First Comprehensive Biodiversity Assessment of Green Glades Ranches West, Hendry County, Florida

Sean M. McHugh^1,*, Amanda Suzzi-Simmons², and Scott J. Sveiven³

¹Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) Clewiston, FL 33440. ²University of Massachusetts Amherst, Deparment of Environmental Conservation, Amherst, MA 01003. ³Operation Wallacea, Staunton, VA 24401. *Corresponding author.

Southeastern Naturalist, Volume 22, Issue 3 (2023): 364–378

Abstract
We surveyed the flora and fauna of Green Glades Ranches West, a private property located in Hendry County of south-central Florida, in August 2021 as part of a biodiversity field course in wildlife monitoring, ecological surveys, and data analysis. The objective was to establish baseline inventories on existing plants and wildlife including flora, herpetofauna, birds, invertebrates, and mammals for future monitoring of key wildlife species. Some of the general habitat types and vegetation zones that were surveyed included prairies, hardwood hammocks, pine flatwoods, cypress swamp forest, hardwood swamps, and depression marshes. This survey was the first attempt to formally inventory the biodiversity of Green Glades Ranches West, where we documented over 275 different species, including several that are either endangered, threatened, invasive, endemic, or previously unknown to occur in Hendry County. These results highlight the important role of private land holdings, especially those adjacent to statutory protected areas and strategic wildlife corridors, in achieving and supporting regional conservation initiatives and wildlife-management goals.

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