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The WFSU Ecology Blog

  • Home
    • About
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      • Kayak and Canoe Adventures
      • Hiking
      • Wildlife Watching
    • Observations From the Field
      • White Pelicans Visit Dr. Charles L. Evans Pond in Tallahassee
      • An April Walk at Ochlockonee River WMA
      • Nesting Raptors at Honeymoon Island State Park
    • WFSU Public Media Home
  • Documentaries
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    • Red Wolf Family Celebrates First Year at the Tallahassee Museum
    • Roaming the Red Hills
    • Oyster Doctors
    • Testing the Ecology of Fear
    • EcoShakespeare
    • Stories from the Apalachicola
    • Classic WFSU Ecology Documentaries
  • Habitats
    • Estuaries
      • Oyster Reef
        • The Effects of Predators and Fear on Oyster Reefs
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        • Animal Species in a North Florida Intertidal Oyster Reef
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      • Aucilla/ Wacissa Watershed
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        • Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines | Virtual Field Trip
        • The Age of Nature Screening & Discussion | The Future of the Apalachicola
        • Apalachicola River and Bay
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Archaeology, Paleontology, History, and Indigenous CulturesAucilla/ Wacissa WatershedEcoAdventuresKayak and Canoe AdventuresRivers and Streams

Paleo River Adventure on Slave Canal

by Rob Diaz de Villegas June 19, 2013
by Rob Diaz de Villegas June 19, 2013 0 comment
Rob Diaz de Villegas WFSU-TV

Video: Slave Canal EcoAdventure

Much like Slave Canal connects the Aucilla and Wacissa Rivers, this post serves as a bridge between our oyster reef and salt marsh videos (not that we’re done talking about Apalachicola by a long shot).  One of my favorite things on this blog is when we can make connections between rivers and the coast.  Of course, rivers provide much needed nutrients and fresh water to the estuarine ecosystems I just mentioned.  But to the many cultures that predate european settlement of our area, they served as the equivalent of Woodville or Crawfordville Highway.  It’s how they got to their Forgotten Coast seafood.

Slave Canal is one of those places I started hearing about a lot when we started doing our EcoAdventure videos.  As soon as you get into the braided channels of the lower Wacissa, it’s easy to see why it’s one of the popular river expeditions in north Florida.  You’re paddling in a canopied river swamp where people have been paddling for several thousand years.  And minus some old growth cypress trees that have been logged in the last century or so, it looks much the same as it did when various native groups made use of the waterway to make seafood runs to the coast.  But it doesn’t look quite as it did when people first got there.

Old Growth Cypress Tree off of Slave Canal

An old growth Cypress tree fortunate not to have been logged. Judging from the size of its base, Joe Davis estimates that it could be as much as 1,000 years old.

Evidence excavated at the Page/ Ladson and Ryan/ Harley sites points to people inhabiting what is now the Aucilla Wildlife Management Area for 12,000 years or longer.  At that time, Florida Fish and Wildlife’s Joe Davis told us, the ice ages were ending, sea level was lower, and the coast was further away.  Those first men and women walked on dry land where our canoes and kayaks passed over.  I can almost envision paleolithic man standing on one of the many ancient midden mounds as everything happens around him in time-lapse mode.  Rivers fill and flow to the Gulf, mastodons vanish, and different cultures come and go, piling shell and bone on to that same mound.  Pretty heavy stuff to think about on a fun Florida kayaking trip.

Slave Canal signSo how do you get there?  Here are links to a couple of maps. Florida Department of Environmental Protection put this PDF together with driving directions to two put in points along the Wacissa Paddling Trail. One is for the headwaters of the Wacissa, though Goose Pasture is closer by ten miles. It depends on how long you want to kayak or canoe. It’s about five miles from Goose Pasture to Nutall Rise on the Aucilla.  Goose Pasture is also a camp ground (first come first served, call 800-226-1066 in Florida or 386-362-1001 for more information).  Scroll down in the PDF for advice in finding the entrance to Slave Canal (hint- stay to the right). If you don’t find it amongst the braided channels of the lower Wacissa, you won’t find your take out at Nutall Rise.  You may also want a map you can take with you on the water.  The Rivers of AWE (Aucilla, Wacissa, and Econfina) Explorer’s Guide is available on the Wildlife Foundation of Florida’s web site.  It has detailed maps of the rivers with tips and suggestions, and is printed on water resistant paper.  It’s the map that Liz uses at the start of the piece.

Slave Canal is our third EcoAdventure on the Aucilla Wildlife Management Area.  We paddled the upper Wacissa and got some underwater footage of Big Blue Spring.  We also hiked the Florida National Scenic Trail along the Aucilla Sinks, where the Aucilla River goes intermittently underground, peeking out in “Karst windows.”  The WMA is a marvelous synthesis of history and prehistory, wildlife, and geology.  And, well, it’s full of these cool looking places.

Nigel Foster paddles Slave Canal

This is Nigel Foster, of Nigelkayaks. This link is to the trip gallery on his website.  As you can see, he’s been a few places.

Russell Farrow on Slave Canal

And this is Russell Farrow, Liz’s other guest. Russell is a co-owner of Sweetwater Kayaks in St. Petersburg, and you can see he’s been a few places as well. One of his passions is getting kids into the outdoors (and away from their screens).

Oyster shell on Slave Canal mound

I do one thing on this blog all year that takes place away from the coast, but I can’t escape oyster shells. For how many thousands of years have people eaten oysters on the Forgotten Coast? This shell was on Coon Bottom Mound, the largest mound on Slave Canal.

Turtle seen on Slave Canal, Florida kayaking trip.

I’m looking forward to the next EcoAdventure, whatever that might be.  If you have any suggestions, leave a comment.

Music in the video by Philippe Mangold.

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canoeEcotourismHistorykayakingpaddle sportspaddlingPaleo-IndianRyan-Harley SiteWacissa River. archeology
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Rob Diaz de Villegas

Rob Diaz de Villegas is a senior producer for WFSU-TV, covering outdoors and ecology. After years of producing the music program OutLoud, Rob found himself in a salt marsh with a camera, and found a new professional calling as well. That project, the National Science Foundation funded "In the Grass, On the Reef," spawned the award winning WFSU Ecology Blog. Now he spends time exploring north Florida's forests, coasts, waterways, and the endlessly fascinating ecosystem that is the backyard garden. Rob is married with two young sons, who make a pretty fantastic adventure squad.

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