 Our 15 acre (6 hectare) Miami Rock Pineland ecosystem identified regionally as Pine Ridge Sanctuary was purchased in 1976 and is considered one of the most globally endangered ecosystems in the world. We have been restoring the property from a once totally degraded state of exotic invasive pest plants to probably the most biodiverse of any of the remaining remnant sites that exist  today outside the Everglades National Park, with over 380 species of plants of which 16 are endemic, Federally Endangered, or State Endangered and Threatened.
50 years ago, there were approximately 192,000 acres (77,000 hectares) of Miami ock Pineland - today less than 2,000 acres exists in total. Most of the ecosystem is found within Everglades National Park; much less than 500 acres (200 hectares) are found outside the Park and are actually preserved and maintained. Miami Rock Pineland elevation was historically high and would not flood, so it was a prime candidate for development throughout our flood prone district. The 1948 development and use of a new tool called the rock plow allowed Miami Rock  Pineland to be destroyed and the land was then developed for residential, agricultural row crop farming, nursery and grove uses, as well as commercial and industrial buildings. Over the span of thirty years, Miami-Dade County has witnessed the demise of a sensitive and unique natural landscape known today as the Miami Rock Pineland. The restoration of our property know as Pine Ridge Sanctuary has been so successful that the Florida Native Plant Society awarded us their "Overall Commercial and Residential Winner" of the Landscape Enhancement Award for 1991 - the first time the organization had given the Award to a residence as opposed to a business or institution.
 Pine Ridge Sanctuary had never been rock plowed because it is situated very far west in the County and it lies between two prominent finger sloughs. South Florida slash pine forests had been characterized by its canopy of Pinus elliotii var. densa with a very diverse shrub layer composed primarily of West Indian tropical hardwoods and several palm species (Coccothrinax argentata “Silver Palm”, Sabal palmetto “Sabal palm”, and Sabal repens “Saw palmetto”) along with a very diverse herbaceous layer. There are at least26 plant species here endemic only to South Florida - 6 of these are listed on either the State or Federal Endangered Species Lists. The natural area supports a high floral richness of native vegetation which evolved on exposed oolitic limestone pinnacle rock. The soil type is referred to as Cardsound and Rock outcrop complex of the Krome Soil Series. Solution holes often exist on the surface caprock (the depth of which runs from 0" to 60" = 0 - 150 cm) and is generally about 38% exposed limestone. The water table is always within the limestone between 40" to 60" = 100 - 150 cm).
The ecosystem is a fire climax plant community (pyrogenic plant community) which evolved with regular lightning-strike generated fires, usually during the end of the dry season (May). Virtually all of the South Florida endemic plant species are fire adapted. If fire is not introduced into the ecosystem, the pine overstory would be replaced with a dense hardwood hammock dominated by broadleaf tropical tree species and most of the biodiversity of the rock pineland would be lost. Today, the fires are produced through prescribed burning which occur about every 4 - 5 years. The plant material which grows on this low to medium fertility substrate evolved woody bark (example: Pinus elliottii var. densa) or underground tubers or rhizomes (examples: Chamaesyce deltoidea subsp. pinetorum and Ipomoea microdactyla) to survive the periodic fires and periods of vegetative overcrowding, waiting for the next possible fire. "Conservation of this unique habitat type through the manipulation of fire will be the main tool used to continue to meet the primary objectives of preservation of biological integrity and aesthetic enhancement. Burns have typically alternated between winter and summer seasons on a three year burn rotation. Historically, winter burns had been preferred by the Division of Forestry (DOF), but more recent research suggests that naturally occurring summer burns are more advantageous." 1
 We were one of the first private sites to incorporate the use of prescribed burning in Miami-Dade County for restoration. We have a debt of gratitude to the DOF and DERM who have helped us over the past 30 years in the restoration of this unique and priceless Florida environment. Pine Ridge Sanctuary was first certified as a Forest Stewardship property in 1992 and we have just been recertified as a Forest Stewardship with a new Management Plan that emphasizes our same management Objectives of "maintaining the unique community of flora and fauna found on the property in its natural condition. Pine Rockland habitat has nearly all been developed in Miami-Dade County outside the Everglades National Park." 1
 Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and the ensuing IPS and Ambrosia beetle invasion killed about 3,500 of our 125 year old Pinus elliottii var. densa. Our property was one of the beetle monitoring stations set up by Fairchild Gardens / Montgomery Foundation, DOF, and The University of Florida. The monitoring stations clearly showed the dramatic increase of IPS beetle population immediately after the hurricane causing the death of the remaining 10% of the pines that had survived the Category V Hurricane and three tornados that occurred on our property; and the population of IPS predators did not build up to a high enough population to control the IPS beetles for three or four months post hurricane; by then, the pines were dead and the IPS population crashed due to lack of food sources.
 We started to replant pine tublings in 1993 after considerations of the IPS beetle populations crash.
During the 3/2008 Pine Rockland Working Group Conference in Miami, the 5 objectives discussed for the maintenance of Pine Rocklands were:
- Promote open and uneven aged ecosystem diversity.
- Decrease hardwood understory.
- Increase herbaceous density and diversity.
- Promote heterogeneity of habitat.
- Protect integrity of organic and substrate media.
Prescribed burn research is always ongoing – the latest research indicates that a more frequent burn schedule = larger sized trees and younger trees are eventually killed.
Conservation has been defined as "the management of human interaction with the variety of life forms and complexes in which they occur so as to provide the maximum benefit to the present generation while maintaining their potential to meet the needs and aspirations of future generations." (Reid, W. V. and K. R. Miller. 1989). Inherent in this definition of conservation are the ideas that (1) man is a natural and integral part of the biosphere and (2) sustainable development is possible. Sustainable development is economic development that takes into account ecological and economic principles so that both economic growth and ecological systems can be maintained for an indefinite period of time.
"In an area where miles and miles of native pineland stretched along the eastern coastal ridge less than fifty years ago, the Glancy's (Pine Ridge Sanctuary) Rock Pineland is a reminder of what it must have looked like in southern Miami-Dade County. Unlike most of the remaining pine blocks chocked with an understory of solid impenetrable Brazilian pepper trees, the Glancy property has been managed back to a natural array of native plants which is aesthetically pleasing to have and preserve for the future. More importantly, it will be one of the few remaining parcels that are aesthetically correct as a true native remnant. Rock Pineland is aptly named as there is a very shallow soil layer and the exposed limestone bed of rocks is visible over a large percentage of the property. This feature makes the ever diminishing Rockland habitat type more unique and therefore of a higher aesthetic and scientific value than most of the remaining common Florida pine flatwoods." 1
Our property houses not only our home but also Pine Ridge Orchids, Inc.
1 - (Quotes taken from our 2008 Forest Stewardship Management Plan - FL Div. of Forestry (DOF), FL Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWCC), USDA Natural Resources & Conservation Service (NRCS), and the University of FL - Institute of Food & Agricultural Services (IFAS),
To view additional photos of this globally endangered ecosystem along with photos of our most recent prescribed burns which occurred on 8/12/2005 and 12/5/2005, please click on the Photos link to the left.
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