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23998 Corkscrew Road Estero, FL 33928

(239) 657-2253 crew@crewtrust.org

2014 Annual Report

OUR MISSION The CREW Land & Water Trust is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation of the water resources and natural com-munities in and around the Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed (CREW). The Trust was established in 1989 to coordi-nate the land acquisition, land management, and public use of the 60,000-acre CREW Project. The CREW Project spans Lee and Collier Counties and contains the largest undisturbed watershed in Southwest Florida. CREW lands provide aquifer recharge,

From the Chairman…

Last month, I was preparing to attend an event at the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary where Governor Scott was to announce funding for important CREW acquisition projects when out of curiosity I measured on a map how far the Sanctuary was from the City of Bonita Springs eastern border. To my surprise, it was less than 3 ½ miles from the City of Bonita to the Boardwalk. This, combined with the fact that the CREW boundary actually abuts the City’s border really enforces the importance of the watershed to the city and the importance of our ongoing partnership. It’s this type of partnering that has made CREW so successful over the years, as people and organizations of diverse backgrounds are brought together by their common inter-est and concern for the preservation and restoration of this critical watershed. In SW Florida we are all invested in and connected by this beautiful area.

2014 has been a great year for CREW as we celebrated the Trusts 25th anniversary, reflected upon where this adventure began and the exciting opportunities that stand before us. The South Florida Water Management District, National Audubon Corkscrew Sanctuary, adjacent land owners, environmental and civic leaders, Lee and Collier County Governments and the Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission have all been wonderful partners in this venture to protect the watershed, and we have been especially blessed with the love and support of the general public, our great volunteers and the “Friends of CREW”. Working together, the CREW will continue to prosper and thrive as habitat, a place where the young at heart can experience the peace, beauty and magic of “The CREW”. Sadly, one of the two individuals that have really been the “beating heart” of the CREW during the last few years, our Envi-ronmental Education Specialist, Deb Hanson, is leaving us to pursue other adventures and opportunities in Oregon. We will all miss Deb terribly, but we wish her well. She and our Executive Director, Brenda Brooks, have been an awesome team, working behind the scenes preparing financial information, planning and leading educational hikes, trail walks, moonlight walks, and special member events, constantly connecting people with CREW. With your support and under Brenda’s expert guidance this organization will remain well positioned and continue to fulfill its important mission into the future.

Respectfully, Ben Nelson, Mayor of Bonita Springs and Chairman of the CREW Trust Board

Honorable Ben Nelson

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2014 CREW TRUST EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Ben Nelson—Chairman City of Bonita Springs

Commissioner Donna Fiala—Vice Chairman Collier County Commission

Rick Barber—Secretary Agnoli, Barber, and Brundage

Doug Machesney—Treasurer Friends of CREW

Dick Anderson Little Pine Island Wetland Mitiga-tion Bank Ed Carlson National Audubon Society

Bill Hammond Natural Context

Brian Farrar BCF Management Group

Ellen Lindblad Lee County Port Authority

OTHER 2014 BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Dennis Gilkey Gilkey Organization Kevin Godsea Florida Panther NWR

Billy Gunnels/Marguerite Forest

FGCU

Brian Hamman Lee County BOCC Cullum Hasty Friends of CREW

Jennifer Hecker Conservancy of SW Florida

Mike Kennedy MKA Marketing

Steven Kissinger

Immokalee Coalition for Children

John Mathes

Mathes Realty, Inc.

Jerry McPherson Bonita Bay Group

Ken Passerella Passerella and Associates, Inc.

Ricky Pires FGCU Wings of Hope Program

Bob Rosier

Rosier Insurance

Laurel Smith

Gravina, Smith, Matte & Arnold

Michael Taylor Collier Enterprises

Tom Taylor Hole, Montes, Inc.

