Paynes Prairie State Preserve, Florida
University of Florida	Aquatic, Wetland and Invasive Plant Information Retrieval System

Contributions to the Paynes Prairie State Preserve picture collection are welcome. Send your slide(s) to the APIRS office by mail, or E-mail your scanned slide to CAIP-WEBSITE@ufl.edu

These are images of Paynes Prairie State Preserve, Florida.

Paynes Prairie State Preserve, a so-called "wet prairie", is a 21,000 acre state-owned preserve in Alachua County, between Gainesville and Micanopy in north central Florida. It was the first preserve to be established in Florida, and is one of the state's most significant natural and historic areas.

Because of the high number of animal road kills by traffic on US Highway 441, which crosses the middle of Paynes Prairie, the Florida Department of Transportation began the construction of an animal protection wall in April, 2000. See the pictures below.

As the site of the first cattle ranch of Spanish Florida, Paynes Prairie still has Spanish cattle and horses. It's also home to innumerable deer, turkey, bobcats, otters (and, unfortunately, way too many armadillos) and is well-known as a birders' paradise. Not to mention the alligators! The Preserve contains more than 30 miles of trails, with facilities for camping, picnicing, fishing, bicyling and horseback riding. It is operated by the Florida Park Service.

For more information, contact Paynes Prairie State Preserve, 100 Savannah Blvd., Micanopy, FL 32667; (352) 466-3397. Internet: http://www.afn.org/~pprairie

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It's a "wet prairie" November, 1999 Paynes Prairie Lotus field Armadillo Lake Wauberg Weird scene Animal protection wall Animal protection wall Animal protection wall

Bur-marigold field Pickerelweed field Hwy 441, Before the big 1998 flood... Hwy 441, During the big flood... Before the big 1998 flood... During the big flood... Sunset over Paynes Prairie Sunset over Paynes Prairie

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