Don't Drain This Swamp

Swamps are actually useful places in the natural scheme of things, providing habitat for a multitude of animals and acting as a natural filter for ground water. This is a section of estuarine tidal swamp, aka mangrove swamp, that makes up nearly a third of Hugh Taylor Birch State Park. The surprising thing about this swamp is that it doesn't sit along the western edge of the park and the Intracoastal Waterway. Instead, it sits in the interior of the park mostly within the bounds of the Loop Road. In places, it sits only a few feet from the other major habitat in the park, the tropical marine hammock filled with trees that don't like saltwater. Saltwater does flow through here to a limited extent from an opening at the northern end of the park.

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