Clarence Tears Big Cypress Basin

Steve Walker Lewis, Longman & Walker, PA

Margaret Wuerstle SWFL Regional Planning Council

CREW Board of Trustees

Land Management Prescribed Fire The District along with its partners FWC, CREW Land & Water Trust, Florida Forest Service and Collier County were able to prescribe burn 132 acres within CREW during the last fiscal year. Burning was focused on areas adjacent to Collier County’s Caracara Prairie Preserve in the Corkscrew Marsh Unit. Project staff was diverted to the Caloosahatchee Basin Storage Reservoir where we burned 467 acres in July. Burning efforts were hampered by staff avail-ability and uncooperative weather. Additionally there was a 57 acre wildfire in Flint Pen Strand. We would like to reintroduce fire into the sawgrass portion of Corkscrew Marsh in the coming fiscal year. Exotic Plant Control Treatments to control exotic plants continued throughout CREW with contract applicators treating 1,074 acres during the last fiscal year. Applicators spent most of their resources on Melaleuca (447 acres treated) and Brazilian pepper (170 acres treated) in southern CREW and Lygodium (Old world climbing fern-55 acres treated) in Bird Rookery swamp. The FGCU mitigation site and the Corkscrew Marsh trails also received treatment. Efforts are being made to treat as many exotic plants in southern CREW prior to the restoration project. An aerially applied herbicide treatment of 80 acres of Melaleuca was conducted in southern CREW. The

District partnered with FWC to treat 1,125 acres of invasive willow in Corkscrew Marsh under an FWC Aquatic Habitat Restoration and Enhancement grant. Plans are to treat an additional 880 acres this fiscal year. Hopefully this will be an ongoing project to restore the herbaceous compo-nent of the marsh. Recreation Facilities District staff resurfaced the Bird Rookery Swamp parking lot and access path. Resurfacing of the path should enable easier handicap access. Staff assisted with development of the Corkscrew Marsh pavilion, and continued maintenance on boardwalks.

-by Joe Bozzo, SFWMD

HONORARY TRUSTEES

Wayne Daltry John Fitch Mary Ellen Hawkins Syd Kitson Neena Lurvey

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Environmental Education and Public Outreach

Trail Use and Education

Trail use during FY2014 reached another record of 47,282 people. One of the rea-sons for this major jump in numbers is be-cause the South Florida Water Management District put into place an electronic car counter at Bird Rookery Swamp and an electronic people counter at the CREW Marsh & Cypress Dome Trails. While we knew that Bird Rookery was getting a lot of traffic, we had no idea it was so high—over 80% of all visitation to the three trails! The installation of iron rangers at each trailhead (to collect donations from independent

hikers) has proven to be a good investment as well, bringing in extra income for programs at all the trails. Our education partnerships with Lee and Collier County Schools, FGCU, private and home school students, and adult leadership and business groups continue to be strong . Our third year of Strolling Science Seminars brought many new participants and added more new members to the CREW Trust family of sup-porters. We continued the Legacy field trip program at Bird Rookery Swamp for high school students and it has become a model for other programs. We hosted a total of 176 trail-based events during FY13, making the trails a destination of choice in SW Florida. Bird Rookery Swamp ranks in the top 10 on Trip Advisor’s list of top attractions in the Naples area. The Nature’s Peace at CREW (a guided walk for early Alzheimer patients) and the brain-child of CREW volunteer, George Luther, continued while our college visitation increased with more classes and students engaged in learning and service at CREW.

Offsite Outreach - 10,530 people reached CREW participated in 31 area events, festivals and smaller community presenta-tions to bring the CREW story to folks who may not know about the trails or the watershed. During FY14 we reached out to folks at Ding Darling Days, Charlotte Harbor Nature Festival, Burrowing Owl Festival, Florida Panther Festival, Festival in the Woods, Bonita Springs Rotary, and the Southwest Florida Alzheimer’s’ Support Group, and we led Wildlife Tours at Pelican Sound Golf Course, and Royal Poinciana Golf Course.

Volunteers - 3,905 hours logged Our volunteers are some of the best in the business. We have highly qualified and talented people who work hard assisting with hikes and field trips, maintain-ing trails, treating and removing exotic plants, cleaning roadsides, designing programs, working in the office, and helping with our many special events. These generous folks donated a record 3,905 hours of their time, talent, and experience to CREW during FY2014 (a 300-hour increase over FY13). The dollar value of their time adds up to $86,468 worth of time & talent donated to fulfill the mission of the CREW Trust – well worth their weight in gold! We continued our volunteer training program and recruitment process this year and now have a core group of 22 volunteers.

