LATEST ACTIVITIES ON BEHALF OF LITTLE SALT SPRING
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WITH THE ARRIVAL OF TATIANA ARIAS, THE NEW ORCHID RESEARCH BOTANIST AT THE SELBY BOTANICAL GARDEN, OUR EFFORTS TO PROTECT AND CONSERVE SACOILA LANCEOLATA VAR. PALUDICOLA CAN PROCEED! THE THRUST OF OUR EFFORTS WILL BE TO SCIENTIFICALLY DETERMINE IF THIS THREATENED ORCHID WHICH GROWS NEAR THE SPRING IS A SEPARATE SPECIES, NOT JUST A VARIATION OF LANCEOLATA. TO DO SO, WE PLAN TO COLLECT GENETIC MATERIAL FROM BOTH LANCEOLATA AND PALUDICOLA IN VARIOUS FLORIDA LOCATIONS AND COMPARE THEIR DNA. THIS WILL BE AN EXPENSIVE VENTURE, BUT WE HOPE TO RAISE THE FUNDS THROUGH DONATIONS AND GRANTS. THE SARASOTA ORCHID SOCIETY AND THE AMERICAN ORCHID SOCIETY CONSERVATION COMMITTEE HAVE ALREADY SHOWN INTEREST IN SUPPORTING OUR EFFORT.
WALLACE COLLECTION REVEALS YEARS OF DEDICATED ARCHEOLOGICAL RESEARCH
Bill Goetz, FLSS president and custodian of the Jim Wallace Collection, has spent countless hours listening to, examining and organizing the collection, and has written an article soon to be published in the "Florida Anthropologist".
This photo of Little Salt Spring was taken on July 4th, 1970 by Jim Wallace just before the first exploratory dives funded by the General Development Corporation. The makeshift dock structure pictured was improvised by the sports divers who had been diving there for a dozen years. Little Salt Spring was dove in 1958 by famed ichthyologist Dr. Eugenie Clark and founder of Mote Marine Laboratory along with retired Air Force Colonel, Bill Royal. This was only 4 years after the Aqua Lung (modern single stage regulator) was first available to the public; facilitating the ability to dive the 200’ depths of the spring.
WE'RE COUNTING ON YOUR SUPPORT!
EXCITING NEWS!
FRIENDS OF LITTLE SALT SPRING HAS BEEN CHOSEN TO RECEIVE
The Photographic Archives of James H. Wallace, Jr.
and the
2020 Sarasota County Heritage Award
and the
2020 Sarasota County Heritage Award
James H. Wallace, Jr., a 25-year member of the National Press Club and former director of Curator and Photographic Services at the Smithsonian Institution passed away in June of this year. Jim photographed the March on Washington in August 1963, and authored Courage in the Moment: the Civil Rights Struggle,1961-64. He also wrote articles on photography for several publications, many dealing with his expertise in archival preservation of photographic materials. According to Jolleen Wallace, Jim's widow, who selected the Friends of Little Salt Spring as the recipient of his archival collection, she and Jim worked for The General Development Corporation in the late 1960s and early 70s. Jim was the "point man" for Carl Clausen, who was one of the first archeologists to explore Little Salt Spring and discover its historic significance. We will be forever grateful to both Jim and Jolleen for protecting the legacy of this archeological and ecological treasure.
(See Jolleen's letter below.)
(See Jolleen's letter below.)
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From left to right: Lawry Reid, Jolleen Wallace, Steve Koski and Bill Goetz
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According to the Sarasota County Heritage Award website (http://historicpreservationsarasota.org/heritageawards/), "The Friends of Little Salt Spring was chosen to receive this year’s Archeological Conservancy Award. This award recognizes outstanding efforts to preserve and document prehistorical sites and/or effective advocacy of archeological conservancy. The Friends of Little Salt Spring is a superb example of a dedicated, enthusiastic band of volunteers who have allied with professional archeologists to save and promote one of Florida’s most significant natural and archaeological sites. Little Salt Spring is part of a 112-acre site owned by the University of Miami, listed on the National Register of Historical Places. 7,000 years ago Florida’s earliest inhabitants buried their dead in peat fields around the spring. Recent investigations have found human and extinct animal remains, as well as tools and other artifacts. The spring is a time capsule of the lives of these early people and the world they inhabited. By studying the spring, scientists can reconstruct the record of subtropical climate change over 12,000 years."
"The Friends mount educational programs on the geology, archaeology, paleontology, biology, and environment of the spring. They pick up trash and eradicate exotic vegetation that threatens the natural ecology of the spring and its surrounding area. They lobby local government to prevent new development from impinging directly or indirectly on the site. They have provided continuing educational training for teachers on archeology at local schools in cooperation with the Florida Archeological Network and co-produced an educational booklet on Little Salt Spring."
