Bruce Means
Dr. Bruce Means is President and Executive Director of the Coastal Plains Institute and Land Conservancy, a nonprofit organization he and others founded in 1984 dedicated to elevating public awareness for conserving the rich biodiversity of the vast Coastal Plain of the southeastern United States. He is an Adjunct Professor of Biological Science at Florida State University where he has taught courses on the ecology of upland, wetland, and coastal environments of the southeastern U.S., and courses on vertebrate biology, ichthyology, mammalogy, herpetology, general biology, tropical ecology, and conservation biology. His research includes a wide variety of topics ranging from ecosystems of the southeastern U.S. to fire ecology, the natural history of South American tepuis, biogeography, conservation, endangered species, and the evolution and natural history of amphibians and reptiles. He has published more than 265 scientific articles, technical reports, and popular articles on his research in National Wildlife, International Wildlife, Natural History, BBC Wildlife, National Geographic, Fauna, South American Explorer, and other magazines. His books include two on the ecology of Florida: Stalking the Plumed Serpent, a book featuring herpetological stories, and an epic ecology book called Priceless Florida. Priceless Florida was painstakingly created over a period of sixteen years. With its reader-friendly format and rich photos and illustrations, it is one of the few natural history books that have earned respect and praise from both the academic and layman audiences. From 1998 to the present, his life stories and research has been featured in documentary films for National Geographic Television (King Rattler; Quest for the Rainbow Serpent; Into the Lost World; Saving the King of Snakes; Diamondback Survivors, etc.), BBC Television, and PBS. Bruce Means currently lives in Tallahassee and relishes his time spent in the woodlands, swamps, and bogs of the Florida Panhandle—as well as leading expeditions into the vast wilderness areas of other continents. Wednesday, March 10, 2010 - Day 1
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Fly or drive to Thomasville, GA
Thursday, March 11, 2010 - Day 2
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Exploring pine
forests at Pebble Hill Plantation
To begin our journey, we will be exploring the longleaf pine forests of Southern
Georgia and Northern Florida, a unique ecosystem that once dominated the
Coastal Plain, but is now highly endangered. At
The longleaf pine forest is an ecosystem dominated by the cycle of fire and
renewal. Once, natural lightning-caused fires scrubbed the grounds beneath the
pines of encroaching hardwoods on a regular basis. Today, in our "civilized"
fire-suppressed environments, fires must be
carefully set a We will then proceed to Wakulla Springs State Park, a 6000 acre preserve where we will enjoy dinner and Bruce Means' evening program, then an overnight stay at the historic Wakulla Springs Lodge. The native word Wakulla is thought to mean "strange and mysterious waters." Guides who work there say, "We know where the water is going (nine miles later it joins the Gulf of Mexico), but no one knows where it comes from." Wakulla Springs is one of the largest and deepest freshwater springs in the world, originating in an underwater cave and connected to over 12 miles of underwater tunnels. The main vent spews out 400,000 gallons of crystal clear waters every minute from an 85 X 55 foot vent that is 185 feet below the ground. Several
major forest types are found in the park supporting an extremely high plant The lodge was built as an elegant retreat in 1937 by Edward Ball on his 3000-acre estate, a legendary financier and meddler (some say) in Florida politics. The lodge boasts marble walls and floors, hand-painted cypress ceilings, and wrought iron fences with designs of native birds. Fortunately, Edward Ball believed it was important to keep wild Florida safe for future generations. His private park came under state management in 1985.
Friday, March 12, 2010 - Day 3
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Wakulla Springs hardwood hammock Starting
off the day with breakfast at Wakulla Lodge, we will explore the hardwood
hammock of Wakulla Springs. This interesting forest grows on very slight rises
above the surrounding marsh land, and supports a diverse mix of Eastern hardwoods
among more semi-tropical species.
