Swamp swap: Corkscrew's ‘perfect deal’

Wildlife main beneficiary of restoration
by kevin lollar • klollar@news-press.com • June 27, 2008

Passing through the gate was like crossing from one world to another.

On one side was Panther Island Mitigation Bank, a series of wetlands rich in diverse native vegetation and wildlife.

On the other was a 640-acre cow pasture full of cattle, low grass and little wildlife.

But the cattle will soon be gone, and the cow pasture will be restored to a more natural wetland state.

Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary has traded 1,280 acres to the South Florida Water Management District for the cow pasture, on the sanctuary’s north border, and 480 acres on its southwest border; the sanctuary’s two new properties will be restored as a mitigation bank.

“The swap is done,” sanctuary director Ed Carlson said...

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