SAINT VINCENT ISLAND
NATIONAL WILDLIFE RESERVE EXCURSION
Flora, fauna, and HISTORY
SAINT VINCENT ISLAND
NATIONAL WILDLIFE RESERVE EXCURSION
Flora, fauna, and HISTORY
Introduction - St Vincent Island
St. Vincent National Wildlife Refuge is an undeveloped barrier island just offshore from the
mouth of the Apalachicola River, in the Gulf of Mexico, accessible only by boat. The refuge is
managed to preserve, in as natural a state as possible, its highly varied plant and animal
communities. Habitat types range
from: tidal marsh; freshwater lakes
and streams; dunes dominated by live
oak/mixed hardwood understory;
scrub oaks; relatively pure stands of
cabbage palm; and four different slash
pine communities. St. Vincent is an
important stop-off point in the Gulf of
Mexico region for neo-tropical
migratory birds. The island is a haven
for endangered and threatened
species, including bald eagles, sea
turtles, indigo snakes, and gopher
tortoises. Wood storks use the refuge during their migration. In addition, the refuge serves as a
breeding area for endangered red wolves.
St. Vincent Timeline
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240 Oldest pottery shards found on St. Vincent indicate Indians inhabited the island at this
time.
1633 Franciscan Friars named the island while visiting Apalachee Tribes.
1750 Creeks and Seminoles, offshoots of the Creek nation, entered area and inhabited the
island.
1868 George Hatch bought the island at an auction for $3,000.00. Hatchs grave is the only
marked grave on the island.
1908 New owner, Dr. Pierce, spent about $60,000 importing Old World game animals.
1920 Island-grown beef cattle were sold to Apalachicola markets.
1940 First oyster lease granted. Pierce Estate sold first pine saw timber. St. Joe lumber
Company built a temporary bridge to island for timber removal.
1948 Loomis brothers bought island for $140,000 and imported zebras, elands, black bucks,
ring-necked pheasants, Asian jungle fowl, bobwhite quail, and semi-wild turkey.
1968 St Vincent purchased by Nature Conservancy for $2.2 million. U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service repaid Conservancy with money from Duck Stamp sales. Established as St. Vincent
National Wildlife Refuge.
The St. Vincent Tour will take you on the outside of Apalachicola and out Two Mile Cut through the
productive shallow waters of Apalachicola Bay to the pristine St Vincent barrier island. You may see
dolphins come up to the boat
for a closer look at the
passengers or spot a manatee
easing by. Eagles, Ospreys, and
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Brown Pelicans all frequent the
bay and island. When we reach
the Island the passengers will
have a one hour shore excursion
on pristine St. Vincent Island
before heading back to
Apalachicola. You can do some
shelling, walk the beach, or
follow trails through the pine woods of the pristine island. The island is dissected by dune ridges, which
are geological records of ancient beaches and fluctuating sea levels over the last 5,000 years. Many of
the sand roads on St. Vincent follow these ridges, extending from east to west the length of the island.
A Submerged Island to the west side of the river was once a prominent land feature in the 1800s but the
ravages of wind and current have reduced it
to a shoal today. These islands come and go
over time. Note the protected waters of
Two Mile Channel along the south side of
town. Shoal Areas in the Apalachicola Bay
run south from the mouth of the river
bordering the river channel with alluvial
deposits. The main shoal is about a third of
the way across the bay on the way to St.
George Island and is as shallow as 1 foot at
low tide.
St. Vincent Sound occupies the west end of
the bay on the way to
Indian Pass. These very
shallow waters are always
difficult to navigate and can
become treacherous even
to experienced local guides
and mariners during
extreme weather and or
tides.
Sheepshead Bayou The interdune areas change from
freshwater lakes and sloughs on
the east to dry upland pine
forests on the west end of the
island. Four miles wide at the
east end and nine miles long, this
triangular island is larger and
wider than most of the northern
Gulf Coast barrier islands, St
George Island in conjunction
with Little Saint George Island is
a rare exception .
