CRAWFORDVILLE, Fla., (Oct. 27, 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, Otter and Pope Still 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 Forest submitted a summary of hurricane damage to the Forest Service, beginning a process to request supplemental funding for those costs.
Roads: Workers have cleared 321 of 982 miles of roads. Work will continue using saw teams working in tandem with heavy equipment such as excavators, masticators, tractor plows, feller bunchers and loaders. Priority areas are roads leading to hunt camps and current and potential timber sales. Crews are also clearing roads to helicopter landing areas in the Forest.
Recreation: Almost half of all 74 recreation sites have been assessed and 22 miles of 205 miles of trails cleared. Opening more hunt camps is the focus of recreation work. Archaeologists have assessed all but a few archaeological sites, including some that cannot be accessed due to blocked roads.
Threatened and endangered species: Teams of biologists have assessed 457 out of 960 red-cockaded woodpecker roost tree cluster and have completed assessments on the east side of the Forest. As assessments near completion, the focus will shift to inserting artificial cavities in an estimated 30 percent of clusters that will need them.
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. Workers are preparing to mark boundaries and trees for timber salvage operations.
Wildfire Risk: About 15 of 473 miles of fireline have been cleared of woody debris downed by the hurricane and work will continue to clear the lines.
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, masticators and feller bunchers 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: A feller buncher clears roads. Credit: Chad Cook/USFS
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