Still Few Lupine Seedlings; No Blooms On Possibly Declining Sole Mature Plant

 I visited the preserve today to see if there was any progress on this year's McFarlin's Lupine seedling season.

There was not. Two more in the second planting area and no more in the first planting area and only two more in the second planting area. There were none in the third planting area and the lone mature plant had a gray branch, making we wonder whether it will survive in time to bloom.

The bloom times have varied so I will just have to monitor. The issue through is that even if it blooms, it is growing in an overgrown area that is not optimal for seedling dispersal and emergence.

I have no control over that; it is up to FWC land managers to fix.

On the way out I checked the area where I usually find  Clitoria fragrans and found none. Not sure what that means.

I also collected a few pounds of broken glass and other debris.

 

FWC Meeting Today Was Encouraging

 I had a cordial meeting today with some FWC staff folks to discuss management issues affecting the Scrub Lupine restoration project.

The takeaways I got was that they would no longer send equipment down the path next the first planting area, would agree to conduct some temporary trimming to reduce the canopy overgrowth in some of the planting areas and will plan a more extensive removal and herbiciding of overgrowth within the next year as the budget allows.

They also said they would like to burn the site again and asked how that would affect the lupines. I referred them to Cheryl Peterson at Bok Jack Stout at UCF, who are much better informed than I am.  

I also briefly mentioned the trash pile near the southwest gate and tree fall along the fence lines.

I also reported recent hog damage and told them that there was probably a lot of background info they might find useful on the site's chronology on this blog.

Industrial Expansion, Destroyed Fenceline and More

 A small piece of scrub north of the south tract's fence line has dramatically changed recently.

About 100 feet of fence has been heavily damaged as a result of the upturned scrub habitat that's in clear view toward the industrial plant on the other side of the rail spur that serves the property.

The owner is KSW LLC, a corporation registered  in Tampa, but based in Michigan, according to public records.

The most obvious question , which will be up to regulatory officials to answer, is whether there was any attempt to monitor the site for Sand Skinks, a federally protected species. before work began.

This is based on surveys on the site that revealed their presence on our side of the former fence line.

Meanwhile, the lock on a nearby gate was cut. FWC officials  have been notified.

   

Merry Christmas & 2017 hit and misses

The scrub holly berries are finally red enough for  Christmas, so I feel in the holiday spirt
This has been a mixed year.
Despite a pretty good crop of seedlings last winter, none survived the spring drought.
The good news is that it appears some seedlings are emerging already, about a month ahead of when I expect to find them.
More good news is that FWC is burning some areas that have never been burned since the state purchased the property and even reburned a previously burned area.
Judging by the proliferation of cuts across the landscape, more burning will occur as soon as staff and authorizations are available.
I'm still finding a new pieces of debris exposed by the burn, but believe I have removed the bulk of them.

Fire continues on north side

FWC's fire crew, with assistance of Auburndale Fire Department, continued burning the northern sandhill habitat areas today.
I spent part of the morning collecting debris the fire on Thursday had uncovered.
Most of it consisted of bottles and cans, but I found an abandoned TV, the bottom drawer of a stove and an  old tire.
I found a Black Racer and a Ringneck Snake taking refuge under some debris and saw a Glass Snake Lizard in the open and one that wasn't quick enough for the fire.
I'll check back over the weekend or more debris.
Also, some FWC folks reported seeing a coyote, which is a first for the property.

Fire returns to the preserve

FWC fire crew was at the preserve this morning for a first-ever burn in the northwestern section.
This is a series of small, relatively cool burn to clear underbrush.
I was told a crew will come in later with chainsaws to clear some of the oaks to open the area to longleaf pine, which should be the dominant large tree in this part of the property.
On my way to take a look at the fire, I flushed three Wilson's snipes, which sometimes stop here during migration.
I got pictures of Blue-gray Gnatcatcher and Northern Mockingbird, but couldn't get a shot of Blue Jays to expand the iNaturalist list for this site.

Duke Energy proposes power line through preserve

I just learned today that Duke Energy wants to get approval to construct a 230 kilovolt power line whose route would include sections of the north and south tracts of Lake Blue Scrub.
The map I saw today depicts a route along the southern fire lane of the north tract and the northern fire lane of the south tract. The latter runs through the largest patch of Polygonella basiramia, an endangered species, that I know of at the site.
The concern is that this will set a precedent for similar facilities in other conservation lands and could be a slippery slope for further encroachments.
For Duke, it looks as though this an easy out. The other clear corridor would run through CSX property. CSX is known to be a tough negotiator on any property deal.
This proposal is still in the preliminary stages and I expect there will be public meetings.
At one time these facilities received planning review, but no longer.
Once word gets out about this proposal, expect a fight.

Bushhogging, trashing and questions

The fire lane was recently widened for some reason, but the old fire lane was left partially unmowed for some reason.
The bushhogging exposed some additional trash, with which I filled my truck bed today.

I found the bushhogging had been more extensive than in the past, including some of the internal trails. Fortunately it occurred after the flowering season, so none of the endangered species were affected.

The mowing took out a good chunk of palmettos in the northwest corner, but fortunately missed a patch of Nolina brittonia that grows there that I didn't discover until a few years after I did the original plant survey.

What's a little mysterious is why a strip of tall grass was left in the middle of parts of the fire lane. seemingly defeating the purpose of the buffer.

I'll have to inquire with FWC to see what's planned.

 

Fire: the sequel

I learned this week that a prescribed burn is being planned sometime in the future.
I don't have any information on the details, but it seems it will be somewhere in the South Tract.

I will meet with FWC staff  to assist with whatever information I have that will help in the planning.

One goal may be taking care not to kill the rest of the Giant Orchids recorded here.