Sheepshead bayou
This protected cove on St.
Vincent Island provides safe
habitat for an abundance of fish
and wildlife.
View from Sheepshead bayou looking Southeast.
The Starfish Enterprise gently beached at Sheepshead bayou.
The blue crab is greatly cherished in the South. This interesting animal is often sought by
recreational fishermen; it also supports a considerable commercial fishery. The blue crab
requires both inshore brackish waters and high salinity ocean waters to complete its life cycle.
They are common from Massachusetts to Texas. Franklin County produces nearly 10 percent of
the hard-shell blue crabs landed in Florida. Blue crabs, both hard-shell and soft-shell or
"peelers" are typically harvested inshore in the estuary. The blue crab's scientific name,
Callinectes Sapidus, translates to "savory beautiful swimmer.
"Try your luck at catching a St. Vincent
Island Blue Crab. Don’t let them catch
you first, ouch!
St. Vincent Island Blue Crab
Driftwood on the bayside of St. Vincent Island
Hermit Crab in a Moon Snail Shell on the deck of the Starfish.
Sheepshead Bayou, walking the trail toward the Gulf side and looking for wildlife and sign.
Fire on St. Vincent Island
Fire is a natural part of the ecosystems in North America.
Here on St. Vincent National Wildlife Refuge, fire is
ignited in two different ways. The first way is unplanned
fires ignited by lightning. These unplanned fires are called
wildfires. The second way is planned fires ignited by the
refuge fire staff called prescribed fires.
Wildfires - Before St. Vincent Island was altered with
roads, lightning would ignite a fire that could burn
throughout the islands various habitats. Now when
lightning starts a fire, the refuge fire staff decides where
to stop the wildfire. We use tactics that minimize damage
to the hydrology of the island. These tactics may include
using water, building control lines or using a controlled
fire called a back fire against the wildfire.
http://www.fws.gov/saintmarks/fire.html.
Prescribed Fires - Since the island has been changed by human activity, planned fires called
prescribed fires or controlled burns are ignited by fire staff to mimic the lightning fires.
Mimicking the lightning fires with prescribed fires achieves the same results as the naturally
occurring wildfires. Fire reduces the amount of live and dead leaves from flammable firedependent plants, which reduces the potential damage of a wildfire.
Diversity of Habitat Fire opens up the ground cover to bare mineral soil, so that the plant seeds
can have space to germinate. Fire promotes plant diversity in the habitat, which offers a range
of food sources for the animals and birds that live on or migrate through St. Vincent National
Wildlife Refuge.
Gopher tortoises, one of the many
animals living on St. Vincent Island,
rely on fire to keep their habitat
suitable. Without fire, the woody
plants and saw palmetto grow very
tall and thick. Little sunlight can
reach the ground. The herbaceous
plants that are the primary food
source for the gopher tortoises do
not grow in the shade. Fire keeps the
woody plants including saw palmetto
short and sparse, so that the
herbaceous plants continue to
flourish for the gopher tortoises to
eat.
Sea Side Sparrow
Marsh birds, like the sea side sparrow,
prefer that marsh grasses are open and free
of dead leaves. The sea side sparrow keeps
their nests in the more open marsh and
walks around on the ground to eat seeds,
insects and marine invertebrates. When the
marsh is too thick, the sparrows do not
nest. Fire keeps the marsh open and
cleaned up
of dead leaves from the marsh grasses. To
keep the grasses open like the sea side
sparrow prefers, the fire management staff
burns the marshes frequently, approximately every
other year.
Dolphins and mullet, predator and prey, frequent
the mouth of the river. The Atlantic Bottlenose
Dolphin ranges in length from six to 12.5 feet, with
males slightly larger than females. Adults weight
from 300-1400 pounds. The lifespan is 40 to 50
years. They are commonly found in groups of 2 to
15 individuals. Bottlenose dolphins feed on a
variety of prey items "endemic" to their habitat,
foraging individually and cooperatively. Like other
Bottlenose dolphin
dolphins, bottlenose dolphins use high frequency
echolocation to locate and capture prey. Their coloration ranges from light gray to black with
lighter coloration on the belly.
