Florida Park 2016-2017 Resource Management Annual Report · 2020-02-21 · District 2 - Paynes Prairie Aerial Burns, 961 acres $15,357.00 District 4 - Collier Seminole Aerial Burn,

Florida Park Service 2016-2017 Resource Management Annual Report

FLORIDA PARK SERVICE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT ANNUAL REPORT

July 2016 - June 2017

Prepared by: Bureau of Natural and Cultural Resources

3900 Commonwealth Boulevard Mail Station 530

Tallahassee, Florida 32399-3000 (850) 245-3104

Table of Contents Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................................................ 1

Fire and Burning.................................................................................................................................................................. 4

Mechanical Treatment........................................................................................................................................................ 18

Exotic Plant Removal ......................................................................................................................................................... 21

Exotic and Nuisance Animal Removal................................................................................................................................ 34

Marine Turtle Nesting ........................................................................................................................................................ 60

1

2016-2017 Resource Management Annual Report Executive Summary

Prescribed Burning and Wildfires

• In Fiscal Year 2016-17, FPS had the third-best year on record for prescribed fire, burning 72,773 acres. This is 1,946 more acres than the previous fiscal year – 68.1% of the acres planned.

• The number of fire-type acres in rotation increased by 1.7%, totaling 183,193 acres. • FPS conducted 277 prescribed burns, 168 less than the previous year. • Forty-three wildfires accounted for 1,488 acres (2.07%) of the total acres burned. • Of 89 parks with acres planned for prescribed fire, 82 conducted at least one prescribed burn. • In Fiscal Year 2016-2017, 19 parks exceeded the minimum ecological target, eight more than the previous year. • District One achieved 100% of its’ planned goal. • The Governor of Florida issued a statewide fire ban that lasted 60 days, April 11, 2017 – June 3, 2017. • In Fiscal Year 2016-17, BNCR purchased, outfitted and distributed five new fire engines – one new engine for each District. • FPS received a grant from Florida Forest Service for $430,000 to make improvements to the prescribed fire program.

Mechanical Treatment

• In Fiscal Year 2016-17, FPS set the new record for mechanical treatment, treating 12,528 acres in 46 parks for habitat improvement or fuel reduction. This is 11,230 more acres than the previous year – a 865% increase.

• FPS harvested 1440 acres of timber at six State Parks including Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway, Falling Waters State Park, Ichetucknee Springs State Park, Ichetucknee Trace, Wekiwa Springs State Park, and Torreya State Park.

• BNCR managed an internal mechanical treatment contract - $840,000 to create/improve fire lines statewide and reduce fuels in more than 2,000 acres of backlogged fire-type habitat.

Exotic Plant Removal

• In Fiscal Year 2016-17, FPS set the new record for infested acres of exotic plant treatment, treating a total of 15,436 infested acres. This is a 106% increase from the previous year, reaching 95% of its goal for the year.

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• According to the Natural Resource Tracking System (NRTS) Survey Trends Report, the Total Infested Acres division-wide increased by less than 1%.

• In Fiscal Year 2016-2017, 32 project submittals were approved for funding through FWC’s Upland Invasive Plant Management Program. A total of 3,473 infested acres were treated using FWC’s UIPMP contractors.

Exotic and Nuisance Animal Removal

• In Fiscal Year 2016-17, FPS removed 3,109 feral hogs from 47 parks, a 34% increase from the previous FY which had 2,322 hogs removed. • When analyzing by vertebrate class, herpetofauna (amphibians and reptiles) consistently represent the greatest variety of nuisance (native

or exotic) species removed from State Parks. Among herpetofauna, the green iguana represents the greatest number of animals removed. • The raccoon represented the greatest number of nuisance native animals with 402 removed. • Feral hogs consistently reflect the greatest number of mammals removed with 3,109 hogs removed. • The number of feral cats removed decreased from 196 to 91.

