patrickbdevaney/mia9 · Datasets at Hugging Face

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fire exclusion, anthropogenic fires, unauthorized use (including bicycles), illegal
dumping, improper siting of interpretive trails and facilities, poaching of animals,
collecting of plants, drainage, flooding and saltwater intrusion, mosquito spraying,
and drift of pesticides from agricultural and commercial operations. Massive pine
mortality has also occurred in pine rockland fragments impacted by Hurricane
Andrew in 1992. More effort must be made to reduce these and other types of
negative impacts on pine rockland preserves.
Following acquisition and the prevention of further disturbance, the most
important step in recovery is to restore existing degraded pine rocklands through
active management, and, with a few exceptions, this process is still in its formative
stages. Where possible, connections between pine rocklands and surrounding
natural communities such as tropical hardwood hammocks and freshwater
wetlands should be re-established. Roads and fire breaks which separate pine
rocklands from hammock edges, marl prairies and other surrounding communities
should be removed, and prescribed fire should be used as a tool to re-establish
historic hammock edges. Roads which dissect and fragment pine rocklands should
be removed and restored, except where they are needed as fire breaks. Where
possible, the water table should also be restored to approximate its historic
condition. This includes raising the water table on the Miami Rock Ridge. Exotic
plant species must be controlled with the ultimate goal of extirpating as many
exotic taxa as possible, and restoring historic pineland structure and composition.
When possible, outlying populations of exotic plant species should be treated as a
way of limiting expansion (Moody and Mack 1988). Exotic animals must be
removed from natural areas, and domestic pets prevented from entering pine
rocklands. Animal removal must be sensitive to the needs of indigenous wildlife
which might be affected by certain chemical control methods. Efforts should also
be made to control unauthorized use including off-trail hiking. Land managers
must also be vigilant against contamination of sites from mosquito spraying, and
pesticide drift from commercial and agricultural operations. Finally, special
emphasis should be placed on the reintroduction of extirpated species within their
historic ranges.
Everglades NP has had an ongoing management program in pine rocklands
since 1958 (Olmsted et al. 1983) when a prescribed burn program was initiated.
Although winter burning was done historically, the park began a program of
summer burning in 1981 (Doren et al. 1993). The park has also been active in
controlling exotic pest plants, primarily Brazilian pepper. The obvious and most
important actions for pine rockland maintenance, protection, restoration, and
enhancement, focus on control of exotic plant species and appropriate fire
management regimes (Loope et al. 1979).
The most aggressive campaign to restore pine rockland fragments is being
conducted by DERM and the Miami-Dade County Park and Recreation
Page 3-179
PINE ROCKLANDS Multi-Species Recovery Plan for South Florida
Department, Natural Areas Management Section (NAM). DERM prepared a pine
rockland restoration plan following Hurricane Andrew (DERM 1995). This plan
focuses future pineland restoration efforts on establishment of a grass/forb
understory in these communities to provide supplemental fine fuels. This effort is
a result of adult pine mortality from Hurricane Andrew. It is believed that the fine
fuels are needed to provide the correct temperature for pine rockland fires and
provide proper conditions for pine regeneration. A grassy understory produces less
smoke when burned, and is easier to extinguish in urban fragmented forests.
The Miami-Dade County program has been very active since Hurricane
Andrew in 1992, and has completed a substantial amount of management work in
a number of pinelands including The Charles Deering Estate, Nixon Smiley
Pineland, Larry and Penny Thompson Park, Ludlam Pineland, and Trinity
Pineland (L. McDonald, Miami-Dade County Parks and Recreation Department,
Natural Areas Management Section, personal communication 1998). These larger
sites have management plans which include recommendations for the control of
exotic plants, and the implementation of prescribed burning programs (e.g.
Miami-Dade County Park and Recreation Department 1993, 1994). Initial work
has also been completed in pine rocklands at a number of other sites. This work
has resulted from a multi-agency collaboration including the Miami-Dade County
Park and Recreation Department, DERM, Fairchild Tropical Garden,
Ecohorizons, Inc., and The Nature Conservancy. On going technical assistance
has been provided by the Institute for Regional Conservation.
Several agencies in Miami-Dade County including the Miami-Dade
County Parks and Recreation Department, DERM, American Forests, and the
Division of Forestry have also been active in outplanting pine seedlings to pine
rockland fragments where mature pines were killed after Hurricane Andrew (L.
McDonald, personal communication 1998).
In the Florida Keys, significant work on exotic plant control has now been
initiated in pine rocklands. Florida Audubon Society and the Florida Keys
Invasive Exotics Task Force have recently completed a Keys-wide exotic
species mapping project which clearly demonstrates the problems with exotics
in the Keys, including pine rocklands (C. Kruer, Florida Audubon Society,
personal communication 1998). DEP has recently allocated $170,000 to the
control of exotics in uplands in the Keys, but this is primarily being used to
control exotics on north Key Largo (L. Flynn, The Nature Conservancy,
personal communication 1998), which lacks pine rocklands. In the future, the
Florida Keys Invasive Task Force will attempt to negotiate conservation
agreements with private landowners to conduct exotic control programs on private
lands (which now act as seed sources), and expand existing projects which utilize
volunteers to control exotic species (L. Flynn, personal communication 1998).
Prescribed burning in pine rocklands in the Florida Keys, however, has been
sporadic and controversial. Research on prescribed fire in pine rocklands in the
lower Florida Keys is currently being conducted by M. Ross et al. (M. Ross,
Florida International University, personal communication 1998).
Once pine rocklands are restored, they must be maintained in perpetuity. In
pinelands within the developed area, the effect of fragmentation will continue to
be felt ad infinitum, including species extirpations due to small population sizes.
In preserves of all sizes, seed rain from exotic plant taxa, and invasions by exotic
animal species (including feral and domestic pets) will continue. Natural fire will
Page 3-180
PINE ROCKLANDS Multi-Species Recovery Plan for South Florida
be dysfunctional, and prescribed fire will have to be used to maintain pine
rocklands and tropical hardwood hammock edges. Infestations by beetles and
other insects may be pronounced. The water table must be monitored to insure that
pine rocklands are not dewatered or flooded. Contaminants, including pesticides,
must be continuously monitored. Managers must counter these negative trends
through active management: species populations must be monitored and

