(For information on the recent East site nominations, click here.)

HOW DOES A SITE GET ON THE TRAIL?

Anyone can nominate a site – birders, citizen conservationists, tourism executives or land managers. Subscribe to the Birding Trail newsletter to receive regular updates and learn when the nomination process is open in your county!

Each site is evaluated based on the following set of criteria.

• Ecological significance. Emphasis will be given to high quality or significant bird habitats, especially those that contribute to avian diversity on a regional level.

• Birdwatching characteristics. The probability of seeing birds, at least during specified season(s), is high. The main viewing attraction(s) are native, free-roaming bird species. Consideration may be given to species valued by the public for their beauty or rarity.

• Site resiliency. The site has the ability to withstand public usage. Fragile ecosystems or habitats with sensitive species should not be included. Other sites which have birds during sensitive periods of the life cycle (i.e. breeding and nesting) can have restricted visitor access during those times, unless it can be demonstrated that public use can be sufficiently confined so as not to harm the site's natural values that make it good bird habitat.

• Physical and legal access. The site is reasonably accessible to the public. In the absence of guaranteed public access to private land, birdwatching from an adjacent public road may be recommended with the cooperation form all parties involved.
  a.) Public ownership - site is open to public use.
  b.) Private ownership - the landowner is willing to guarantee in writing public access, including controlled public access through guided, prearranged tours.

• Economic significance. A community tourism infrastructure, such as a Chamber of Commerce or Tourism Development Council, exits in the adjacent community(ies).

• Maintenance support. Site has full support of all partners involved, especially partners providing maintenance of the site other than state or federal partners.

• Educational significance. Site has educational signage or programs pertaining to birds.

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER A SITE IS NOMINATED?

After a site nomination is submitted, it is checked for completion. If it was not submitted by the property owner/manager, the Birding Trail Coordinator contacts the land manager to congratulate them, and then forwards it for their review, and hopefully, their concurrence.

Birding Trail staff visit each nominated site. Meeting with site managers and nominators is helpful, but not always possible; therefore, the completeness of your application is very important.

Selection of sites. A steering committee meets to review the nominated sites and to make the final selection. The committee is comprised of representatives from the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, US Fish and Wildlife Services, Audubon, and Visit Florida.

WHEN WILL NOMINATIONS FOR EACH SECTION BE ACCEPTED AGAIN?

Beginning with the East section in Summer 2007, the nomination process for each section of the trail will be reopened approximately every five years so that new sites may be included. Sections will be revisited in the order they were opened. The anticipated timeline is:

• East Section - 2007 Closed
• West Section - 2008
• Panhandle Section - 2009
• South Section - 2010

East Florida Birding Trail Nomination Process

The FWC reopened the East section of the Great Florida Birding Trail in Summer 2007 in order to add new birding sites. As part of the Birding Trail’s grassroots approach, land managers and the general public were asked to submit nomination forms for sites that were not included on the trail when it first opened in November 2000. A total of 53 sites were nominated. The nomination period closed July 31, 2007. Sites were inspected August 2007 through January 2008.

In March 2008, 46 locations were selected by the steering committee and the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission to be part of the Great Florida Birding Trail. These sites are listed below. Sites marked as “WAV” are not primary Trail sites, but are designated as “Worth A Visit” sites if you are already in the area.

Work is now commencing on a new guide booklet for the East section of the Birding Trail. We anticipate the guide will be available by the end of 2008. Stay tuned for announcements regarding the reopening of the West section.

Eighteen counties are represented in the East section: Nassau, Duval, Clay, St. Johns, Putnam, Flagler, Marion, Volusia, Lake, Seminole, Brevard, Orange, Polk, Osceola, Indian River, Highlands, Okeechobee, and St. Lucie. Click here to see a list of sites already on the East Section of the Great Florida Birding Trail.
 

