Invasive Species Traditional Cache
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Difficulty:
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Size: 
(micro)
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This is one of several geocaches placed along the Quarantine and Cemetery Trails at Cayo Costa State Park. There is no bushwhacking needed, so enjoy an easy hike along the trails of this wonderful barrier island state park. When you are finished, spend some time looking for shells along the beach, swimming, or enjoy lunch at the picnic area. The park is accessible only by private boat or passenger ferry and there is a $2.00 fee for the park.
Cayo Costa State Park in addition to all it’s natural beauty is home to several exotic species that are capable of disrupting the natural habitat and causing problems in the normal ecosystem of the plants and animals that call this island home. The Australian pine, wild hogs and Brazilian pepper are the 3 named exotics that cause trouble on the island. This cache is located near the remnants of one of these, the Australian Pine. These trees, which are not really part of the conifer family, were originally imported to soak up “swamps”, stabilize canals, and hold beaches. They seed prolifically, grow 5 feet a year, produce dense shade and emit an herbicide that kills most plants that try to grow within their drip lines. As such, they replace the normal ecosystem of plants and animals that used to inhabit beaches and many other areas; this includes nesting sites for loggerhead turtles, green sea turtles and American crocodiles who lost nesting sites above the high tide lines, and marsh rabbits, gopher tortoises and bird species inland who depended on native plants that were displaced. Although they have an extensive root system, the wood is brittle and does not stand up to high winds. What you see at this location is the stumps of several of this species, perhaps destroyed in Hurricane Charley. These pines are no longer legal to be planted in Florida, and new developments have to remove them if they are in place.
Please replace this cache carefully, as you found it, and beware of muggles.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Qba'g yrg vg fghzc lbh
Treasures
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