fire exclusion, anthropogenic fires, unauthorized use (including bicycles), illegal

dumping, improper siting of interpretive trails and facilities, poaching of animals,

collecting of plants, drainage, flooding and saltwater intrusion, mosquito spraying,

and drift of pesticides from agricultural and commercial operations. Massive pine

mortality has also occurred in pine rockland fragments impacted by Hurricane

Andrew in 1992. More effort must be made to reduce these and other types of

negative impacts on pine rockland preserves.

Following acquisition and the prevention of further disturbance, the most

important step in recovery is to restore existing degraded pine rocklands through

active management, and, with a few exceptions, this process is still in its formative

stages. Where possible, connections between pine rocklands and surrounding

natural communities such as tropical hardwood hammocks and freshwater

wetlands should be re-established. Roads and fire breaks which separate pine

rocklands from hammock edges, marl prairies and other surrounding communities

should be removed, and prescribed fire should be used as a tool to re-establish

historic hammock edges. Roads which dissect and fragment pine rocklands should

be removed and restored, except where they are needed as fire breaks. Where

possible, the water table should also be restored to approximate its historic

condition. This includes raising the water table on the Miami Rock Ridge. Exotic

plant species must be controlled with the ultimate goal of extirpating as many

exotic taxa as possible, and restoring historic pineland structure and composition.

When possible, outlying populations of exotic plant species should be treated as a

way of limiting expansion (Moody and Mack 1988). Exotic animals must be

removed from natural areas, and domestic pets prevented from entering pine

rocklands. Animal removal must be sensitive to the needs of indigenous wildlife

which might be affected by certain chemical control methods. Efforts should also

be made to control unauthorized use including off-trail hiking. Land managers

must also be vigilant against contamination of sites from mosquito spraying, and

pesticide drift from commercial and agricultural operations. Finally, special

emphasis should be placed on the reintroduction of extirpated species within their

historic ranges.

Everglades NP has had an ongoing management program in pine rocklands

since 1958 (Olmsted et al. 1983) when a prescribed burn program was initiated.