New East Florida Birding Trail Sites
Site Name	Organization	Nearest City	County
Egan's Creek Greenway	City of Fernandina Beach	Fernandina Beach	Nassau
Machaba Balu Preserve	The Nature Conservancy	Jacksonville	Duval
Camp Milton Historic Preserve WAV	City of Jacksonville Preservation Project	Jacksonville	Duval
Castaway Island Preserve WAV	City of Jacksonville Preservation Project	Jacksonville	Duval
Camp Chowenwaw Park  WAV	Clay County Board of County Commissioners	Green Cove Springs	Clay
Alpine Groves Park	St. Johns County	Switzerland	St. Johns
Fort Mose Historic State Park WAV	Florida Department of Environmental Protection	St. Augustine	St. Johns
Matanzas State Forest WAV	State of Florida/Florida Department of Environmental Protection/FL Division of Forestry	St. Augustine	St. Johns
Southeast Intracoastal Waterway Park   WAV	St. Johns County	Crescent Beach/Marineland	St. Johns
Vaill Point Park	St. Johns County	St. Augustine	St. Johns
Vilano Boat Ramp WAV	St. Johns County	Vilano Beach	St. Johns
Palm Coast Linear Park/St. Joe Walkway	City of Palm Coast	Palm Coast	Flagler
Rainbow River	State of Florida/Marion County/City of Dunnellon	Dunnellon	Marion
Rainbow Springs State Park	Florida Department of Environmental Protection	Dunnellon	Marion
Lake Monroe Conservation Area   Brickyard Slough and Kratzert Tracts	St. Johns Water Management District	Osteen/Sanford	Volusia
Lighthouse Point Park/   Marine Science Center	Volusia County	Ponce Inlet	Volusia
Port Orange Causeway Park	City of Port Orange	Port Orange	Volusia
Ponce Preserve	Town of Ponce Inlet	Ponce Inlet	Volusia
Bourlay Historic Nature Park WAV	Lake County Water Authority	Leesburg	Lake
Lake Apopka Restoration Area   Clay Island and North Shore Tracts	St. Johns River Water Management District	Orlando	Lake/Orange
Sawgrass Island Preserve	Lake County Water Authority	Umatilla	Lake
Lake Jesup Conservation Area   Marl Bed Flats and East Lake Jesup Tracts	St. Johns Water Management District	Sanford/Oveido	Seminole
Wekiva River Buffer Conservation Area	St. Johns Water Management District/State of Florida/Audubon,	Sanford	Seminole
Barrier Island Sanctuary	Brevard County Environmentally Endangered Lands Program	Melbourne Beach	Brevard
Chain of Lakes Recreation Complex	Brevard County Parks & Recreation	Titusville	Brevard
Coconut Point Sanctuary WAV	Brevard County Environmentally Endangered Lands Program/State of Florida	Melbourne Beach	Brevard
Enchanted Forest Sanctuary WAV	Brevard County Environmentally Endangered Lands Program	Titusville	Brevard
Maritime Hammock Sanctuary	Brevard County Environmentally Endangered Lands Program/State of Florida	Melbourne Beach	Brevard
Micco Scrub Sanctuary	State of Florida	Palm Bay	Brevard
Salt Lake Wildlife Management Area	Division of State Lands/St. Johns Water Management District	Mims	Brevard
Viera Wetlands	Brevard County Utility Services	Viera	Brevard
Christmas Creek Preserve	Environmental Protection Division (Green P.L.A.C.E.)	Christmas	Orange
Hal Scott Regional Preserve and Park	St. Johns Water Management District	Orlando	Orange
Harry P. Leu Gardens	City of Orlando	Orlando	Orange
Oakland Nature Preserve	Town of Oakland	Oakland	Orange
Shadow Bay Park WAV	Orange County Parks and Recreation	Oakland	Orange
Circle B Bar Reserve	Polk County Environmental Lands Program	Bartow	Polk
Colt Creek State Park	Florida Department of Environmental Protection	Lakeland	Polk
Kissimmee Lakefront Park	Kissimmee Parks & Recreation	Kissimmee	Osceola
Makinson Island Nature Preserve	Osceola County Parks	Lake Tohopekaliga	Osceola
Captain Forster Hammock Preserve WAV	Indian River County	Vero Beach	Indian River
North Sebastian Conservation Area	Indian River County	Sebastian	Indian River
Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge	US Fish & Wildlife Service	Orchid Island	Indian River
Wabasso Scrub Conservation Area WAV	Indian River County	Wabasso/Sebastian	Indian River
Round Island South Conservation Area/Round Island Riverside Park WAV	Indian River County	Vero Beach	Indian River
Platt Branch Mitigation Park Wildlife   Environmental Area	Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission	Palmdale	Highlands