Marine Turtle Nesting

• A total of 7,710 nests were reported on state park beaches; an increase of 20% from the previous year. • FPS surveyed 107.9 miles of beach in 41 state parks, or adjacent property. • On average FPS surveyed beaches had 71.5 sea turtle nests per mile of beach. • In Fiscal Year 2016-17, FWC reports that 1 out of every 18 sea turtle nests laid on the beaches of Florida was in a state park. • Nest predation was 12% statewide, a 1% decrease from the previous year. • A total of one suspected Kemp’s Ridley and two hawksbill nests are in the process of being confirmed. • Nests lost to beach erosion increased from 1,312 nests in 2016 to 2,203 nests in 2017, an increase of 68%. This is due in large part to the

storm activity caused by hurricane Irma, which impacted nearly the entire state of Florida.

3

Comparison of Staff to Acres Managed

The chart below shows the changes over time in the number of full-time staff compared to the number of acres under the jurisdiction of the Division of Recreation and Parks.

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# of Acres# of F T E

Acres = Upland and submerged. Source: DRP Jurisdiction Report, July 2016

FTE = Full Time Employees

4

Florida Park Service Prescribed Annual Fire Report

July 1, 2016 – June 30, 2017

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Florida Park Service Prescribed Burning History 1981-2017

Florida Park Service Annual Fire Report


Notes About This Graph 1981: FPS began systematically tracking fire program accomplishments 2005: Fire-type acres under management increased with the addition Office of Coastal and Aquatic Managed Areas properties 2005: Apparent increase in "Acres Planned" resulted from re-defining the plan to reflect ecological need rather than the operational plans 2007: Number of fire-type acres dropped significantly with the transfer of Tosohatchee State Reserve to FWC 2009: Began tracking fire management accomplishments with new, more accurate database; resumed tracking operational plans rather than ecological objective 2014: Greenways and Trails data were incorporated into the fire database adding nearly 30,000 acres of fire-type community. 2017: The Governor of Florida issued a statewide fire ban that lasted 60 days, April 11, 2017 – June 3, 2017.

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Fire-Type Acres, Acres Planned And Acres Burned

Acres Planned Acres Burned Fire-Type Acres

P-2000 begins 1990

Florida Forever begins 2001

OGT mergedwith FPS 2012-13

Tosohatchee State Reserve transferred to FWC

14


Fiscal year 2016-2017

Burned, Planned, Minimum Ecological Target Acres by District

The graph below shows the number of acres each district burned compared to the number planned and the minimum ecological target. Acres burned are from both wildfire and prescribed fire. Minimum ecological target represents the number of acres that must be burned in order to maintain appropriate fire return

intervals and healthy, biodiverse natural communities.

9,547

4,958

32,560

21,246

3,4089,018 8,879

46,818

36,802

6,6534,9017,021

32,969

20,514

2,4980

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

30,000

35,000

40,000

45,000

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70,000

DISTRICT 1 DISTRICT 2 DISTRICT 3 DISTRICT 4 DISTRICT 5

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Acres by District

Acres Burned Acres Planned Minimum Target

15


Fiscal Year 2016-2017

Acres Burned by Quarter Statewide/ Five-Year Summary

The graph below compares the percentage of acres that were burned (either by prescribed fire or wildfire) during each quarter of the last five fiscal years.

* The Governor of Florida issued a statewide fire ban that lasted 60 days, April 11, 2017 – June 3, 2017.

25%

5%

11%

5%8%

5%

17%

11%

6%

23%

36%

26%

36% 37%

54%

34%

52%

42%

53%

15%

0%

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30%

40%

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60%

FY 12-13 FY 13-14 FY 14-15 FY 15-16 FY 16-17

% of Acres by Quarter

1st Qtr (Jul-Sep) 2nd Qtr (Oct-Dec) 3rd Qtr (Jan-Mar) 4th Qtr (Apr-Jun)

*

16



8-year Summary

The graph below represents the total number of acres burned across all five districts during an eight-year period. There has been a positive trend in the total number of acres burned per year for the last 8 years.

39,580

70,471

46,353

70,239

56,881

69,382

76,337

71,282

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2009-2010 2010-2011 2011-2012 2012-2013 2013-2014 2014-2015 2015-2016 2016-2017

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Total Acres Burned by Year

17

Florida Park Service Prescribed Fire Enhancement Program Grant (PFEP)


The table below shows the FPS projects completed utilizing funds from the PFEP grant from FFS.

