Our vision is to conserve biodiversity and to educate and share with present and future generations some of the many natural wonders of the world around us.
In 2012, Donna and I purchased ~150 acres of land in the Florida Big Bend region ESE of Tallahassee. To some people this land may not hold much value. To us, however, it's paradise! The property consists of a huge freshwater wetland, mixed hardwood forests, tupelo gum and cypress dominated swamps, and scrub oak forests. Live oaks are abundant. Trails run through the property. Wildlife is abundant!
Our vision is to conserve biodiversity and to educate and share with present and future generations some of the many natural wonders of the world around us.
This page is currently in development and will change over time. If you have any questions, we can be reached at bigbendwildlands@gmail.com
"Wild Hogs""-not the movie- (Sus scrofa) are non-native Florida invasives. They wreck havoc on our ecosystems. They are prolific breeders and difficult to eradicate.
We have started hunting pigs at the Florida Big Bend Wildlands Preserve in order to put a small dent in the population size. Here are some images from trail cameras, successful hunts and meat processing. Thanks to Tommy and Lamar Aman for coaching us through the process and graciously offering us use of your facilities.
A great late fall THANKSGIVING 2018 visit to Big Bend Wildlands Preserve
BIRD BLIND Our third bird platform is being built in the extreme NE corner of our wetland. What makes this structure so unique is that we are adding a bird blind on top of it to hide us from the numerous birds that frequent this location. Thanks to Tommy Aman, Donna McCollum, and Dan Marsh for your efforts in making this structure happen! Major construction took place in Jan 2019
CLOUDS at Big Bend Wildlands Preserve! I guess that you can say that I like clouds!
Wow! What a weekend of intense naturalist experiences! Big Bend Wildlands Preserve hosted Florida’s first Track & Sign evaluation certified by Tracker Certification North America.
We could not be more pleased with how the evaluation went-the participants were engaged and eager to learn,
the techniques and overall process of learning were superb, the evaluator was incredibly knowledgeable and also an excellent facilitator and instructor.
A whole new world of has been opened to me! Here is a link to the video from this amazing experience of Florida's first track and sign evaluation
Sandhill Cranes are frequent visitors to the Florida Big Bend Wildlands Preserve. Here is a SANDHILL CRANE SLIDESHOW
BIRDS and OTHER FLIERS at St Marks National Wildlife Refuge. It is a short distance away from our FL location.
PREDATOR-PREY PULSES (Feb-March, 2019)
PREDATOR-PREY PULSES--Wild Hogs"(Sus scrofa) are non-native Florida invasives. They wreck havoc on our ecosystems. It was nice to see Bobcats & Coyotes show up to eat some of the recent broods of piglets (Feb-March 2019)!
We've built three Bird Observation Platform--->SLIDESHOWS that overlook our large freshwater wetland. Each structure provides fantastic views of the scenery
and wildlife in Aman's Pond. These structures include:
SLIDESHOW-Cottonmouth Alley Observation Deck Construction-Jan 2018. Located in along the central north shore of Aman's Pond, the platform is situated to get fantastic views of Aman's Pond and the wildlife within.
BIRD BLIND SLIDESHOW (Jan-March, 2019). Lots of TLC went into the construction of the Bird Blind in our NE corner of the property. Thank you Tommy Aman and Dan Marsh for your help!
FRIENDS & STEWARDS of Big Bend Wildlands Preserve
FRIENDS & STEWARDS of the Florida Big Bend Wildlands Preserve. Thank you!