Mullet
Mullet feed on vegetation, algae, plankton and detritus, and take on
the flavor of their surroundings. The mullet family of fish can be
found almost worldwide and has been an important source of food
for centuries. In this area, mullet are mostly caught by individuals
using cast nets. Often fried or smoked, it is a favorite fish of local
humans and dolphins alike.
3. Osprey and Bald Eagle areas. The osprey, also known
as a fish hawk, can easily be mistaken for the bald eagle
from a distance. Ospreys have a white head similar to the
bald eagle; however, ospreys have a distinctive dark
eyestripe that goes down the side of their faces. Another
distinguishing feature is that ospreys soar with a slight
crook in their wings, whereas the eagle’s wings are totally
Osprey
flat when soaring. Living up to 30 years in the wild, their wingspan can reach four to six feet.
Bald eagle
The Bald Eagle has been the national emblem
of the United States since 1782 and a spiritual
symbol for native people for far longer than
that. These regal birds aren’t really bald, but
their white-feathered heads gleam in contrast
to their chocolate-brown body and wings. Look
for them soaring in solitude, chasing other
birds for their food, or catching fish. Their
wingspan can reach six to eight feet.
The Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) is unique among
the world's seven species of pelicans. It is the only dark
pelican, and also the only one that plunges from the air into
the water to catch its food. It is the smallest of the eight
species of pelican, although it is a large bird in nearly every
other regard, with a wingspan from six to eight feet. Once
threatened by the effects of the pesticide DDT, the brown
pelican has made an amazing comeback similar to that of the
bald eagle.
They are often seen perching on boats, docks, and other
structures near the water. Their diet consists of fish and
crustaceans.
The brown pelican
The blue crab is greatly cherished in the South. This
interesting animal is often sought by recreational
fishermen; it also supports a considerable commercial
fishery. The blue crab requires both inshore brackish
waters and high salinity ocean waters to complete its
life cycle. They are common from Massachusetts to
Texas. Franklin County produces nearly 10 percent of
the hard-shell blue crabs landed in Florida. Blue crabs,
both hard-shell and soft-shell or "peelers" are
typically harvested inshore in the estuary. The blue
crab's scientific name, Callinectes Sapidus, translates
to "savory beautiful swimmer."
The Wood Duck is one of the most beautiful of all
waterfowl. These birds live in wooded swamps, where
they nest in cavities in trees or in nest boxes. They are
one of the few duck species equipped with strong claws
that can grip bark and perch on branches. In precolonial times, the wood duck was likely the most
abundant waterfowl species in eastern North America.
Unfortunately, their distribution within densely settled
regions made them readily accessible to market hunters
throughout the year. Overharvesting, coupled with the
destruction of bottomland habitats, drove these colorful
birds to the brink of extinction by the early 20th century.
Male wood duck
The dramatic rebound of wood duck populations since
that time can be largely attributed to protection
provided by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. The
recovery of the wood duck was also assisted by the
advent of artificial nesting structures, known as wood
duck boxes. The female lines the nest with down
feathers she takes from her breast.
Wood ducks are year-round residents here. They have a
varied diet but consume mostly plant material from
sources such as waterlily, panic grass, and duckweed.
When aquatic foods are scarce, they may eat acorns and
other nuts from forests and grain from fields. They also
eat blackberries, flies, beetles, caterpillars, and snails.
Nesting box
American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis)
Once facing extinction, the alligator was placed on
the endangered species list in 1967. It worked!
Just 20 years later, American alligators were taken
off the list. Mud slides and matted down marsh
grass are sure signs alligators are near. Adult
males average 10 to 15 feet and can weigh as
much as half a ton, but an average male weighs
between 500 and 600 pounds.