Category Location Project Description Project Cost

Contracted Services

District 2 - Paynes Prairie Aerial Burns, 961 acres $15,357.00 District 4 - Collier Seminole Aerial Burn, 1671 acres $3,875.00 District 3 - Bulow Creek Fireline Installation $28,375.00 District 2 - Paynes Prairie Mechanical Treatment $34,983.00 District 4 - Charlotte Harbor Fireline Prep and Mechanical Treatment $28,210.00 District 2 - Cedar Key Mechanical Treatment $18,031.42 District 3 - Dunns Creek Roller Chopping, 124 acres $12,400.00

District 3 - Florida Greenway Roller Chopping, 388 acres $48,525.00

Contractual Total $189,756.42

Equipment

Statewide Communication Equipment $15,000.00 Statewide Water Handling Equipment $114,821.47 Statewide Ignition Equipment $5,227.14 Statewide Personal Protective Equipment $11,811.11 Statewide Tractor Implements $55,726.50 Statewide Hand Tools $2,542.14 Equipment Total $205,128.36

Labor

District 3 - Multiple Parks OPS Positions (3) $34,154.16 Labor Total $34,154.16 $429,038.94

18

Florida Park Service Mechanical Treatment Report


The figures below represent the number of acres mechanically treated (mowing, roller-chopping, timber removal etc.) for natural community improvement or maintenance.

District One District Two District Three Bald Point 19.0 Big Talbot Island 248.0 A.D. Broussard Catfish Creek 31.4

Big Lagoon 48.0 Cedar Key Scrub 406.2 Colt Creek 228.0 Deer Lake 58.4 Crystal River Preserve 345.5 Dunns Creek 679.4 Falling Waters 15.0 Devil's Millhopper 20.5 Kissimmee Prairie 56.3 Tarkiln Bayou 35.0 Fort Cooper 7.5 Lake Griffin 3.0 Torreya 901.0 Itchetucknee Springs 75.0 Lake Louisa 6.0

Total 1,076.4 Itchetucknee Trace 72.3 Lower Wekiva River 230.0

Manatee Springs 118.6 Marjorie Harris Carr 1,848.2

Mike Roess Gold Head 11.1 Rock Springs Run 110.0

Paynes Prairie 156.5 St. Sebastian River 2201.8

Price's Scrub 190.0 Tomoka 75.0

Pumpkin Hill 327.4 Wekiwa 270.0

San Felasco Hammock 113.0 Total 5,739.9

Total 2,091.5

19

District Four District Five Summary by Year Caladesi Island 7.0 Atlantic Ridge Preserve 20.8 2016-17 12,528 Collier-Seminole 19.5 Jonathan Dickinson 59.8 2015-16 5,321 Highlands Hammock 658.3 Savannas Preserve 27.5 2014-15 1,513

Hillsborough River 12.0 Total 108.1 2013-14 2,079

Honeymoon Island 1.0 2012-13 1,160 Lake June-in-Winter 186.4 Total Acres, FY 16-17 12,528 2011-12 1,404 Little Manatee River 3.0 2010-11 3,205 Myakka River 2314.0 2009-10 633 Oscar Scherer 90.0 2008-09 2,014 Paynes Creek 2.4 2007-08 1,953 Weeki Wachee Springs 0.5 2006-07 1,029 Wingate Creek 219.0 2005-06 1,676

Total 3513.1 2004-05 5,382

2003-04 1,559

2002-03 4,219

Total Acres Treated 45,675

20

Florida Park Service Mechanical Treatment Report


8 Year Summary

The graph below represents the total number of acres mechanically treated across all five districts during an eight-year period. There has been an exponential increase in the total number of acres mechanically treated per year for the last 8 years.

