complete agenda - Florida Department of Environmental Protection

Unit Name: Okaloacoochee Slough State Forest
Acres: 32,039.24 Managing Agency: FDACS-DOF
Current Management Plan
Approved:
377
10/24/2002
Narrative:
The Okaloacoochee Slough State Forest (OSSF) is comprised of 32,039.24 acres. OSSF was
purchased with Conservation and Recreation Lands, Save Our Rivers, and Preservation 2000
acquisition funds. The area of OSSF was heavily logged in the early 1900s, as the timber was ideal
for making railroad cross-ties for a growing railroad system that was developing in southern
Florida. During this time, sawmills began to spring up producing small towns dependent on these
sawmills. During that same time period, the Atlantic Land Improvement Company, Inc continued
harvesting operations by utilizing two portable sawmills, which were referred to as the Twin Mills.
Although the sawmills no longer exist on the forest, remnants of sawdust piles can be found near
Twin Mills Grade. Management activities and uses on the property will primarily center on
ecosystem restoration, silvicultural management, recreation, wildlife management, hunting,
archaeological and cultural resource management, environmental education and watershed
management.
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 OSSF, is described in quantitative terms on Tables 1- 8. The
management plan for OSSF was approved prior to July 2008, and does not contain specific
measures and timeframes for the goals, objectives and recommended actions. In the narrative
below, the last two years of applicable outstanding accomplishments, deficiencies and corrective
actions, and other important or clarifying information is provided for each of the LMUAC
management goals.
Eight natural communities are currently identified on OSSF with mesic flatwoods and swale making
up approximately 82 percent of the habitat. The natural systems of the Fakahatchee Strand and
Big Cypress Preserve are dependent on the water supplied by the Okaloacoochee Slough. The
Okaloacoochee Slough is one of the few places in south Florida in which the pre-Columbian
landscape, north of the Everglades or Big Cypress National Preserve, can be observed. This unique
natural system provides a large roaming area of contiguous habitat for a variety of wildlife species.
The Forest is home to listed, threatened, and endangered species such as the Florida panther,
Florida black bear, sandhill crane, wood stork, and gopher tortoise. In the past two years, 12,606
or 39% of the entire Forest acreage was prescribed burned.
Hunting is popular and all hunts are done on a quota system and include: spring gobbler hunt,
archery hunt, general gun hunt, special hog hunt, and a dove hunt. The Florida Fish and Wildlife
Conservation Commission coordinates all hunting activities held on the forest. Forest inventory
was completed in the spring of 2010. OSSF offers many miles of open forest roads for hiking and
bicycling, and fishing opportunities are plentiful in the numerous canals, ponds, and ditches that
are accessible by vehicle. Accomplishments for the last two years include the completion of a 200
foot observation boardwalk, secured approximately $350,000 in grant funding for the control of
invasive exotics, and secured approximately $5,000 in funding for Wild Turkey habitat
improvements.