Turkey Creek Sanctuary -- oasis in the city

Turkey Creek Sanctuary is a 122-acre natural oasis in the middle of Palm Bay.

Exploring the serpentine boardwalks of Turkey Creek Sanctuary, it's easy to imagine you're miles from the asphalt grids of civilization.

The creek's tea-colored waters twist through a dense canopy of ancient sabal palms and regal oaks festooned with butterfly orchids. Here, not even an unrelenting afternoon sun can penetrate the unruly groundcover below. It is a primordial place, rife with shadows and noises and things that skitter unseen.

At 122 acres, the sanctuary is a postage stamp-sized patch of wilderness compared to many public lands in east-central Florida, concedes Oli Johnson, the sanctuary's park ranger.

"Basically, it's a coastal stream that feeds into the Indian River Lagoon," Johnson says. "Here, at least, it's still intact. You walk on the boardwalk and it seems like you're out there. In actuality, you're in downtown Palm Bay."

Every year, roughly 30,000 people visit the sanctuary, but Johnson figures that the number is higher because many folks don't sign the registry at the boardwalk's entrance.

Scanning his records, Johnson traces his finger along entries that include visitors from France, Sweden, Holland, Finland, the Virgin Islands, and 35 states.

"We get visitors from all over the world," Johnson says. "The Europeans go nuts when they see a raccoon, an armadillo or even a squirrel. Many visitors are from urbanized areas where wildlife is almost nonexistent."

Throughout the year, Johnson and his staff offer tours of the sanctuary, as well as slideshows, summer camp programs, puppet shows and hands-on exhibits at the Margaret Hames Nature Center, an educational center nestled in the pines just a few yards away from the boardwalks and hiking trails.

There's also the day-to-day challenges that come with managing a fragile environment that contains a mosaic of habitats: sand pines, floodplains, hardwood hammocks and the creek itself.

A typical day may involve hacking away at invasive Brazilian pepper trees, removing fallen trees from canoe routes, or taking water samples.

Although the creek is buffered by this pristine area, it is also the receiving body of a 100-square-mile network of canals. In the past, the creek and its basin at the Indian River Lagoon have been strangled by sediment from stormwater runoff. The ragged, sandy cliffs bordering the creek have also been blamed for sediment buildups along the creek bed.

Relief arrived in May 2001 with the completion of a muck-dredging project at the mouth of Turkey Creek. The two-phase project resulted in the removal of nearly 400,000 cubic yards -- or about 22,000 dump-truck loads -- of muck from the creek, which carries the sediment to the lagoon.

A more recent milestone was the acquisition of 16 additional acres adjacent to the sanctuary. The city was awarded a grant from the Office of Greenways and Trails for the purchase of the land, which is being incorporated into a fledgling trail system in south Brevard County.

"This is a wonderful addition to the sanctuary," Johnson says. "This land will be open to hikers and bicyclists for generations to come."