You CAN get there from here

Last year I discovered a path that was cleared through the south tract.
I asked about it and was told it was a mistake and would not recur.
That was then, this is now.
While I was leading a field trip last weekend, I discovered not only had the trail been recleared, but additional trails had been cleared to connect to various points along the four fire lanes.
I have not had a chance to learn the purpose, though it seems this is part of some kind of new management strategy.
I guess I was most amazed that someone the equipment missed an interesting pile of concrete debris that lies in the general area where some of the paths cross in the northeast section of the south tract.
I found a few pieces of litter that I had not encountered before. I'll return to collect them and probably mine the windrows that were piled up from the last fire lane work.
If nothing else, this makes monitoring the site somewhat easier.

Prescribed fire followup

Prescribed fire turns out not to be a one-day affair.

Today Mike Perry was back on the site checking on hot spots to make sure there were no unexpected restarts of the fire. There were a few smokers, mostly stumps and an odd log, though he found one spot where buried carpet had ignited.

I meanwhile, was cruising the boundary with buckets and wheelbarrow in search of exposed debris that had previously been missed, I found about two truckloads worth.

Some other observations. The burn was pretty spotty in places. The western section, which frankly needed fire the least because some of it had burned a few years ago, was burned well. The eastern section, which had been heavily forested before the gyrochopping, was spottier.

Mike said one problem was that FWC may have waited too long after gyrochopping and the canopy, such as it is, was too far from the ground to carry the fire very well.

Veni, Vidi, Ignis

The fire crew led by Mike Perry and Shane Belson arrived as advertised today. The burn was still going on as of late afternoon. I'll post photos and provide more details tonight.

Trash mining resumes

I resumed work mining trash along the fire lane. I filled two trash bags and a wheelbarrow full of miscellaneous debris.

While I was working a wildlife officer stopped by to check on things, which was encouraging. I explained some of the work going on here and thanked him for his efforts. These folks are spread pretty thin, so I always appreciate what they do.

Work day Saturday--yahoo!

There's a work day Saturday for Ridge Rangers. I expect a big crowd because there is a group of volunteers that have been enticed with Disney tickets.

I've marked some trails to improve, add or maintain. There's trash to clean up along the expanded fire lane and a pile of roofing materials in the back along one of the trails.

The rain chance has declined. It may be windy. We'll manage.

I haven't had much further vandalism, though a couple of tires have appeared across the fence from Levy's houses and a trash container was tossed into the lupine patch.

The turnout Saturday may send a message.

I learned today that Mike has left and Nicole's in charge for now. Lots of turnover at FWC. Nothing new there.

Burn, baby, burn

The long-awaited advent of fire finally arrived at Lake Blue this week amid squabbling between the FWC and non-FWC folks over the planning, execution and likely results of same.

FWC's approach was to gyrochop in June, let the trees dry out a while, put them in piles and then set fire to the piles. As it turns out, their approach was largely dictated by what the Florida Divison of Forestry permit would allow. The drought index at the moment is around 500, which indicates an increasing fire hazard, smoke complaints are frowned upon and I was told if they don't screw this one up, forestry folks may allow another burn across the landscape.

Despite the signs posted along the road that a prescribed fire was occurring, someone called Auburndale Fire Department anyway. When they arrived, they saw the deal and turned around and went back to the station. I wished they had done that when the minor fires occurred earlier this year, but urban firefighter culture is what it is.

Meanwhile, the fire lanes are getting some attention, too. They've cleared a 30-foot path around most of the tract except the houses along First Avenue and will do the South Tract eventually. Mike McMillan said the mowing will be followed by clearing to bare soil. He also said he'd get some conractors out to look at the fence where the ATV guys cut through and will alert law enforcement if the problems continue.

After six years, this is progress.

Sawberries and snapper

Confiscated palmetto berries,

I stopped by to check on things and to continue Natal grass control, but things have a way of getting interesting. There were motorcycle tracks and I followed them until they played out and then cut over to the overgrown "fire lane" on the north side and found an impressive collection of stake knives and kitchen knives in the grass. As I stumbled out, I encountered two full bags of saw palmetto berries and then saw two more. I called FWC Lt. Birge and reported it. He said to dump them on site. When I went back I saw the guy, told him it was illegal and asked him to leave. He left, but had hauled one bag to the gate in my absence and tried to con me in to thinking he had collected it in the right of way. I got his tag number, phoned it in and then went back to dump the berries and camoflagued the dump sites.

On one of my trips out, I saw my second Snapping Turtle in six years here. Both have been younger critters, not full size. Is this a route for these guys between water bodies or what? Also, flushed a Great Horned Owl. Need to come out here more often at dusk.

Gyrochopping arrives; it'll never look the same

This week a worker from FWC was busily gyrochopping a portion of the North Tract. He said the South Tract will get attention eventually. I'm glad I knew about it, because I was able to explain what was happening to county folks who had received calls and to one of the neibghbors.The big question will be the results. That may take some time (I don't know how much, though) to appear. In the best-case scenario, Bonamia etc. will explode. In the worst-case scenario, so will Natal grass and cogon grass. It would be funny if Lupinus aridorum were to pop up on its own next year. It will be interesting to watch. The Clitoria fragrans area was cleared. I didn't see any of the plants in a superficial search of the area where they have been living, but disturbance may favor them.I let the Archbold folks know the latest. Eric Menges said they'll be monitoring the results and compare it to prescribed burn results.

Rare FWC visit planned

Couple of folks from FWC are coming by next week to look around, perhaps in response to my nagging about the state of the fire lanes and partly to become more familiar with the property. That's good. They've got a lot of sites to deal with and this one is the farthest from their office in Lake Placid. No, I don't know why they decided to locate an office at one end of the network instead of in the middle of it.