Although winter burning was done historically, the park began a program of

summer burning in 1981 (Doren et al. 1993). The park has also been active in

controlling exotic pest plants, primarily Brazilian pepper. The obvious and most

important actions for pine rockland maintenance, protection, restoration, and

enhancement, focus on control of exotic plant species and appropriate fire

management regimes (Loope et al. 1979).

The most aggressive campaign to restore pine rockland fragments is being

conducted by DERM and the Miami-Dade County Park and Recreation

Page 3-179

PINE ROCKLANDS Multi-Species Recovery Plan for South Florida

Department, Natural Areas Management Section (NAM). DERM prepared a pine

rockland restoration plan following Hurricane Andrew (DERM 1995). This plan

focuses future pineland restoration efforts on establishment of a grass/forb

understory in these communities to provide supplemental fine fuels. This effort is

a result of adult pine mortality from Hurricane Andrew. It is believed that the fine

fuels are needed to provide the correct temperature for pine rockland fires and

provide proper conditions for pine regeneration. A grassy understory produces less

smoke when burned, and is easier to extinguish in urban fragmented forests.

The Miami-Dade County program has been very active since Hurricane

Andrew in 1992, and has completed a substantial amount of management work in

a number of pinelands including The Charles Deering Estate, Nixon Smiley

Pineland, Larry and Penny Thompson Park, Ludlam Pineland, and Trinity

Pineland (L. McDonald, Miami-Dade County Parks and Recreation Department,

Natural Areas Management Section, personal communication 1998). These larger

sites have management plans which include recommendations for the control of

exotic plants, and the implementation of prescribed burning programs (e.g.

Miami-Dade County Park and Recreation Department 1993, 1994). Initial work

has also been completed in pine rocklands at a number of other sites. This work

has resulted from a multi-agency collaboration including the Miami-Dade County

Park and Recreation Department, DERM, Fairchild Tropical Garden,

Ecohorizons, Inc., and The Nature Conservancy. On going technical assistance

has been provided by the Institute for Regional Conservation.

Several agencies in Miami-Dade County including the Miami-Dade

County Parks and Recreation Department, DERM, American Forests, and the

Division of Forestry have also been active in outplanting pine seedlings to pine

rockland fragments where mature pines were killed after Hurricane Andrew (L.

McDonald, personal communication 1998).

In the Florida Keys, significant work on exotic plant control has now been

initiated in pine rocklands. Florida Audubon Society and the Florida Keys

Invasive Exotics Task Force have recently completed a Keys-wide exotic

species mapping project which clearly demonstrates the problems with exotics

in the Keys, including pine rocklands (C. Kruer, Florida Audubon Society,

personal communication 1998). DEP has recently allocated $170,000 to the

control of exotics in uplands in the Keys, but this is primarily being used to

control exotics on north Key Largo (L. Flynn, The Nature Conservancy,

personal communication 1998), which lacks pine rocklands. In the future, the

Florida Keys Invasive Task Force will attempt to negotiate conservation

agreements with private landowners to conduct exotic control programs on private

lands (which now act as seed sources), and expand existing projects which utilize

volunteers to control exotic species (L. Flynn, personal communication 1998).

Prescribed burning in pine rocklands in the Florida Keys, however, has been

sporadic and controversial. Research on prescribed fire in pine rocklands in the

lower Florida Keys is currently being conducted by M. Ross et al. (M. Ross,

Florida International University, personal communication 1998).

Once pine rocklands are restored, they must be maintained in perpetuity. In

pinelands within the developed area, the effect of fragmentation will continue to

be felt ad infinitum, including species extirpations due to small population sizes.

In preserves of all sizes, seed rain from exotic plant taxa, and invasions by exotic

animal species (including feral and domestic pets) will continue. Natural fire will

Page 3-180

PINE ROCKLANDS Multi-Species Recovery Plan for South Florida

be dysfunctional, and prescribed fire will have to be used to maintain pine

rocklands and tropical hardwood hammock edges. Infestations by beetles and

other insects may be pronounced. The water table must be monitored to insure that

pine rocklands are not dewatered or flooded. Contaminants, including pesticides,

must be continuously monitored. Managers must counter these negative trends

through active management: species populations must be monitored and