"The Heritage Awards Committee makes special mention of retiring President, Lawry Reid and Recording Secretary Linda Ferrier-Reid. The Reids, who are retired academics, formed the Friends of Little Salt Spring as a not-for-profit organization in 2012. As the Friends only president, Lawry Reid facilitated the publication of a significant scientific article about the spring in the Florida Anthropologist. He also helped persuade the City of North Port to adopt the North Port Natural Corridor Initiative that preserved the land connection from Little Salt Spring to the Myakkahatchee Greenway. That victory helped sustain the natural ecology not only at Little Salt Spring, but in adjacent areas as well."
For its key role in preserving and publicizing Little Salt Spring and educating both children and adults as to the significance of the site, the Heritage Awards Committee confers the 2020 Archaeological Conservancy Award on the Friends of Little Salt Spring."
"The Friends mount educational programs on the geology, archaeology, paleontology, biology, and environment of the spring. They pick up trash and eradicate exotic vegetation that threatens the natural ecology of the spring and its surrounding area. They lobby local government to prevent new development from impinging directly or indirectly on the site. They have provided continuing educational training for teachers on archeology at local schools in cooperation with the Florida Archeological Network and co-produced an educational booklet on Little Salt Spring."
"The Heritage Awards Committee makes special mention of retiring President, Lawry Reid and Recording Secretary Linda Ferrier-Reid. The Reids, who are retired academics, formed the Friends of Little Salt Spring as a not-for-profit organization in 2012. As the Friends only president, Lawry Reid facilitated the publication of a significant scientific article about the spring in the Florida Anthropologist. He also helped persuade the City of North Port to adopt the North Port Natural Corridor Initiative that preserved the land connection from Little Salt Spring to the Myakkahatchee Greenway. That victory helped sustain the natural ecology not only at Little Salt Spring, but in adjacent areas as well."
For its key role in preserving and publicizing Little Salt Spring and educating both children and adults as to the significance of the site, the Heritage Awards Committee confers the 2020 Archaeological Conservancy Award on the Friends of Little Salt Spring."
Friends of Little Salt Spring Adopts
Climate Change Position Paper
New Bylaws Approved!
"The Native Orchids of Little Salt Spring"
Monday, January 27, 2020 7:00PM
Jockey Club Community Center
3050 Pan American Blvd
North Port, Florida 34287
Given the protection afforded to the area around Little Salt Spring, the surrounding ecosystem has remained intact. The only intervention that has taken place has been aimed at eliminating invasive plant and animal species. As a result, the micro-environment surrounding the spring is still home to six native orchids and possibly more.
At the January 2020 meeting of the Friends of Little Salt Spring our slideshow presentation highlighted those orchids and told their stories. Our program also celebrated those who devoted their lives to preserve our native orchids and insure their future.
Partners In Preservation
Friends of Little Salt Spring
North Port Friends of Wildlife
Mangrove Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society
Warm Mineral Spring/Little Salt Spring Archaeological Society
Florida Anthropological Society
The Shark Brothers - Sean and Brooks Paxton
Allamanda Garden Club of North Port
Publix
There will be a brief business meeting at the beginning of the public meeting.
At the January 2020 meeting of the Friends of Little Salt Spring our slideshow presentation highlighted those orchids and told their stories. Our program also celebrated those who devoted their lives to preserve our native orchids and insure their future.
Partners In Preservation
Friends of Little Salt Spring
North Port Friends of Wildlife
Mangrove Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society
Warm Mineral Spring/Little Salt Spring Archaeological Society
Florida Anthropological Society
The Shark Brothers - Sean and Brooks Paxton
Allamanda Garden Club of North Port
Publix
There will be a brief business meeting at the beginning of the public meeting.
What is FLSS Inc.?
FLSS Inc. was formed by a handful of interested local North Port residents early in 2012 and has grown today into a membership of several hundred.
The Friends of Little Salt Spring Inc. recognize the cultural and natural significance of Little Salt Spring and see the outstanding potential of the site and the surrounding area. FLSS Inc. is poised to provide volunteer opportunities for site stewardship, land management, maintenance, research, public outreach and local fundraising efforts. |
What is Little Salt Spring?
Little Salt Spring Archaeological and Ecological Preserve is a 112-acre parcel of land located in south Sarasota County in the City of North Port. The site contains a 260-foot wide by 250-foot deep sinkhole where evidence of Florida's earliest inhabitants has been found in the sediments of the 40-foot deep basin and the 90-foot ledge of the spring.
During the late Pleistocene and early Holocene, 8,600 to 12,000 radio carbon years ago, the site was a wetland oasis in an arid environment attracting extinct animals, such as giant tortoises and ground sloths, as well as the people who hunted them. Read more about LSS here ... |
Want to Join our Team?
FLSS Inc. welcomes members from around the region, around the USA and around the world. There are four Membership Categories. Individual Membership for One Year is $10, Additional Family Members are $5 each. Business Membership is $50 and Corporate Membership is $100.
During this year of transition, the main goal of FLSS is Outreach to build awareness of LSS and the importance of saving it. FLSS Inc. gladly accepts new members. From this website you can join our group. Join here ... |
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