Everglades National Park (EVER), established in 1947, and Big Cypress National Preserve (BICY), established in 1974, are two large conservation areas managed by the National Park Service (NPS) in South Florida. Information on small and medium-sized mammals on these lands is essential for effective protection and management of these species, but prior to 2007, these lands had not been inventoried since the 1950s and little information was available about the mammal species that occurred there. Many factors, both natural and anthropogenic, threaten mammal species in EVER and BICY. Changes in hydrology and habitat as well as threats such as direct competition with and predation by invasive species (i.e., Burmese pythons, Python molurus bivittatus) may affect populations. To address this knowledge gap, an inventory of small and medium-sized mammals was conducted in Everglades National Park (EVER) and Big Cypress National Preserve (BICY) from 2007-2009.

An inventory of amphibian species in Big Cypress National Preserve (BICY) was conducted from 2002 to 2003. The goals of the project were to create a georeferenced inventory of amphibian species, use new analytical techniques to estimate proportion of sites occupied by each species, look for any signs of amphibian decline (missing species, disease, die-offs, and so forth.), and to establish a protocol that could be used for future monitoring efforts. Survey methods used include visual encounter surveys (VES), anuran vocalization surveys and more limitedly, opportunistic collections and drift fence surveys. All of the amphibian species historically found in Big Cypress National Preserve were detected during this project.

The Everglades National Park (EVER) and Big Cypress National Preserve (BICY) vegetation mapping project is part of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP). It is a cooperative effort between the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD), the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), and the National Park Service (NPS) Vegetation Mapping Inventory Program (VMI). The goal of this project is to produce a spatially and thematically accurate vegetation map of EVER and BICY prior to the completion of restoration efforts. The vegetation map will serve as a record of baseline conditions to: (1) document changes to the spatial extent, pattern, and proportion of plant communities within these two federally managed units as they respond to hydrologic modifications resulting from the implementation of CERP; and (2) provide vegetation and land-cover information to NPS park managers and scientists for use in park management, resource management, research, and monitoring. This project covers an area of approximately 7,400 square kilometers (1.84 million acres [ac]) and consists of seven mapping regions: four regions in EVER, Regions 1–4; and three in BICY, Regions 5–7 (Figure 1). The report that follows focuses on the mapping effort associated with Region 2, the Southeast Saline Everglades (SESE); an area that is geographically centered on southern Taylor Slough in Everglades NP. Region 2 encompasses a total area of 591.4 square kilometers (228.2 square miles [mi2] and 146,138 ac) and is bounded by Shark River Slough/Long Pine Key (Region 1) to the north, U.S Highway 1 to the east, Florida Bay to the south, and Flamingo (Region 3) to the west. Photo-interpretation was performed by superimposing a 50 × 50 meter (164 × 164 feet [ft] or .25 hectare [.61 ac]) grid cell vector matrix over stereoscopic, 0.30 centimeter (11.8 inches [in]) spatial resolution, color-infrared aerial imagery on a digital photogrammetric workstation. Photo-interpreters identified the dominant community in each cell by applying majority rule algorithms, recognizing community specific spectral signatures alongside an aerial photograph interpretation key, and referencing an extensive ground-truth database. The dominant vegetation community within in each grid cell was classified using a hierarchical classification system developed specifically for this project. In addition, at each grid cell photo-interpreters noted any evidence of disturbance as either anthropogenic, fire, freeze, or windstorm and categorized the absolute cover of cattail (Typha sp.) and any exotic species present as either: Sparse (10–49%), Dominant (50–89%), or Monotypic (90–100%). A total of 129 unique vegetation classes were identified within Region 2. The most common vegetation type was Red Mangrove Scrub-Open Marsh. This community accounted for approximately 17.3% of the map area. Other notable classes include Short Sawgrass Marsh-Dense (8.6%), Transitional Bayhead Shrubland (7.2%), Red Mangrove Scrub-Sawgrass Marsh (5.4%), Red Mangrove Scrub-Spikerush Marsh (4.6%), Spikerush Marsh (3.5%), and Transitional Bayhead Swamp Scrub-Sawgrass Marsh (2.5%). These seven classes and water (23.0%) account for 72.2% of the entire area mapped within Region 2. Based on 229 randomly selected points, the Region 2 map accuracy was determined to be 88.6% with a lower 90th percentile confidence level of 84.6%.

Everglades National Park (EVER) protects 610,502 ha of natural areas at the extreme southern tip of Florida. EVER consists primarily of shallow seasonal wetland habitats including marshes, sloughs, cypress forests, and mangrove forests. In addition, a portion of the park consists of upland habitat; primarily pine forests and tropical hardwood hammocks. These habitats combined make up a heterogeneous matrix of open grasslands and forested wetlands and uplands. An inventory of amphibian species in Everglades National Park was conducted during 2000 to 2003. The goals of the project were to create a georeferenced inventory of amphibian species, use new analytical techniques to estimate proportion of sites occupied by each species, look for any signs of amphibian decline (missing species, disease, die-offs, etc.), and to establish a protocol that could be used for future monitoring efforts. Primary survey methods were visual encounter surveys (VES) and vocalization surveys but trapping and PVC pipe refugia were used as well.

