Staff Travel to Florida

In late January, GSS staff members Andy Nadeau and Kathy Allen travelled to Jacksonville, Florida, to kick off our latest NRCA project at Timucuan Ecological & Historic Preserve. The Preserve boundary includes 46,000 acres of natural area and historic sites just northeast of downtown Jacksonville. Much of the natural area is tidal salt marsh with braided creeks, bounded by the St. Johns and Nassau Rivers. Areas and structures within the Preserve also hold historical significance for French, Spanish, and English settlers of America, as well as the region’s indigenous people. The NRCA for Timucuan will assess the condition of park resources such as herpetofauna (amphibians and reptiles), hardwood hammock vegetation communities, fish, oysters, and water quality. During the trip, Andy and Kathy had the opportunity to visit several areas of the preserve, including Cedar Point, Fort Caroline National Memorial, Kingsley Plantation, and Round Marsh in the preserve’s Theodore Roosevelt Area.