What's the Dif? part 1

Aldo Leopold understood that a great many people must love the public lands in a natural or wilderness state in order to keep the public lands safe from industrial development. He knew that to love wilderness that the great masses must first be exposed to the natural world. They must develop their unique and personal relationship with the outdoors one on one. He also understood that by exposing man to nature, that we were exposing nature to man. He feared that nature might be so ravaged during that oh so necessary encounter that it might not maintain its true identity. 

“The life of every river sings its own song, but in most the song is long since marred by the discords of misuse. Over grazing first mars the plants and then the soil. Rifle, trap, and poison next deplete the larger birds and mammals. Then comes a park or forest with roads and tourists.  Parks are made to bring the music to the many, but by the time many are attuned to hear it, there is little left but noise.” –Aldo Leopold -A Sand County Almanac

The Unique Florida experience begins in public lands. These lands might be managed differently in other States and other countries. Here is a simple description of three of those divisions.

FLORIDA STATE PARKS

The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) protects, conserves and manages Florida's natural resources and enforces the State's environmental laws. The DEP oversees and manages Florida's award-winning state parks and trails system. Since 1990, through its innovative land acquisition programs - Preservation 2000 and Florida Forever - more than two million acres of valuable lands have been preserved, protecting habitat for 190 native and endangered animals and plants, while restoring ecosystems throughout the state.

Florida's State Parks encompass more than 700,000 acres and attract more than 20 million visitors every year.The largest State Park is Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park covering 77,574 acres. The smallest State Park is Fernandina Plaza Historic State Park at less than an acre. The oldest State Park is Olustee Battlefield Historic State Park that was dedicated in 1899. The most visited State Park is Honeymoon Island State Park Northwest of Tampa Bay with 1,134,509 visitors a year.


A State Park Virtual Tour 

FLORIDA STATE FORESTS

One of the many missions of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is to safeguard the public and support Florida's agricultural economy by conserving and protecting the state's agricultural and natural resources by reducing wildfires, promoting environmentally safe agricultural practices, and managing public lands. They do this through their State Forest Service.

The Florida Forest Service has guided the operation of state forests for over 75 years. Its primary mission, while managing these lands, is to protect and maintain the biological diversity of the many ecosystems found in and around the state forests while integrating public use of the resources. Through sound forest management practices, the Florida Forest Service is able to maintain the integrity of the forest environment while providing for the state's future natural resource needs. 

There are currently 35 State Forests that total over 1,058,000 acres.Since its humble beginnings in 1936 of one state forest with 6,000 acres, Florida ’s state forest system has grown to include 35 state forests and the management of over one million acres of forest lands. In the late 1970s, Florida began aggressively purchasing land for future generations from which more state forests were created. The focus on land management shifted from simply management of timber and wildlife resources to a multiple land use management ethic which includes conservation of natural and cultural resources, wildlife management, protection of water resources, and outdoor recreation. 

Florida’ Wildlife Management Areas and WEA’s

 Florida's Wildlife Management Area system is managed by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to sustain the widest possible range of native wildlife in their natural habitats. These lands are more rugged than parks, with fewer developed amenities. This system includes more than 5.8 million acres of land established as WMAs or Wildlife and Environmental Areas. On the majority of these lands , about 4.4 million acres, FWC is a cooperating manager working with other governmental or private landowners to conserve wildlife and provide public use opportunities. On the remaining lands , about 1.4 million acres, FWC is the landowner or "lead" managing agency responsible for land stewardship and providing quality wildlife conservation and recreation opportunities including hunting, fishing, wildlife viewing, hiking, biking, horseback riding, paddling, scenic driving, and camping.

 FWC has to "manage" wildlife and wildlife habitat; it doesn't just take care of itself. Few Floridians realize how much wildlife we have lost on during the last few centuries. Spreading human settlement and demand for wild meat, plumes and pelts pushed many species into jeopardy, some into extinction. By early in the 20th century, even white-tailed deer and wild turkey were reduced to fractions of their original populations. Yet against this backdrop of loss is another great, untold story-100 years of wildlife conservation and recovery, as conservationists, sportsmen, and law enforcement lobbied for legislation to reverse wildlife declines.

Game and fish populations began to rebound as hunting and fishing harvests became better regulated, and refuges were created. Many states initiated wildlife management area programs similar to Florida's, where habitat could be actively managed, and wildlife populations restored. As a result, in our state, white-tailed deer, American alligators and wild turkey now thrive.

Some of the many tools biologists use to help wildlife thrive, and keep WMA users satisfied, include: species restoration, habitat management and restoration, survey and monitoring, setting regulations and seasons for hunting and fishing, outreach and education.

More than 5 million acres are managed as Wildlife Management Areas for both recreational and conservation purposes. The wildlife management area system provides excellent sporting opportunities and is favored by some of the 3.1 million anglers who fish in Florida and our 226,000 hunters. Wildlife viewers, cyclists, horseback riders, paddlers and other nature lovers also find wild places to pursue their interests.

WEA’s are Wildlife and Environmental Areas, also called mitigation parks by conservationists. In the past, attempts to protect endangered and threatened wildlife through land use regulations in Florida frequently involved the "on-site" preservation of habitat within the boundaries of a development. After careful study, biologists determined that this method often created small, isolated preserves that were easily disturbed by surrounding development. Additional shortcomings included: poor protection for species with large home ranges, the isolation of on-site populations from other populations which could reduce reproduction and lead to local extinction, an inability to conduct land management practices such as controlled burning  because of the risk to nearby residences, highways and commercial facilities, and insufficient control over on-site preserves which could result in vandalism, dumping, arson and construction harmful to wildlife; and disturbance from increased levels of motor vehicle traffic and domesticated pets.

In 1998 the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) created the Mitigation Park Program as an off-site alternative to on-site protection. When developers eliminated habitat for an endangered or threatened species, they paid fees that were used to buy and manage high quality habitat elsewhere. The program consolidated mitigation within a geographical region by buying larger, more manageable tracts, which ranged in size from 368 acres to 2,148 acres. These tracts, established as Wildlife and Environmental Areas, were opened to the public for low-intensity forms of recreation such as wildlife viewing, hiking and nature study. Many tracts were developed in cooperation with other local, state and federal agencies, but responsibility for the management rested with FWC. All areas were managed primarily to protect and enhance habitats important to endangered or threatened wildlife, especially the gopher tortoise.

The program provides a cost-effective way to preserve wildlife habitat while allowing developers to retain use of a project site.  It protects the most biologically important sites in a region and maximized resource protection by consolidating small and isolated tracts into larger units. Additionally, the program provides public access to lands managed by the state for the long-term protection of wildlife resources.

Hiking FB Page

 PART TWO of this blog....Click Here