Special CREW Events Special events help set CREW apart from other organizations. During FY13 we hosted our second annual 10K Trail Run and 1-Mile Fun Run, our 3rd annual Wine & Cheese Social for members and volunteers, a Members BBQ & Open House at the field office, and our 7th CREW Concert & Silent Eco-Auction.

47,282 people hiked the trails in FY2014

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Trail Use by Month

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3rd Grade Wings ofHope

Other K - 12 College Adult Special Events

819

2142

311

761

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Environmental Education by Group

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Individuals Envir. Ed. Guided Walks Campers Horseback Riders

41088

4633

788 599 174

Trail Use by Group

- by Deb Hanson, CREW Trust Environmental Education Specialist

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Funding & Land Acquisition

CREW Financial Overview Fiscal Year

October 1, 2013–September 30, 2014

Operating Account

Revenue:

Contract (SFWMD)....................................................….... 109,272

Contributions......................................................…............111,137

Interest...................................................................................2,053

Membership Dues...............................................….............37,685

TOTAL REVENUE...............................................................$260,147

Expenses:

Professional Fees/Development..…………………….….…….5,218

Office Expenditures (utilities, supplies, postage)....….....……8,780

Public Awareness (ads, displays, brochures)……..………...19,858

Employment..................................………………………… 141,577

Travel (includes mileage).....................................……...........8,029

Taxes, Insurance, Fees (includes corp. tax, bank fees)….....7,324

Other expenses………………………………………………...13,716

TOTAL EXPENSES.............................................................$ 204,502

NET INCOME ………………...……………………………....$55,645

TOTAL UNRESTRICTED FUNDS ……………...………...$213,245

NET RESTRICTED FUNDS....……………………...…....$344,975 (Restricted funds for land acquisition and related fees only)

CREW Lands Purchased October 1, 1990–September 30, 2014

Lee County Lands

Funding Source Acres

Lee County owned ................................................ 895

Lee County (transferred/sold to SFWMD) .......... 8,510

Mitigation (Youngquist).......................................... 237

Southern Critical CREW Area ........................... 4,021

District…………………………………………..2,444

Non-District ................................................... 1,577

Conservation 20/20 (S29 T47 R26) ........................ 30

CREW Land & Water Trust owned ......................... 50

LEE COUNTY TOTAL ..................... 13,743 Collier County Lands

Owned by SFWMD

Funding Source Acres

P2000

Corkscrew Marsh ....................................... 6,780

Fisch (S32,33 T47 R27, & S4,5 T48 R27) ... 3,207

Musca (S7 T48 R27) ...................................... 638

SFWMD

Starnes (S30 T46 R28) .................................. 280

Collier Reed (w/ BCB) (S4, 19, 30, 31 T47, R 27) 1,707

Popejoy (w/ BCB) (S2 T47 R28) ...................... 51

Audubon Donation………………………….……70

Mitigation

Livingston Road……………………………..…..436

WCI (east half of Section 12 T48 R26)……….320

Wiseman (S13 T47 R27 & S8,9 T47 R27E) ... 237

Brynwood Reserve………………….…………..150

Owned/Held by CREW Trust

S8 T48 R27 ............................................................... 8

S14 T47 R28 ......................................................... 101

Conservation Easements (S13, 14 T48 R27) ........ 530

STARNES/in partnership with Collier County…………..367

COLLIER COUNTY TOTAL ................................... 14,882

TOTAL ACRES ACQUIRED/DONATED …….28,609

Other Lands in Preservation

Department of Education (Leased)

(S34 T47 R27 & S3 T48 R27)... .................... 640

Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary .......................... 10,737

