The "Southwest Florida Water Management District":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/ (District) has partnered with the "Florida Wildlife Corridor Expedition":http://floridawildlifecorridor.org/, as members of the exploration team travel through the District by walking, paddling or biking their way more than 700 miles from the Everglades Headwaters in Central Florida, across the Panhandle to the Alabama border. The expedition began Jan. 10 at Creek Ranch outside of Orlando. The goal of the Florida Wildlife Corridor Expedition is to help raise awareness and generate support for connecting natural lands and waters throughout Florida
On Saturday, Jan. 24 at 9 a.m., the District will host a trail mixer activity where members of the public can meet the explorers and canoe or kayak with the team starting at Rainbow Springs State Park, located at 19158 SW 81st Place Road in Dunnellon.
Event attendees must pay $2 park admission and can participate in the meet and greet which will take place at the Hickory Pavilion. Attendees can bring their own canoes and kayaks and launch them for free, or rent a kayak for $22 for one or two people, $33 for three people, and $44 for four people, which will be paid to the park concessionaire on the day of the event. Call (352) 796-7211, ext. 4770 to make a reservation. Visa and MasterCard are accepted. Spaces are limited.
The paddle will include one hour down the Rainbow River and one hour back to the park. The explorers are expected to launch at 10 a.m. and the event is expected to end at noon.
The Florida Wildlife Corridor encompasses a 15.8 million acre opportunity area of minimally developed land. The Corridor team and partners advocate for the protection of the "missing links," roughly two million acres of highest priority lands still in need of protection to ensure the long-term viability of the Corridor. The Corridor provides habitat for 42 federally listed endangered species and 176 state listed endangered species. Some endangered species include the Whooping Crane, Florida Panther, West Indian Manatee, Green Turtle, Leatherback Turtle, Hawksbill Turtle, Gulf Sturgeon and many more.
On Saturday, Jan. 24 at 9 a.m., the District will host a trail mixer activity where members of the public can meet the explorers and canoe or kayak with the team starting at Rainbow Springs State Park, located at 19158 SW 81st Place Road in Dunnellon.
Event attendees must pay $2 park admission and can participate in the meet and greet which will take place at the Hickory Pavilion. Attendees can bring their own canoes and kayaks and launch them for free, or rent a kayak for $22 for one or two people, $33 for three people, and $44 for four people, which will be paid to the park concessionaire on the day of the event. Call (352) 796-7211, ext. 4770 to make a reservation. Visa and MasterCard are accepted. Spaces are limited.
The paddle will include one hour down the Rainbow River and one hour back to the park. The explorers are expected to launch at 10 a.m. and the event is expected to end at noon.
The Florida Wildlife Corridor encompasses a 15.8 million acre opportunity area of minimally developed land. The Corridor team and partners advocate for the protection of the "missing links," roughly two million acres of highest priority lands still in need of protection to ensure the long-term viability of the Corridor. The Corridor provides habitat for 42 federally listed endangered species and 176 state listed endangered species. Some endangered species include the Whooping Crane, Florida Panther, West Indian Manatee, Green Turtle, Leatherback Turtle, Hawksbill Turtle, Gulf Sturgeon and many more.