| The Preserve has five parcels, nominations 75, 102, 107, 202 and 281 which were acquired between 1999 and 2006. It is approximately 234 acres in size and is located in northwest Lee County in Cape Coral and the east side of Burnt Store Road. The five parcels are located in three separate areas with a distance of less than three miles from the most northern and southern regions. The YPP's boundaries are/or either directly adjacent of Fred C. Babcock-Cecil M. Webb Wildlife Management Area (BWWMA), south of the Charlotte County Utilities - Burnt Store Public Drinking Water System (reverse osmosis plant) or private property.
The Preserve consists of twelve plant communities; one-third which are highly impacted from past uses. Historically, portions of the Preserve were used for agriculture and illegally as a site for outdoor recreation (camping, shooting/hunting and off-road activities). Ditches, berms, furrows, borrow and spoil areas, off-road vehicles (ORV), as well as invasive exotic plants have disturbed many portions of the wetland and upland plant communities at YPP. The dominant plant communities found on the Preserve are mixed mesic (flatwoods and hammock), mesic flatwoods and wet flatwoods. YPP contains a combination of wetland and upland communities that serve as important habitat for a variety of birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians.
Several restoration and stewardship projects have been completed on the preserve, which include: exotic plant removal, installation of fencing & fire lines, pine tree thinning, and mowing/disking perimeter fire breaks. Future plans will include staff performing prescribed burns within fire dependant plant communities. |
