Address / Location:  Formerly named the Limpkin Marsh Preserve, this Preserve was renamed the Redroot Preserve in July 2011.  It is located at 1330 Limpkin Road, in Big Corkscrew Island, approximately 17 miles east of Naples off Immokalee Road, near the Audubon Corkscrew Sanctuary.  To access the preserve coming from Naples, make a left turn off Immokalee Road onto Sanctuary Road at the Corkscrew Sanctuary sign and then turn right at the first cross road, Limpkin Road.  The preserve is approximately 1/10th of a mile on the right.

Preserve Manager Contact Information
E-mail: conservationcollier@colliercountyfl.gov
Phone: (239) 252-2961

Preserve Size: 9.26 acres

Date Acquired: August 25, 2006

Cost of Acquisition: The total cost for this parcel was $460,000.   A 100'X150' section in the NE corner was acquired in partnership as a potential future well site by the Collier County Public Utilities Department for $20,000, with Conservation Collier paying the remaining $440,000.
 

Printed Materials:
 Red Root Preserve Final Management Plan

Public Access Facilities:  Parking is currently limited to the right of way along Limpkin road where there is room for approximately 3 vehicles.  A half-mile trail leads visitors through the preserve with a bench located along the trail for rest or quiet contemplation.  There are no restroom facilities located at this Preserve.

Plants and Wildlife:  Fifty eight species of plants, fifty native (2 protected plant species) and eight exotic, are documented as occurring within two types of vegetation communities on the preserve, mesic pine flatwoods and freshwater marsh.  Mesic pine flatwoods are also called mesic flatwoods, pine savanna, cabbage palm savanna, and pine barrens. Immokalee fine sand underlies this part of the preserve. Common mesic pine flatwood species such as saw palmetto (Serenoa repens), wax myrtle (Myrica cerifera), cabbage palm (Sabal palmetto) and gallberry (Ilex glabra) are found in this portion of the preserve. Mesic flatwoods provide essential forested habitat for a variety of wildlife species including Neotropical migratory birds, wide-ranging large carnivores, mid-sized carnivores, ground-nesting vertebrates, tree-cavity dependent species, tree-nesting species and non-aquatic plant life. “At the current rate of habitat conversion, the mesic pine flatwoods, once the most abundant upland habitat in South Florida, is in danger of becoming one of the rarest habitats in South Florida” (USFWS 1999).

A freshwater marsh with shrubs, brushes and vines comprises approximately 22% of the  preserve and is located primarily in the eastern center portion. Freshwater marshes are often scattered among upland pine flatwoods communities and may therefore be referred to as flatwoods marshes. Sawgrass (Cladium jamaicense), swamp lily (Crinum americanum), giant leather fern (Acrostichum danaeifolium), and native wetland grasses are plants found in freshwater marshes.  Many animal species may be found within or around the perimeter of marshes. Invertebrates make up an important part of the food web and many avian species, especially wading birds, rely on the invertebrates as a primary source of food. The freshwater marsh within the preserve makes up a small portion of the total area but is valuable for the suite of species that may be found there.

Reason for Acquisition:  The Redroot Preserve was acquired to protect natural lands along a developing corridor in Collier County - Immokalee Road.  Additionally, the preserve was intended to provide ecosystem services such as the protection of water resources, flood control, maintenance of nutrient cycles, preservation of biological diversity, carbon sequestration, and recreational/educational opportunities for citizens and visitors.