In 2018, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service exchanged the 1,327-acre Snail Farm parcel (Compartment D) west of the Refuge for the 2,586 Strazzulla Marsh property owned by the State of Florida.

The Strazzulla Marsh is located on the eastern side of the refuge along the L-40 canal and levee and was originally the meeting point of the Everglades and the north-flowing swamp known as the Loxahatchee Slough. This slough served as the headwaters for the Loxahatchee River.

The Strazzulla Marsh provides habitat for a variety of wildlife species, including Federally Endangered Everglade snail kites, State Threatened Florida sandhill cranes, and secretive marsh birds. These lands and waters also provide habitat connectivity for species that require larger, unfragmented tracts of land for survival, and acts as a buffer between higher water stages to the west and agricultural lands to the east.

The Strazzulla Marsh is home to the only remaining cypress habitat in the eastern Everglades and one of the few remaining sawgrass marshes adjacent to the coastal ridge. The vegetation communities transition from cypress in the east to sawgrass marsh in the west and wet prairie towards the center. The cypress swamps are home to pond cypress and bald cypress in the overstory with understory vegetation consisting of pond apple, wax myrtle, pop ash, cocoplum, and leather fern.

Directions to Strazzulla Marsh

Strazzulla Marsh is a remote area without developed trails, parking lots, restrooms, or drinking water. Visitors should expect to travel several miles on foot, bicycle, or boat to reach the area. From the Lee Road Boat Ramp in Boynton Beach, visitors can walk, bike, or travel by boat about 3.25 miles north on the L-40 levee or canal to reach the south end of the Strazzulla Marsh.