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Management
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Alan Hallman
Joe Davis
Prescribed Burn
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The upland plant communities of the Apalachicola River WEA were historically pine
flatwoods with a much more open and grassy appearance than they
have today. Slash pine and evergreen shrubs now dominate, the legacy
of intensive timbering, extensive pine plantations, and hydrological
alterations. Commercial thinning, hydrologic restoration, and reintroduction
of a natural fire regime will be required to restore the natural
vegetative communities and to enhance wildlife habitat. Mesic (moist)
flatwoods now planted with slash pine will eventually be reforested
with longleaf pine.
In cooperation with the Division of Forestry, the FWC is restoring
the forests on selected upland sites. In cooperation with
Northwest
Florida Water Management District and the Corps of Engineers,
FWC is working to re-establish natural water flow. Major hydrologic
restoration has already occurred on the Saul Creek, Bloody Bluff,
Sand Beach, and Quinn tracts. Through a contract with the
Florida
Natural Areas Inventory (FNAI), the Commission has maped both
the current and the historic plant communities. This information
will be used for habitat management and to eventually restore large
portions of the area.
 Return
to Natural Communities
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