We will
then travel to the Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines Preserve. According to local
The Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines is a 6,295 acre preserve on the east
side of the Apalachicola River occupying a
region that has the highest elevation in the state. In the sandhill region of the river, where we
will be visiting, the landscape is known for its side tributaries which contain
so-called steephead ravines. These ravines are
50-100-feet
v-shaped valleys whose headwaters begin abruptly in the open pine savannas on the
flatlands. The steep ravines' immediate physical presence as opposed to a
gradually deepening channel, and the fact that they are filled with a tight
canopy of broad-leafed trees, presents quite a contrasting environment to the
xeric pine flatwoods that surround them. On the north-facing slopes grow bladdernuts,
hickories, hop
Saturday, March 13, 2010 - Day 4 Ð Explore
flatwoods salamander habitat We will be exploring some of the Panhandle's most unique plant communities - epiphytes, or "air plants", and the endlessly fascinating carnivorous plants. Both have evolved with ingenious adaptations in order to thrive in their nutrient-poor environments.
We will then travel to Tate's Hell Swamp, located in the
202,437
acre Tate's Hell State Forest. The enigmatic name of the region is said
In the evening we will brush off our muddy hiking boots and make our way down to beautiful Port St. Joe on the Gulf Coast for a delicious dinner of fresh seafood and a stay in a waterside inn, enjoying an evening program about the sandhills ecosystem.
Sunday, March 14, 2010 - Day 5
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Canoe trip on
scenic Econfina Creek The Northwest Florida Water Management District owns a majority of the Econfina Creek corridor, creating superb wildlife habitat. A leisurely four hour trip will afford us plenty of time to paddle through an area of deep blue springs and clear waters surrounded by a mixed ecosystem of palms, hardwoods, and cypress. This paddle is definitely off the tourist routes, and without a guide, one would likely become lost. We will continue in the
Water Management District land during the afternoon to get our first look at a
sandhills habitat. The classic sandhills habitat is a forest of widely-spaced
longleaf pines with a
low grass cover that gives these areas an almost park-like appearance. Fire is a
major component in the sandhills ecosystem, and many of the ground cover plants
have adapted to a 3-5 year cycle of burning. We will learn more about the
endangered longleaf pine and how these remarkable trees not only survive, but
thrive, in a fire-maintained community. Monday, March
15, 2010 - Day 6
We will turn over the morning program to gopher tortoise expert and naturalist Bob Walker, of Nokuse Plantation. Nokuse is a 48,000 acre preserve focusing on the restoration of sandhills, longleaf pine, and other Panhandle habitats. Their innovative gopher tortoise relocation program moves members of this key species from development sites all over Florida to the protected land of the preserve. We will take a guided hike inside the preserve, visiting burrows where these shy, beautiful creatures make their homes. We will then tour the visitor center of Nokuse, the E.O.Wilson Biophilia Center. In the afternoon, we will accompany trip leader Bruce Means to the wilderness of Eglin Air Force Base. This huge government land maintains several wildlife management areas, including Patterson Natural Area. The Eglin area boasts the largest tract of old growth longleaf pines in the world, as well as the fourth largest population of red-cockaded woodpeckers. We will take a break to swim in the clear waters of Boiling Creek before heading out to dinner and our final evening presentation.
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Blackwater Creek State Park On our last full day in
Florida, we will visit Blackwater Creek State Park.
Blackwater Creek
has spectacular second-growth longleaf pine forests managed with annual
burning. The park also boasts some of the outstanding examples of hillside
seepage bogs in the
Panhandle. We will then head across the border to Alabama to leave
The spectacular Red Hill region of Southern Alabama is characterized by summits and deep gullies, cascading streams, and a heavy cover of Southern hardwood forest. In the evening we will accompany Bruce Means on a night hike in search of a glimpse of the nationally endangered Red Hills Salamander (Phaeognathus hubrichti). The Red Hills Salamander is a large terrestrial salamander with a prehensile tail nearly as long as its body. An adult approaches the impressive length of ten inches, and is most often found on the slopes of moist, cool ravines, shaded by hardwood trees. This salamander is distinguished in being Alabama's official State Salamander, and indeed, it is limited in distribution to Alabama, being found in only five of its counties. A mere 150 acres of suitable habitat for the Red Hills Salamander is publicly owned, documenting why this salamander leads such a precarious existence. Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Connecting is the
first step
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flavor of "Old Florida,"
from the days when it was a massive unbroken wilderness area composed of a complex mosaic of
natural communities. The Panhandle of Florida has some of the largest forests
left to be found east of the Mississippi. It is here that the temperate
deciduous forest dances on its southernmost periphery with native southern pine
forests and subtropical southern hardwoods. It is also here, not so long ago in
geologic time, that the temperate deciduous forest found refuge during the
coldest of the Ice Age advances. Along the great Apalachicola River, this
same forest, more at home in the Blue Ridge of the Appalachians than it is in
Florida, has
hung on until present day.