633

3,205

1,404 1,160

2,0791,513

5,321

12,528

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2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17

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Total Acres by Year

21

Florida Park Service Invasive Exotic Plant Annual Report


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Florida Park Service Invasive Exotic Plant Report


Statewide Summary

Infested Acres

Treated

Gross Area

Worked

Number of Parks

Treating Invasives

District One 525 3,287 28

District Two 2,284 8,650 39

District Three 2,226 16,893 30

District Four 6,526 16,230 33

District Five 3,874 16,558 23

Totals 15,435 61,618 153

Number of Parks Treating Each of the Top 10 Most Commonly Removed Species

Species District 1 District 2 District 3 District 4 District 5 Total Cogon grass 13 18 21 23 5 80 Brazilian pepper 0 4 18 27 22 71 Japanese climbing fern 16 18 13 8 1 56 Chinese Tallow Tree 17 18 13 2 2 52 Camphor tree 10 22 12 4 0 48 Air potato 4 8 15 12 8 47 Caesar's weed 0 6 20 17 4 47 Natal grass 2 5 21 13 6 47 Lantana 6 11 13 9 6 45 Coral ardisia 6 12 10 6 1 35

Cogon grass and Brazilian pepper retained the top two spots as the species most frequently being treated in state parks. Chinese tallow tree has gone from the eighth most treated exotic plant, to the fourth most treated.

30


Fiscal Year 2016-17

5 Year Summary

The graph below compares the percentage of treatments that occur during each quarter of the fiscal year. Typically, the fourth quarter of the fiscal year is the peak time for treatments.

19%

7% 7%10%

17%

28%

14%

22%

16%14%

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24%

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23%

33%

61%

47% 45% 46%

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FY 12-13 FY 13-14 FY 14-15 FY 15-16 FY 16-17

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% of Acres Treated By Quarter

1st Qtr (Jul-Sep) 2nd Qtr (Oct-Dec) 3rd Qtr (Jan-Mar) 4th Qtr (Apr-Jun)

31



10 Year Trend – Parks Treating All/ Top 5 Exotic Plant Species



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Top Five Species Removed

Japanese climbing-fern Chinese tallow-tree Brazilian Pepper Air-Potato Cogon Grass Lantana

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The graph below shows the total number of acres of exotic plants treated by each labor source in each District.

216

1,38

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3,02

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2,60

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D I S T R I C T 1 D I S T R I C T 2 D I S T R I C T 3 D I S T R I C T 4 D I S T R I C T 5

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Ac res by Appl i c ator T ype by Dis t r i c t

DRP Contractor DRP Staff Volunteers FLCC FWC - IMP Contractor

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Fiscal Year 2016-17

The graph below shows the number of parks treating each of the top 10 most commonly removed species.

80

71

5652

48 47 47 4745

35

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COGON GRASS BRAZILIAN PEPPER

JAPANESE CLIMBING FERN

CHINESE TALLOW TREE

CAMPHOR TREE AIR POTATO CAESAR'S WEED NATAL GRASS LANTANA CORAL ARDISIA

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Number of Parks by Species

34

Florida Park Services Exotic and Nuisance Animal Report


The table below shows the number of exotic and nuisance animals removed in each District for each quarter.

July - Sept 2016 Oct - Dec 2016 Jan - Mar 2017 Apr - Jun 2017 Annual Staff USDA Other Q1 Total Staff USDA Other Q2 Total Staff USDA Other Q3 Total Staff USDA Other Q4 Total Total District 1 63 0 6 69 70 3 0 73 54 13 0 67 143 23 3 169 378 District 2 71 0 48 119 68 0 43 111 65 4 3 72 104 21 60 185 487 District 3 78 0 153 231 98 0 283 381 97 168 274 539 85 148 179 412 1563 District 4 157 23 22 202 177 3 37 217 231 7 121 359 219 168 149 536 1314 District 5 286 8 138 432 624 0 93 717 922 342 8 1272 313 287 10 610 3031

Statewide Total

655 31 367 1053 1037 6 456 1499 1369 534 406 2309 864 647 401 1912 6773


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Florida Park Service Exotic and Nuisance Animal Report


Statewide Summary – Exotic Animals, By Species

From the exotic animal removal table, the feral hog was the biggest offender with 3,109 removed from 47 parks.

