Chris Tucker Gulf Fritillary on Florida Elephant's Foot

Suwannee Ridge occupies 1,428 acres in southern Hamilton County, situated between Live Oak to the south, and Jasper to the north. The Suwannee River is located approximately one-mile south of the tract. Holton Creek Wildlife Management Area, managed by the Suwannee River Water Management District, forms the southern boundary. The area was established in 2002 through the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Mitigation Park Program. A management goal at Suwannee Ridge is restoring the pinelands, altered by intensive timbering operations, to a longleaf pine-wiregrass community that will create habitat conditions beneficial to the gopher tortoise, Sherman’s fox squirrel and other listed upland species. Visitors will witness first-hand how a fire management program and the planting of native trees and grasses work together to drive this exciting restoration effort.

Aerial photography from previous decades reveals that the area has been used predominantly for commercial timber production. Small areas of hardwood hammock and hardwood swamp associated with low-lying terrain and sinkhole depressions add diversity to the landscape and hint at the area’s proximity to the forested floodplain of the nearby Suwannee River. The area welcomes visitors for hiking and wildlife viewing. Activities such as horseback riding, bicycling, and fishing are allowed on the adjacent Holton Creek Wildlife Management Area (WMA). Special hunts for the disabled are held for several days in the fall and spring, in conjunction with Holton Creek WMA. Suwannee Ridge is closed to other users during these periods.

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