Flagged Out in Florida

Wildlife officials in Florida are, in their own words, "well over the novelty of emergency management" duties. As we reported yesterday, many Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) and other public lands were closed until further notice, pending examination by wildlife biologists and safety experts.

Today, we spoke with Joy Hill in Florida's Northern Region of the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission. We spoke via scratchy cellphone, because that area of Florida is still without power and utility services.

"We only have skeleton crews in our offices," she said, "with no power, there's only so much we can do. Fortunately, I have power at home, so I can keep our cellular phones charged."

So how's it looking? "We're trying to open everything we can as quickly as is possible. We know, for instance, some areas just won't be safe to re-open. Roads are gone, tree damage is considerable, and we just can't safely manage those areas."

Has the damage been assessed? "No," she answers, "the wind's back very mild, but we're still having trees collapse due to the absolute saturation of the ground. It doesn't take much for the trees to just, well, fall over."

And the staff's not much better. "We're just about exhausted," she confesses, "the fun factor is definitely at zero. There may be some sense of adventure in one of these situations, but four in six weeks is definitely more than the state was meant to handle."

Today, The Outdoor Wire has learned that the following wildlife areas will be re-opening:

Buck Lake Wildlife Management Area (Brevard)

Salt Lake Wildlife Management Area, with some road closures (Brevard)

Caravelle Ranch Wildlife Management Area, with some road closures.

Guana River Wildlife Management Area - open for early duck season (St. Johns)

Ocala Wildlife Management Area (Marion, Lake, Putnam)

Twelve Mile Swamp Wildlife Management Area (St. Johns)

Relay Wildlife Management Area (Flagler)

The following hunting areas will remain closed until further notice:

Bull Creek Wildlife Management Area (Osceola)

Three Lakes Wildlife Management Area (Osceola)

Upper St. Johns River Marsh Wildlife Management Area (Brevard and Indian River)

Broadmoor Marsh Wildlife Management Area (Brevard)

T.M. Goodwin Waterfowl Management Area (Brevard)

Dunns Creek Wildlife Management Area (Putnam)

Lake George Wildlife Management Area (Volusia)

Ocklawaha Prairie Public Small Game Hunting Area (Marion)

Emeralda Marsh Public Small Game Hunting Area (Lake)

Gores Landing Wildlife Management Area (Marion)

Ft. McCoy Wildlife Management Area (Marion)

According to Hill, agency personnel will evaluate the areas "each day and open them as soon as conditions permit." And what has she learned out of the entire experience? "That hunters are generally patient," she says, "only one person has called complaining that we'd dare close hunting this past weekend. He wanted to know where to write."

Anything else? "Yes," she said, "there was a convoy of utility trucks several miles long headed for Florida over the from Illinois Power. If you're looking for people who are doing heroic work - and have been for weeks - it's the utility crew people from Florida and across the country that have worked almost without stopping trying to get us back to something like normal."

"Hopefully," she added, "that won't be too much longer."

In Florida as Hurricane cleanup continues, Joy Hill of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission informs us only two wildlife management areas remain closed in the Northeast Florida region. Three Lakes and Bull Creek WMAs, both located in Osceola County, remain closed while biologists work to clear trees from roads and close off flooded and severely damaged roads before reopening areas to public access. Hunters are encouraged to check the FWC’s 24-hour, toll-free, Hurricane Information hotline at 1 800 851 8385 for the latest WMA openings and the regional office openings. The same information can be accessed on the FWC website at www.MyFWC.com.

Effective this morning, these hunting areas are open: Upper St. Johns River Marsh (walk-in or boat only), Salt Lake, Dunns Creek, Gores Landing, Ocklawaha Prairie Public Small Game Hunting Area, Fort McCoy, Emeralda Marsh Public Small Game Hunting Area, and the Orange Creek Public Small Game Hunting Area.

Osceola county’s Bull Creek and Three Lakes WMAs remain closed until further notice. They’re to be evaluated each day for reopening.

And finally, these areas managed by the Florida Division of Forestry have also reopened: Seminole Forest WMA, Lake Tracy Unit of Seminole Forest WMA, Etoniah Creek WMA, Dexter Mary Farms Unit of Lake George WMA, Tiger Bay WMA, and Rima Ridge Unit of Tiger Bay WMA.

All Northeast Florida Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) operated by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission have been reopened. However, hunters are being urged to employ extreme caution in the areas.