Florida’s Red-Cockaded Woodpecker Safe Harbor Program

Stewardship

Program Eligibility Requirements

Properties meeting one or both of the following criteria are eligible for Florida’s Safe Harbor Program:

• Current or historic use of the property by red-cockaded woodpeckers
• The property has potential red-cockaded woodpecker habitat

Landowner Responsibilities

Landowners agree to maintain or improve foraging and breeding habitat for red-cockaded woodpeckers for the duration of the agreement. Habitat management guidelines include:

• Conduct prescribed fires on a regular or recurring basis
• Manage pine forest stands so that they provide suitable foraging (i.e., age > 30 years) or nesting/roosting habitat (i.e., age > 60 years
• Provide a minimum of 75 acres of foraging habitat for each territory
• Timber harvesting is allowed from August through the end of March in areas containing red-cockaded woodpeckers
   

Landowners can enroll in Florida’s Safe Harbor Program by agreeing to carry out activities beneficial to red-cockaded woodpeckers. Often these activities do not result in significant changes to land management. For example, prescribed burning, timber thinning and extending timber stand rotations are all beneficial to red-cockaded woodpeckers.