Alligator sunning on the river bank
Rarely Seen SVNWR Inhabitants
The Florida Black Bear
(Ursus Americanus Floridanus)
The Florida black bear is a subspecies of the American black
bear that has historically ranged throughout most of Florida
and southern portions of Alabama and Georgia. It is on the
Florida State List of threatened species due to a number of
factors, but most notably motor vehicle accidents that have
accounted for 89.5% of deaths since 1994. Hunting of the
subspecies was banned in 1994 to further protect the Florida
population.
The Apalachicola National Forest is one of the largest
contiguous blocks of public land east of the Mississippi River.
This extensive forested area has few paved roads, making it
Florida black bear
one of the state's best habitats for wide-ranging species such
as black bear. The average male weighs 300 pounds, with females
averaging about 200 pounds. Be on the lookout for bears crossing the
road as you travel Highway 98 and Highway 65 in Franklin County.
Father with pups
Red Wolf (Canis lupus
rufus)
Native to the Southeast,
red wolves are an
endangered species. The
St. Vincent Island National Wildlife Refuge, located
in Apalachicola Bay, is home to a red wolf recovery
program. One breeding pair is maintained on the
island, where they are able to roam, experience
the wild, and raise pups in a natural, yet protected,
setting. The pups will stay with their family for 18
months before they are trapped again and
relocated to the Alligator River National Wildlife
Refuge in North Carolina. Here, they are
reintroduced into the wild to increase population
numbers.
Thanks to recovery efforts, the red wolf is now back in the wild, hunting, rearing young, and
communicating by its characteristic howl, in several locations in its original southeastern
habitats. The St. Vincent program has been very successful and produced many litters.
Sambar Deer were imported to the island as an
exotic game species and still have a breeding
population on the island that supports limited
harvest.
Sambar deer track
Sambar deer. Credit: USFWS Rusa unicolor
Osprey : Like bald eagles, ospreys often
reuse old nests, adding new material to
them each season. Ospreys prefer nests
near water, especially in large trees, but
will also nest on artificial platforms.
Ospreys three years or older usually mate
for life, and their spring courtship begins
a five-month period when they raise their
young.
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Sea Oats (Uniola Paniculata)
Sea Oats grow in clumps on the beach dunes
and coastal strands of much of Florida’s
shoreline. Though it is tempting to pick a few
stems to take home, DON’T. This is a
protected plant. The extensive root system of
this grass helps prevent erosion and maintains
healthy dunes.
Environmental Education Tour
Test your knowledge of the Apalachicola River and Bay
Circle the correct answers to the following multiple choice questions
1. Where does the Apalachicola River rank among North America’s rivers in terms of
flow ?
a. First
b. Tenth
c. Fifth
d. Second
2. What is the largest land mammal you might encounter along the river banks?
a. Whale
b. Alligator
c. Florida Black Bear
d. Florida Panther
3. What is the radio call for a non-life threatening situation that may get worse?
a. "Mayday, Mayday, Mayday”
b. “SOS, SOS, SOS”
c. “Help Help Help”
d. “Pan Pan, Pan Pan, Pan Pan”
4. What is an Estuary?
a. A big swamp
b. A wet forest
c. An area where Salt and Freshwater mix
d. A park
5. Who makes Tupelo Honey?
a. Tupelo Trees
b. Bees
c. Bee Keepers
d. Bears
6. What lake is formed by a dam as the Flint and Chattahoochee Rivers merge near the
Florida, Alabama, and Georgia borders?
a. Lake Wimico
b. Gator Lake
c. Lake Seminole
d. Acorn Lake
7. When did the first train cross the Apalachicola ANR swing bridge?
a. A few months ago
b. 1876
c. 1976
d. 1907
8. How are most oysters taken from Apalachicola Bay?
a. Divers catch them in a net
b. Dredging
c. Hook and Line
d. Oyster Tongs
9. What do Ospreys eat?
a. Small Fish
b. Snails
c. Other Birds
d. Anything they want including Chuck Norris
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Turn the page to check your answers!
Answer key
1. B
2. A
3. C
4. D
5. C
6. B
7. C
8. D
9. D
10. A