Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary is one of the most significant natural areas in Florida, containing the largest virgin cypress swamp remaining in North America. The Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed Project was designed to further protect the Sanctuary by purchasing surrounding habitats, including a direct link to conservation areas to the south. Corkscrew Swamp receives 100,000 recreationists annually and contains an environmental education center for about 6000 schoolchildren each year.

Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary contains what often is the nation's largest Wood Stork rookery, although nesting success (which is dependent on local water levels) is extremely variable. The colony has been monitored annually since 1958. The Sanctuary also supports a diversity of Neotropical migrants, large numbers of wintering landbirds, and the third-largest Swallow-tailed Kite roost in the United States. Diversity of Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary is 218 native species; CREW Wildlife and Environmental Area added only one exotic species to the overall list.

Thanks to the efforts of the staff and volunteers at Audubon’s Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary many of the environmental and wildlife threats are adverted or minimized. The Corkscrew Watershed however has experienced severe modification over the years. Recent efforts focused on restoration of the Everglades, back to its natural waterflow, will help mitigate some of the human disturbance the area has received over the years.

If acquisition efforts of the CARL project are successful, Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary and adjacent lands will be linked directly with conservation areas to the south, such as Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge, Big Cypress National Preserve, and Fakahatchee Strand State Preserve. This would provide for additional habitat protection for the birds, as well as other rare and endangered wildlife.