The Everglades National Park (EVER) and Big Cypress National Preserve (BICY) vegetation mapping project is part of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP). It is a cooperative effort between the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD), the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), and the National Park Service (NPS) Vegetation Mapping Inventory Program (VMI). The goal of this project is to produce a spatially and thematically accurate vegetation map of Everglades NP and Big Cypress NP prior to the completion of restoration efforts. The vegetation map will serve as a record of baseline conditions to: (1) document changes to the spatial extent, pattern, and proportion of plant communities within these two federally-managed units as they respond to hydrologic modifications resulting from the implementation of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan and the Western Everglades Restoration Project; and (2) provide vegetation and land-cover information to NPS park managers and scientists for use in park management, resource management, research, and monitoring. This project covers an area of approximately 7,400 square kilometers (1.84 million acres [ac]) and consists of seven mapping regions: four regions in Everglades NP, Regions 1–4, and three in Big Cypress NP, Regions 5–7 (Figure 1). The report that follows focuses on the mapping effort associated with Region 3, the Southwest Coastal Everglades (SWCE); an area geographically centered around Whitewater Bay in Everglades NP. Region 3 encompasses a total area of 990.7 square kilometers (382.5 square miles, 244,816 ac) and is bounded by Shark River Slough/Long Pine Key (Region 1) to the northeast, Taylor Slough (Region 2) to the east, and the Northwest Coastal Everglades (Region 4) to the north. Photo-interpretation was performed by superimposing a 50 × 50 meter (164 × 164 feet or 0.25 hectare [0.61 ac]) grid cell vector matrix over stereoscopic, 0.30 centimeter (11.8 inches) spatial resolution, color-infrared aerial imagery on a digital photogrammetric workstation. Photo-interpreters identified the dominant community in each cell by applying majority-rule algorithms, recognizing community-specific spectral signatures alongside an aerial photograph interpretation key, and referencing an extensive ground-truth database. The dominant vegetation community within in each grid cell was classified using a hierarchical classification system developed specifically for this project. Photo-interpreters additionally noted any evidence of disturbance in each grid cell as either anthropogenic, fire, freeze, or windstorm and categorized the absolute cover of cattail (Typha sp.) and any exotic species present as either: Sparse (10–49%), Dominant (50–89%), or Monotypic (90–100%). A total of 169 thematic classes were used to map Region 3. The most common vegetation class was Mixed Mangrove Forest. This community accounted for approximately 8% of the area mapped. Other notable classes include Short Sawgrass Marsh-Dense (6.1%), Red Mangrove Forest (5.0%), Black Mangrove-Red Mangrove Forest (4.5%), and Red Mangrove Scrub-Open Marsh (4.5%). These five classes plus water, e.g., ponds, lakes, bays, rivers, etc., (26%) account for approximately 54% of the entire area mapped within Region 3. Based on 245 randomly selected points, the accuracy of the Region 3 map was determined to be 89.4% with a lower 90th percentile confidence level of 85.6%.

The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) requires the use of ecological indicators to measure the success of restoration efforts. The Everglades amphibian community is ideal because amphibians are present in all habitats and under all hydrologic regimes. During Everglades restoration, hydrologic patterns will change and the response of ecological indicators will determine success. Fourteen amphibian species were detected through visual encounter surveys, vocalization surveys and trapping methods throughout the study and the occurrence information collected in this project database.

The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) requires the use of ecological indicators to measure the success of restoration efforts. The Everglades amphibian community is ideal because amphibians are present in all habitats and under all hydrologic regimes. During Everglades restoration, hydrologic patterns will change and the response of ecological indicators will determine success. Fourteen amphibian species were detected through visual encounter surveys, vocalization surveys and trapping methods throughout the study and the occurrence information collected in this project database.

The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) requires the use of ecological indicators to measure the success of restoration efforts. The Everglades amphibian community is ideal because amphibians are present in all habitats and under all hydrologic regimes. During Everglades restoration, hydrologic patterns will change and the response of ecological indicators will determine success. Fourteen amphibian species were detected through visual encounter surveys, vocalization surveys and trapping methods throughout the study and the occurrence information collected in this project database.

This dataset consists of a file geodatabase containing the digitized ecotone boundaries between mangroves and freshwater marsh in 2013 and 2019 at 14 systematically selected segments in Big Cypress National Preserve and Everglades National Park (southwest Florida, USA).

The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) requires the use of ecological indicators to measure the success of restoration efforts. The Everglades amphibian community is ideal because amphibians are present in all habitats and under all hydrologic regimes. During Everglades restoration, hydrologic patterns will change and the response of ecological indicators will determine success. Fourteen amphibian species were detected through visual encounter surveys, vocalization surveys and trapping methods throughout the study and the occurrence information collected in this project database.