TEN-YEAR RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR THE PICAYUNE STRAND STATE FOREST COLLIER COUNTY PREPARED BY FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND CONSUMER SERVICES DIVISION OF FORESTRY APPROVED ON August 15, 2008 Picayune Strand Ten-year Resource Management Plan Acronym Glossary AFB Alternatives Formulation Briefing ARC Acquisition and Restoration Council Big Cypress NP Big Cypress National Preserve BMP Best Management Practices BTIITF Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund CaFC Caloosahatchee Forestry Center CARL Conservation and Recreational Lands CERP Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan Corkscrew Audubon’s Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary CREW Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed DEP Florida Department of Environmental Protection DHR Division of Historical Resources DOF Division of Forestry DOI Department of the Interior DOQQ Digital Ortho Quarter Quad DRP Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Recreation and Parks DSL Division of State Lands FDACS Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services FLEPPC Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council Florida Panther NWR Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge FNAI Florida Natural Areas Inventory FSPSP Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park FTE Full-time employee FWC Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission FWCA Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act GGE Golden Gate Estates MOA Memorandum of Agreement MPAG Management Plan Advisory Group NEPA National Environmental Policy Act NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NRCS Natural Resource Conservation Service OALE Office of Agriculture Law Enforcement OHV Off-highway Vehicle OSSF Okaloacoochee Slough State Forest P-2000 Preservation 2000 PDT Project Delivery Team PIR Project Implementation Report PMP Project Management Plan PSRP Picayune Strand Restoration Project PSSF Picayune Strand State Forest RCW Red-cockaded woodpecker Rookery Bay NERR Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve SFWMD South Florida Water Management District SGGE Southern Golden Gate Estates SOE Save Our Everglades USFS United States Forest Service USFWS United States Fish and Wildlife Service Ten Thousand Islands NWR Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge WMA Wildlife Management Area PICAYUNE STRAND STATE FOREST TEN-YEAR RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .............................................................................................................1 I. INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................2 A. Accomplishments, Goals, and Objectives .......................................................................3 1. Past Accomplishments…......................................................................................3 2. Future Goals and Objectives.................................................................................7 II. ADMINISTRATIVE SECTION..........................................................................................11 A. Descriptive Information...............................................................................................11 1. Common Name of Property ................................................................................11 2. Location, Boundaries and Improvements ...........................................................11 3. Legal Description and Acreage...........................................................................11 4. Degree of Title Interest Held by the Board.........................................................12 5. Proximity to Other Public Resources..................................................................12 6. Aquatic Preserve/Area of Critical State Concern ...............................................12 B. Acquisition Information...............................................................................................13 1. Land Acquisition Program..................................................................................13 2. Legislative or Executive Constraints ..................................................................15 3. Purpose for Acquisition ......................................................................................15 4. Designated Single or Multiple-Use Management...............................................15 5. Alternate Uses Considered..................................................................................16 6. Additional Land Needs .......................................................................................16 7. Adjacent Conflicting Uses ..................................................................................16 8. Surplus Land Assessment ...................................................................................17 C. Agency & Public Involvement ....................................................................................17 1. Responsibilities of Managing Agencies .............................................................17 2. Public and Local Government Involvement .......................................................18 3. Compliance with Comprehensive Plan...............................................................18 III. RESOURCE SECTION........................................................................................................18 A. Past Uses ......................................................................................................................18 B. Renewable and Non-Renewable Resources ................................................................20 1. Soil Types...........................................................................................................20 2. Archaeological and Historical Resources...........................................................22 3. Water Resources.................................................................................................22 4. Fish and Wildlife.................................................................................................22 5. Endangered or Threatened Species.....................................................................23 6. Beaches and Dunes .............................................................................................25 7. Swamps, Marshes, or Other Wetlands................................................................26 8. Mineral Resources..............................................................................................26 9. Unique Natural Features .....................................................................................26 10. Outstanding Native Landscapes..........................................................................26 11. Timber Resources...............................................................................................26 IV. MANAGEMENT CONCEPTS BY NATURAL COMMUNITY/COVER TYPES A. Existing and Planned Uses and General Guidelines ............................................................27 1. Fire Management .......................................................................................................27 2. Roads..........................................................................................................................29 3. Law Enforcement………………………………………………………...................29 4. Utility Corridors……………………………………………….................................29 5. Research Projects………………………………………….......................................30 6. Property Boundary Establishment and Preservation .................................................31 7. Water Management Guidelines..................................................................................31 8. Wildlife and Fish Management Guidelines ...............................................................32 a. Timber Management.........................................................................................32 b. Prescribed Burning...........................................................................................34 c. Hunting .............................................................................................................34 d. Managing Non-Game Species..........................................................................35 e. Sensitive Species ..............................................................................................35 9. Recreation Management ............................................................................................47 a. Public Access and Parking ...............................................................................48 b. Self Service Pay Stations..................................................................................48 c. Recreation Facilities .........................................................................................49 d. Recreational Trials ...........................................................................................49 e. Camping............................................................................................................49 f. Shooting Range.................................................................................................49 g. Hunting and Fishing .........................................................................................49 10. Silvicultural Guidelines .............................................................................................50 a. Objectives ............................................................................................................50 b. Silvicultural