National Audubon Society Owned/Managed

Panther Island Mitigation Bank ........................... 2,778

Imperial River Flow Way ......................................... 30

Collier County Road Easement…………...…………..8

Pepper Ranch-Collier County…………………….2,500

OTHER LANDS TOTAL ................................ 16,693

TOTAL ACRES IN PRESERVATION……......45,318

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Fish and Wildlife Management Wading Bird Surveys The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) performed aerial wading bird nest sur-veys during the first week of every month from November 2013 through July 2014. A total of 41,910 acres of Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed (CREW) Management Area and Audubon’s Cork-screw Swamp Sanctuary (CSS) were surveyed during each flight. The objective was to locate and moni-tor trends in wading bird nesting colonies by documenting species composition and nesting effort. Foraging aggregations and roosting colonies were also located and species were documented. We observed a 55% increase in nesting effort between 2013 and 2014 likely due to the higher water levels and longer hydroperiods. Wading bird nesting numbers are typically reported as a peak nesting num-ber, which represents the highest number of nests observed at one time for the season for each wad-ing bird species within each colony. During the 2013-14 season, 11 wading bird colonies contained a combined peak nesting number (PNN) of 914. Wood storks (WOST) nested for the first time in five years at CSS. Pooled WOST PNN totaled 333 and branchlings totaled 86. The Orange Grove, Cypress East, and Sod Farm nesting colonies observed for the first time last year also nested again this year. Additionally, we located a total of 81 foraging aggregations and 45 roosting colonies. Thirty-seven of the 81 foraging aggregations were observed on CREW, 39 were located on CSS, and 5 were on private property. Twenty-eight roosting colonies were recorded on CREW, 13 on CSS, and 4 on private lands. White ibis (WHIB) (n=5,831), GREGs (n=1,638), Snowy egrets (n=165), and WOSTs (n=352) were the most abundant species observed in foraging aggregations with WHIB and GREGs being present in 79-80% of all the aggregations detected. Other species of interest either foraging or roosting on CREW included roseate spoonbills (ROSP), black-crowned night herons (BCNH), black-necked stilts (BNST), and sandhill cranes (SACR). Breeding Bird Surveys In mid-May and early June 2014, we conducted fixed-radius point counts in Bird Rookery Swamp (BRS) to collect breeding bird presence data and to correlate long-term land bird population trends to CREW management activities. Using the mean counts per species between the two rounds of surveys, we estimated a resident breeding bird population of 30,239 ± 398 SE individu-als. Estimated population abundance was higher in May (33,835 ± 567 SE) than it was in June (26,623 ± 411 SE). Wet flatwoods had consistently lower diversity than other habitat types such as strand swamp and prairie and bog. Mid-May point counts had higher diversity than those in early June. Combining raw count data from point counts and birds observed between points, we observed a minimum of 402 birds in four days of surveying BRS. Some of the most observed bird species were red-bellied wood-peckers, northern cardinals, red-shouldered hawks, Carolina wrens, and White-eyed vireos. To read the full CREW wading bird and breeding bird reports, visit http://www.crewtrust.org/about/partners/. - by Kathleen Smith, FWC CREW biologist

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Printed on recycled paper

Thank you for your financial support...

Preserver ($5000+) Bunch, Bruce & Janet GE Foundation Jacobitti, Edmund

Woodstork ($2000—$4999) Don Malenick Southern Bald Eagle ($1,000—$4999) Bonita Springs Utilities; Fred Partin Brooks, Brenda & Rick Solveson Florida Gulf Coast University Lewis, Longman & Walker, P.A.; Steve Walker Pelican Sound Golf & River Club Swallow-tailed Kite ($500—$999) Anonymous Collier Enterprises; Mike Taylor Cooper, Ron Gilkey Organization; Dennis Gilkey Hamilton, Layne Huether, Virginia & Charles Nelson Marine; Ben & Lori Nelson Passarella & Assoc. Inc.; Ken Pas-sarella Steve & Susan Brookman Ghost Orchid ($100—$499) Agnoli, Barber, and Brundage; Rick Barber Andre, Marcia Bachrach, Jan & Grant Hicks BCF Management Group, LLC; Brian Farrar Becker, Joslyn & Ed Benzenberg, Mark Brewer, Dick Buckhannan, Hank & Maddy City of Bonita Springs Cassani, John & Holly Schwartz Cassani, Mary Kay Clow, Bruce & Elizabeth Conscious Living Ministries, Carla Palmer Conservancy of SWFL; Jennifer Hecker Deutsche Bank Foundation Dorsett, Bill & Elaine Dorsey, Judy Echols, Ron & Mary Elting, John & Nancy Estero Council of Community Leaders Exxon-Mobil Foundation Green, Pat & Mary Rose Spalletta

