet is have a reliable GPS if you want to wander off the tram ways into the slough. You only have to walk 15-20' in to lose sight of the trail and believe me......it's not the place you want to get lost in.




Living life one photo at a time.

[abigaillevans]

Thanks for the tips! I've got a small GPS I've used on the AT -- hopefully that'll work. The AT is pretty clearly marked, though.

[got ants]

I saw you out there today "Ghost Hunter". I was the passemger that passed you in the white pick up, with Terminix on the side.

We wemt to the next parking area, and I must say, I was very disappointed. They made that parking area much larger. That has created a lot of traffic in that particular area, and even worse, I saw recent signs of poaching.

I went out to see the Prosthechea cochleatas in bloom, only to find the area I once knew that had lots of them, stripped clean. You can even see horizontal cuts on the trees where they took the bark and all.

We left that area and went looking else where, only to be skunked on any knew finds. I'm leaving the Fak alone for a while... too much traffic.

[Ghost Hunter]

Yeah....you guys passed me.....I just sent you a PM from your poaching thread. Are you serious??? Someone took all the clams??? That makes me sick to my stomach! And not only are they poaching, which hurts the swamp, but they have no regard for the trees and they strip the bark which in turn injures the trees too. They aren't only stealing plants, but they are stealing the opportunity for everyone to enjoy the orchids they have come to know and love. I also noticed "cut marks" on a lot of trees yesterday on a few trails but didn't really see anything missing that I can tell. I did notice that there was not a single Clamshell in bloom which this time last year I found quite a few in bloom. Don't know if that's just due to the timing or poaching but either way it was disappointing. I spent a good few hours tying up orchids I found on the ground....I put up about 10 D. Porrectus, 10 Dingy's, 23 Ionopsis and 4 Cochleata's. These all appeared to be natural fall downs.....

That parking area is huge now......which was a bad move....that's one reason I try to go out there every weekend....I guess I consider myself a non-official protector of the Fakahatchee. I try to keep an eye on who's going where and doing what.

Don't stop going out there....our presence....and infrequent as it may be, is a discouraging effect to the potential poacher. I have no problem following people out there just to see 'who's doing what and going where." The more of us that are out there makes the swamp just that much safer. Even if it seems minuscule.

I'm joining the Friends of Fakahatchee (FOF) and was asked to join the board of directors recently. I'd like to propose & work on a fund to ad more trail cameras in as many areas as I can even if I have to buy the cams myself. I have a lot of friends and family that share my interests and love of the Fak.....people love seeing my photos of the orchids in bloom and knowing that they are disappearing hurts them too.

So don't stop going, don't stop your presence and next time you see me there, stop and say hi. I enjoy meeting other people that share my love and interest. The more of "us" there are the better and safer the swamp is.

here is the colony of Ionopsis I found on the ground.




Jared

Living life one photo at a time.

[stefpix]

Any suspicion about who these poachers might be and what are their motives? That is really bad and self defeating. stripping the whole branch of bark.

It is plain dumb. This way there will be nothing to poach. If they really can't avoid poaching why don't they take a piece of a division instead of the whole plant? The plant would generate new growth. You take the whole thing and it's gone.

[got ants]

Originally Posted by stefpix

Any suspicion about who these poachers might be and what are their motives? That is really bad and self defeating. stripping the whole branch of bark.

It is plain dumb. This way there will be nothing to poach. If they really can't avoid poaching why don't they take a piece of a division instead of the whole plant? The plant would generate new growth. You take the whole thing and it's gone.

Stefano, I see the cochleata all the time on eBay. It is presented as the "beginner" orchid and is "easy" to grow.

I'll be watching eBay and Craigslist more frequently now to see if these plants pop up. The problem is, its been a year since I was back in that area, so I don't know when they were poached.

[stefpix]

seems a lot of risk to sell something on ebay for 15 $. not worth the time to go to the strand poach then go to the post office. Does not make sense. I am sure in Florida it is easy to grow many orchids outside. Easier to buy a bunch of seedlings from a place like Oak Hill and resell them or let them grow a few years divide them and sell them.

[Justin Parkkonen]

Got Ants and Jared,

Sad to hear about the poaching, but nice to hear about the plants you saved as well. A large portion of the orchids found out there can be purchased legally and the people who appreciate them should appreciate seeing them in the wild even more. Poaching is so stupid.

I do feel that there are PLENTY of areas that will never be reached by poachers. They take too much work to find and visit and someone without the proper motivation, which is seeing these orchids thriving in their natural habitat, probably will never visit them. The poachers are likely not willing to invest the energy and do the research that we are willing to do.

Jared, where there any buds on the Ionopsis? That is a huge colony!

[Ghost Hunter]

Justin,

The 2 largest Ionopsis in the group had inflorescence with flowers on them, none others were in the process of blooming. Unfortunately, the plants appeared to have been on the ground for some time and they looked dehydrated and the flowers were dried up.

I'm really looking forward to seeing these in full bloom one day!


Living life one photo at a time.

[RosieC]

Awsome pics, what an amazing place. Thankyou for sharing your fantastic pics of them in the wild, I always love to see wild pics.