CRAWFORDVILLE, Fla., (Oct. 26, 2018) —
What’s open and what’s closed? The general forest area in the Wakulla Ranger District of the Apalachicola National Forest, the area of the Forest east of the Ochlockonee River, is open although developed recreation sites and trails in that area are closed. Pine Creek, Buckhorn, Brown House and Otter hunt camps, undeveloped camping areas, have been certified as safe and are now open to the public. The Apalachicola Ranger District west of the river remains closed. All roads with fallen trees across them are closed.
Recovery Team Progress
Yesterday the Southern Area Red Team helping the Forest assess hurricane damage provided the Forest a summary of assessments to date. The Forest will use the assessments to estimate total recovery costs to submit a request for supplemental funding for those costs. Assessments showed the most severe damage in the Apalachicola Ranger District. Below are highlights of assessments to date.
Roads: Initial assessment of almost 700 of 2,072 miles of roads on the Forest identified 121 miles of heavy, 212 miles of moderate, and 361 miles of low damage. The hurricane rendered all roads in the Apalachicola Ranger District were impassable due to downed trees, broken tree tops and debris.
Trails: Aerial assessment of 156 miles of trails, which included the Florida National Scenic Trail and off-road vehicle trails on the northeast part of the Forest, showed 12 miles of high damage, 3 miles of moderate damage, and 141 miles of light damage.
Facilities: Roofs of the Apalachicola and Wilma work centers were significantly damaged and will need replacement. The communications tower and a portable building at the Apalachicola site and fences at both work centers will also need to be replaced.
Recreation: Prospect Bluff was the most significantly affected recreation site, including damage to a picnic pavilion, interpretive building and storage shed. Other sites were damaged to varying degrees.
Threatened and endangered species: An estimated 30 percent of 900 red-cockaded woodpecker roost tree clusters will require one or more artificial cavity inserts installed. This amounts to 651 artificial cavity inserts needed to restore habitat viability for the federally threatened woodpeckers
Timber: Three active timber sales totaling 6,000 acres were significantly damaged. Many acres of timber not under contract were also damaged and potentially available for salvage sales, including 19,000 acres west of state highway 65.
Wildfire Risk: An increase in large and small downed woody materials present short- and long-term implications for wildfires and the prescribed burning program in terms of increasing wildfire risk and smoke production. Established firelines have been covered with debris.
Work to recover the damage continues to make good progress.
- More than 200 miles of road have been cleared to date. Road clearing with heavy equipment continues on the west side of the Forest to provide access to timber sales and utility workers.
- Work on the east side is helping to provide access to recreation sites and open hunt camps.
- Archaeological assessments across the Forest are nearly complete.
- Teams continue surveying clusters of red-cockaded woodpecker trees to develop a mediation plan to create artificial cavities. They have assessed 412 woodpecker tree clusters to date, almost one half of the total clusters to be assessed.
- Workers are preparing to mark boundaries and trees for timber salvage operations.
- Firelines are being cleared of hurricane debris, with five miles completed.
How to stay safe in the Forest: Many roads in the area remain blocked by fallen trees and anyone in the Forest should use extreme caution as leaning and broken trees and limbs are significant safety hazards. Under no circumstance should members of the public try to clear fallen or leaning trees from Forest Service lands. Doing so requires specialized training and supervision and poses a significant safety risk to those carrying out such actions. It could also slow operations of assessment and road-clearing teams. Archery season for deer and turkey is open, so visitors in open areas of the Forest should be aware that hunters may be in the woods. Visitors should also watch for heavy equipment such as excavators and masticators on roads and maintain a safe distance from them when they are in use.
The Osceola and Ocala National Forests remain open. They, and other national forests in the Southern Region unaffected by Hurricanes Michael and Florence, will continue to waive fees at campgrounds and concessionaire-managed sites for evacuees and displaced individuals from both storms.
Photo of sawyer Byron Hart clearing road on the Apalachicola National Forest. Credit: Jeray A. Norman/USFS
-USDA-
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