Grivna, William Hammond, Bill & Rosemarie Hanson, Deb & Keith Harig, Bette Hole Montes; Tom Taylor Hrinik, Jerry Inge, Ron & Sherry Judah, Ray & Kristen Knowles, Jimmy & Maria Juan LeBoeuf, Loralee Lindblad, Ellen & Erick Lohner, Bernd Machesney, Doug & Carolyn Maish, Tom & Judy McDevit, John & Peggy Montgomery, Jeff & Nancy Morgan, Judy Morris-DePew Associates; Bill Morris Mullins, Gary & Barbara Murray, John & Wendy Orwig, Vickie Rehse, Lynda Santamaria, Vincent & Susie Schwartz, Philip Seef, Michael Shaw, Jim & Kitty Sheets, Gayle Shivok, Leonard Sibbald, Alex Smith, Michael & Laurel Stacell, Glen & Laura Starnes, Hugh & Judy Streeter, Tina Tomlinson, Peter Watson, Jan Weiss, Paul Wood, Jill Woodward, Pires, & Lombardo; Tony Pires Worthington Country Club Wyatt, Matt & Barbara Ehrie Yeaman, Cathy Bobcat ($50) Bittner, Michael Brown, Dottie Catrombon, Veronica Courtright, John & Beth Daltry, Wayne & Marti Duever, Mike & Jean McCollum Felton, George Fiala, Donna Fitch, John & Jean Grossenbacher, Roger Hulcher, Susie Jewell, Laura

FY 2014 Friends of CREW (Members who joined or renewed between 10/01/13 and 9/30/14) Kemper, Ron & Lynne Kinniry, Thomas Kline, Larry & Judy Magee, George Melin, Bob Menk, Al & Lucie Paquin, Bill Pires, Ricky Sheehan, Chantal & Mike Smith, Adele Umbenhauer, Michele & Stan Klepaldo Walker, Donna Family ($35—$49) Anderson, Dick & Andrea Arcaro, Robert Barefoot, Myron Bauer, Eric & Rita Bence, Joan & Jim Jennings Berdusco, Maria Berninger, Jack & Elaine Carlson, Ed Cavanaugh, David Collings, Matt Corey, Deborah Corradino, Pete & Malena Duval, Scott Eggleston, Steven Ennis, Kathy Griffith, Pam Gunnels, Dr. Charles & Family Hadeka, Sarah Hall, Johannah & Joseph Meloni Hannah, Laurence Johnson, Dick & Diane Jones, Craig & LeeAnn Kasperski, Ann Leone, Katie Luther, George & Susan Malick, Mary Mathes, John McLoughlin, Robert & Patricia Moore, Rochelle Mosher, Cecile Murphey, Carolyn Nagy, Klara Nissen, Phil O’Grady, Tom & Denise O’Neil, Dennis & Susan Ordonez, Brenda & Mario Peters, Chris & Deb Pilver, Elaine & Alan Powell, Jenny Reed, Anne Reilly, John & Elsa Rhodes, Laurel & Dusty Robinson, Henry & Marjorie Rose, Julie Schmelz, Gary & Barbara Smith, Kathleen & Marc Criffield Solveson, Elan & Don Taylor Stillwell, Sharon & Dick

Suden, Barbara & Steve Sutton, Betty & Paul Matloff Thomas, Brenda Thomson, Don & Kim Voellinger, Richard & Milla Wachendorf, Tom Webster, MaryAnn

Individual ($25) Adgate, Lucy Bailey, Anna Barthel, Monika Bozzo, Joe Broyard, Kathy Cabral, Karen Carlin, Barbara Coe, Eileen Conservation Bonita Cooper, Dr. David Cowles, Cynthia Cranor, Robert Ellsworth, Theresa Evans, Selena Ferber, Chuck Gordon, Alan Hasty, Cullum Hazell, Holly Higgins, Patrick Jacobson, Linda Kandik, Richard Kaylan, Magrid Koehler, Lisa Lurvey, Neena Mikovits, Joseph Mueller, Tom Myosky, Agnes Newcomb, Carol Rex, Wendy Ruboyianes, Luanne Schneider, Kristin L Solomon, Dorit Spikowski, Bill Stockham, Edwin Sujuana, Tina Tears, Clarence Thompson, William White, Erin Wisniewski, Earle Wolok, Mimi Woodall, Ruth Zombeck, Monique Zombeck, Martin Zuhusky, David Student ($10) Cooper, Jennifer Fraser, Beth