complete agenda - Florida Department of Environmental Protection

Unit Name: Belmore State Forest
Acres: 12,262.30 Managing Agency: FDACS-DOF
Current Management Plan
Approved:
356
10/10/2008
Narrative:
The Belmore State Forest (BSF) was purchased with Florida Forever funds under the Northeast
Florida Timberlands and Watershed Reserve Project. Two hundred acres of BSF was partially
funded through a cooperative agreement between the Department of Environmental Protection and
the Florida National Guard, pursuant to the National Defense Authorization Act. The Satsuma Tract
of BSF is comprised of approximately 3,496 acres in western Clay County, and is directly north of
Camp Blanding Military Reservation. The Satsuma Tract was acquired in the fall of 2007 by the St.
Johns River Water Management District using Forest Legacy Stewardship funds. The Tract is part
of the Northeast Florida Timberlands and Watershed Reserve Project and is managed by the
Division of Forestry as part of BSF. BSF provides protection of water resources and wetland
functions within the Upper Black Creek basin and by buffers military activities at Camp Blanding.
In an effort to standardize the land management planning and reporting methods implemented by
all state land managers, the LMUAC has established eight common management goals and 32
quantitative measures that should be addressed by all management plans, where they apply to the
specific purposes and mission of each management unit. The Division of Forestry’s progress
towards achieving the common goals and applicable core objectives, as well as additional State
Forest-specific objectives for the BSF since the October 2008 approval of the management plan, is
described in the narrative below and in quantitative terms on Tables 1- 8. Where applicable,
outstanding accomplishments, deficiencies and corrective actions, and other important or clarifying
information is provided for each of the LMUAC management goals.
Natural communities found on BSF include sandhill, mesic flatwoods, baygalls, wet flatwoods,
floodplain forest, numerous seepage and blackwater creeks and isolated depressional wetlands.
The wetlands on the Satsuma Tract include a portion of the headwaters for Bull Creek and the
South Fork of Black Creek. These waters contribute to Black Creek, a major tributary of the St.
Johns River. Ates Creek bisects the entire length of BSF, and the entire watershed within BSF
feeds into the South Fork of Black Creek and then eventually into the St. Johns River. Outstanding
native landscapes on BSF include numerous blackwater drainages and creeks that have created a
ravine mosaic that provides habitat for the Florida black bear and numerous species of songbirds.
The following threatened or endangered species or species of special concern can be found on BSF:
blueflower butterwort, hooded pitcherplant, Florida black bear, gopher tortoise, Sherman’s fox
squirrel, American alligator, and eastern indigo snake. One historical site (Degan Gravesite) on
BSF has been registered with the Department of State.
Prescribed burning and reforestation with species native to the site, including longleaf, slash, and
loblolly pine, will help restore health to the forest ecosystem. In the past two years, over 2,900
acres have been prescribed burned. Six timber sales were conducted to improve slash pine stands
with a total of 28,947 tons harvested on 758 acres during that fiscal year.
The Division of Forestry manages BSSF under the multiple-use concept balancing environmental,
recreational and resource use needs. BSF staff conducted one environmental education program
with local schools. One new trailhead with kiosk (Coot’s Shanty) was constructed on BSF, staff
rebuilt four miles of public access roads improving year around public access, and 14 culverts were
installed to improve sheet flow under forest roads. During the same time period, three acres of
purple sesbania and two acres of Chinese tallow were treated.