complete agenda - Florida Department of Environmental Protection

Unit Name: Point Washington State Forest
Acres: 15,398.92 Managing Agency: FDACS-DOF
Current Management Plan
Approved:
380
4/25/2002
Narrative:
Point Washington State Forest (PWSF) is comprised of 15,400 acres. The Forest was acquired as
part of the South Walton County Ecosystem Conservation and Recreation Lands project. St. Joe
Paper Company owned the entire property since the 1930s and managed it for timber production.
In1986 the property was sold to a development corporation. After purchase by the development
corporation, extensive timber harvesting occurred. Little or no effort was put into regeneration. A
hunting club managed the property for quail and deer hunting, and conducted some prescribed
burning. Several of those burns escaped and caused damage to the remaining natural timber and
understory.
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 PWSF, is described in quantitative terms on Tables 1- 8. The
management plan for PWSF 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.
Major natural communities found on PWSF include sand hill, mesic flatwoods, wet flatwoods, basin
swamp, wet prairie, dome swamp, coastal scrub, scrubby flatwoods and blackwater stream.
Several plants and animals are listed as threatened, endangered or species of special concern on
PWSF: American kestrel, gopher tortoise, flatwoods salamander, white-topped pitcher plant and
the world's largest population of Curtiss sandgrass.
The use of controlled fire in managing timber, wildlife and ecological resources on PWSF is
necessary for the Division of Forestry to fulfill its goal of protecting and managing Florida's forest
resources. Objectives of the prescribed burning program include reducing fuel loads , diminishing
hazardous conditions, and maintaining biodiversity. Accomplishments during the past two years
include an increase in prescribed burning across the entire Forest, stabilizing primary roads
throughout the Forest providing increased public access to the Forest, establishment of two trail
heads, the McGuage Bayou Horse trail and the new trail head for the Longleaf/Greenway Trail.
PWSF is available to the public for various types of natural-resource based outdoor recreation. The
Forest is widely used for hunting, off-road bicycling and hiking. PWSF is part of the Point
Washington Wildlife Management Area. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
regulates hunting seasons and game limits on the forest. The Eastern Lake Trail System consists
of 3 double track loop trails of 3.5, 5 or 10 mile loops. The Eastern Lake Bike/Hike Trail is included
in the Florida Division of Forestry's Trailwalker Hiking Program. A green way trail system that
crosses the Forest is being developed, and will provide connections to Grayton Beach State Park,
Deer Lake State Park, Topsail Hill State Preserve, Butler Elementary School and numerous
residential developments. Upon completion, this trail system will provide over 27 miles of trails for
recreational use. No overnight camping is currently permitted on the Forest.