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; wildlife 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.
Photo- First day of Hunting Season at Picayune Strand WMA.
This is a fire road, not a boat ramp.
Minutes before this picture was taken a jeep drove through the standing water.
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.
Photo- The mitigation park program by FWC was so successful,
that many counties are following the blueprint on a local level.
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.
(c) 2012 "Boardwalks and Long Walks: Rediscovering Florida" Will Holcomb
No comments:
Post a Comment