Snake Warrior's Island. I took a field trip today. The Trust for Public Land saved something beautiful right in my own backyard. I would love to see the land restored to the way it looked in the 1800's, but nevertheless, the engineers worked a miracle.

Historians speculated the island was situated on a 53-acre tract of pastureland known as Old Perry Farm, which was wedged between intensively developed residential areas on the Broward/Dade County line. Their suspicions proved correct when in 1991 a series of excavations unearthed artifacts establishing the site as the home of Chief Chitto Tustenugee, or "Snake Warrior," and his tribe, who inhabited the area in the early 1800s.

In December 1991, upon learning of the importance of the site and its probable sale to residential developers, TPL acted quickly to negotiate an option to purchase the property. By mid-1992, the state of Florida had approved acquisition of Snake Warriors Island for public preservation. Among the artifacts establishing the area's historical significance were a 500- to 1000-year-old leg bone of a Tequesta Indian and canoe-building tools dating from the Seminole presence in the mid-1800s.

Fourteen years after TPL helped save Snake Warrior's Island from development, the Florida site was officially designated a Natural Area on January 21, 2004, at a dedication ceremony in which TPL's contribution was highly praised by local officials.

There's a 250-year-old native stranger fig tree! It's haunted!  ¶ 6:38 PM