From the crystal-clear springs of Wakulla and its champion-sized
hardwood trees, to the coastal lowlands and seepage bogs with their carnivorous
plant communities, to the nearby Red Hills of Alabama --this trip will lead
participants into some of Eastern America's most special natural areas, far
off the usual sightseeing routes. Many of our destinations are relatively
unknown, and are often visitor-restricted; they simply cannot be accessed without a guide who holds the
key. For us. that guide is Florida's renowned interpretive naturalist
and foremost ecologist, Bruce Means. -- researcher, author, conservationist,
non-profit founder, professor, and herpetologist, just to name a few of his many
appellations. Without exaggeration, there is not a person alive today better qualified to lead this trip into the backwoods and backwaters
of Northern Florida.
Coming from the staff of the Appalachian Forest School, we say, "We wouldn't miss this
trip for anything!"
Greenwood Plantation, we will see one of less than 15 documented stands of
remaining old growth longleaf pine forests. Mature longleaf pine forests provide
habitat for the rare Red-cockaded Woodpecker (Picoides borealis),
a species that can only thrive in living pines that are 70 years or older
--large enough to provide nesting sites. We will quietly
look for evidence of such nesting cavities among the trees. 
nd managed by people in order to keep these forest ecosystems intact. At
diversity, even for Florida.
Included are: old-growth floodplain forests, mixed
hardwood swamp forests, longleaf pine forests, and extensive upland hardwood
forests including some of the most beautiful American beech-southern magnolia
forests to be found in the South. Beech-magnolia forest, also called Southern
temperate hardwood forests, have more tree species than any other single forest
in the continent, with up to 35 species in one location. The park shelters large
acreages of forests that have not been disturbed for years. Sixteen species of
state champion trees or close contenders can be found at Wakulla. The lodge,
where we are staying, is on the National Register of Historic Places and the
park is designated as a National Natural Landmark. 
history, this area of
Florida was once believed to be the original Garden of Eden. Indeed, the
botanists may think so as the the bluffs and ravines are recognized worldwide as
a hotbed for botanical diversity. Several shrubs and trees resemble species from
Eastern Asian temperate forests, and a few mosses and ferns are found more
commonly in Mexican cloud forests. But the signature botanicals in the area are
components of a classic Appalachian temperate forest, making a visitor feel like
he or she has just landed in the Smokey Mountains. 
hornbeams,
redbud, bigleaf magnolia and beech. On the
south-facing slopes is the rare, vanishing Torreya Pine along with red buckeye, spruce
pine, southern magnolia, and white oak. Small streams of water run almost
continuously on the valley floor, coming not from the flatlands above, but directly out of the sand
on the valley floor! Each steephead ravine's population of amphibians and invertebrates
is virtually isolated from the others, separated by the harsh, dry pinewoods.
Flatwoods are very vulnerable to heat, high winds and fire; whereas the climate
of a steephead ravine is shady, moist, cool, dependable and still. Consequently, endemic species
and slight species variations are very common in this region. In essence each
steephead ravine has almost its own distinguishable wildlife community. The single 35-mile stretch of ravines on the East side of the
Apalachicola has more plant and animal species, and more endemics (100-plus
species), than any other area the same size in the SE coastal plain. 
Tate's
Hell are home to trees documented to be over 150 years old, but only reaching a
mature height of 15 feet. Their stunted forms have been unappealing to the
logging industry, fortunately leaving several communities in their pristine old
growth state.
Tuesday,
March 16, 2010 - Day 7
natural
history for a few moments while we explore human and cultural history. In the
Red Hill regions we will study the earthwork remains of some of the oldest mound
building cultures on the continent.
