Address / Location: 7875 Immokalee Road, Naples.  The preserve is located east of I-75 along Immokalee Road, on the north side of the road across from the Gulf Coast High and Laurel Oak Elementary Schools.

Manager Contact Information: Christal Segura
E-mail:  Christal.Segura@colliercountyfl.gov
Phone: (239) 252-2495

Preserve Size: 18.46 acres

Date Acquired: July 28, 2006

Cost of Acquisition: $4,950,000

Public Access Status:  There is no parking lot. This preserve is accessible by foot or bike from 8:00 a.m. to dusk daily. It can be accessed via the bike path north of Immokalee Road and Gulf Coast High School.

Printed materials Available:
Alligator Flag Preserve Final Management Plan

Public Access Facilities: There is no vehicle parking available for this preserve.  It is accessible by foot and bike from the Greenway bike and foot path located along the north side of Immokalee Road.  A bike rack is provided at the trail entrance where visitors can access the approximately 1 mile long seasonal trail system.  The trail loops through the preserve and through each of the habitat types.  A bench along the trail provides a comfortable spot to rest.  The trail is only accessible during dry season, as the entire preserve typically retains standing surface water during rainy season.  A photo below shows the typical rainy-season conditions along the trail.  There are no restroom facilities at this preserve.

Plants and Wildlife: This preserve is representative of several of the typical habitat types in Collier County including seasonally flooded cypress-pine-cabbage palm, cypress wetlands and pine flatwoods.  Seventy-eight species of plants have been identified on the preserve site, including four  protected by the State of Florida.  Three of those are bromeliad species (related to the pineapple) and one is a fern. Though the bromeliads are fairly common throughout the state, they are listed due to illegal collecting and the destruction of the habitats in which they are found.  The fern is listed due to illegal collection and commercial exploitation.  A photo of one of the bromeliads, stiff leaved wild pine (Tillandsia fasciculata), is shown below in full bloom. 

Many species of wildlife have been recorded on the preserve, including wetland dependent and migratory bird species, black bear, deer, raccoon and a ribbon snake.  The preserve is also suitable for foraging by the state and federally endangered wood stork (Mycteria americana) and lies within the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary Wood Stork Core Foraging Area.

Reason for Acquisition:  The cypress-pine-cabbage palm community on this preserve provides important forested habitat for a number of species often found in wetlands and uplands. Additionally, this community provides essential habitat to the breeding life cycle of aquatic and wetland-dependent animals, and a major forest cover for cover-dependent species. In a landscape context, the presence of highly functioning cypress communities within a matrix of other types of wetland and upland communities is imperative for many species of wildlife, including listed species.
This preserve also connects with the adjacent Olde Cypress preserve and potentially to larger preserve areas and the Corkscrew Marsh Complex to the northeast.