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Nuisance Native Species - Summary

From the nuisance native species chart, mammals make up 80% of the nuisance native species in Florida with raccoons making up the bulk of the percentage and the American alligator making up the entirety of the herps.

District One District Two District Three District Four District Five Totals Nuisance Native Species Animals Parks Animals Parks Animals Parks Animals Parks Animals Parks Animals Parks American Alligator 6 1 0 0 12 4 4 1 0 0 22 6

Bobcat 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Gray Fox 13 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 13 4 Gray Squirrel 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 3 3 Raccoon 46 7 2 1 33 4 66 5 257 7 402 24 Virginia Opossum 28 8 1 1 6 2 0 0 8 2 42 13 Statewide Totals 94 3 51 70 267 482

80%

20%

Nuisance Native Species By Vertebrate Class

Mammal

Herps

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Nuisance Exotic Species - Summary

From the nuisance exotic species chart, mammals make up 45% of the nuisance exotic species in Florida with the feral hog making up the bulk of the percentage. The herps make up 41% with green iguana making up most of the percentage.

District One District Two District Three District Four District Five Totals Nuisance Exotic Species Animals Parks Animals Parks Animals Parks Animals Parks Animals Parks Animals Parks Banded Caricol 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 229 2 229 2

Black Rat 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 518 3 518 3 Curly-tailed Lizard 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 131 4 132 5 Feral Hog 11 1 375 13 1317 17 1041 12 365 4 3109 47 Green Iguana 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1464 13 1465 14 Nine-banded Armadillo 212 6 16 4 58 11 49 3 7 5 341 29 Statewide Totals 223 391 1,376 1,091 2,587 5,794

45%

41%

4%10%

Nuisance Exotic Species By Vertebrate Class

MAMMALS

HERPS

BIRDS

FISH

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10 Year Trends


Armadillos5.2%

Feral Cats1.4%

Fish13.8%

Other32.8%

Feral Hogs46.8%

All Animals Removed, 2007-2017

Armadillos

Feral Cats

Fish

Other

Feral Hogs

Fiscal years 2016-2017 comparison to previous 9 years

-- Feral hogs continue to be the species removed from the most parks (47) and in the largest numbers (3,109), approximately 25% more than the previous year. All while the percent of feral hogs removed played a smaller role in the total number of animals removed.

-- From the chart, the amount of "Other" species removed increased by 3.2% whereas Armadillos, Feral Cats and Fish have seen a decrease by 0.1%, 0.1% and 1.4% respectively.

-- The graph below shows a substantial increase in the total number of animals removed rising from 6,128 seen the previous year to 7,571 this fiscal year. This increase is largely due to a greater number of feral hogs, fish, and "Other" species being removed this fiscal year over last.

20003000400050006000700080009000

1000011000

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All Nuisance/Exotic Animals

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14 Year Trends – Feral Hog Removal

2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17Hogs 2,300 2,164 3,278 2,243 3,355 3,532 3,099 4,044 3,573 5,135 5,130 3,895 1,934 2,322 3,109

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Number of Feral Hogs Removed

2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17# of Parks 24 21 33 29 29 36 36 38 49 49 53 50 43 39 47

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Florida Park Service Marine Turtle Nesting Report

Calendar Year 2017

The total number of miles surveyed has once again increased from 104.1 to 107.9 and the total number of nests reported has increased from 6,341 to 7,710. Erosion losses due to storm surge was 29% of nests this year.

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Calendar Year 2017

Summary 1991-2017

3,85

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3,68

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3,45

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4,20

3 4,65

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4,62

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4,00

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5,32

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4,22

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3,48

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3,37

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4,39

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5,26

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7,23

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6,28

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7,71

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All Species - 41 Parks Surveyed

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Calendar Year 2017

Summary 1991-2017

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Green

Documents

Florida Park 2016-2017 Resource Management Annual Report · 2020-02-21 · District 2 - Paynes Prairie Aerial Burns, 961 acres $15,357.00 District 4 - Collier Seminole Aerial Burn,