FLTWS 2010 Spring Conference
Field Trip and Workshop Information
All of the field trips and workshops are free with your conference registration. You are welcome to attend the Wednesday field trip as well as one of the Friday trips or workshops. Only the Wednesday trip requires pre-registration since it is before the conference starts (see online registration or the downloadable registration form). To sign up for the Friday trips, please go to the registration desk during the conference. A minimum of five people must be registered for a trip/workshop to be held. The maximum capacity of each trip/workshop is 20. Registrations are handled on a first-come first-served basis. Field trips are subject to change due to attendance, field conditions, and staff availability.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Apalachicola National Forest Field Trip:
Proclaimed as a National Forest in 1936, the Apalachicola National Forest is the largest forest in Florida at 571,088 acres. Apalachicola National Forest is well known for its spectacular botanical diversity, including colorful pitcher plant prairies and one of the last extensive longleaf pine and wiregrass communities still in existence. The Apalachicola National Forest provides a safe refuge for the largest – and the only recovered – population of endangered red-cockaded woodpeckers in the world. Today, the Apalachicola National Forest is home to 650 groups of red-cockaded woodpeckers. Hosted by Forest Service Wildlife Biologist Chuck Hess, this trip will take you to see the beautiful savannas, longleaf flatwoods, and pitcher plant bogs of this incredible forest. If time permits, see cypress trees that are thousands of years old. You will see the great diversity of ground cover that comes from frequent growing season burning. Visit red-cockaded woodpecker clusters right at the start of nesting season. There are frequent sightings of black bear, fox squirrels, and snakes within the forest, in addition to a great variety of birds. The trip departs the hotel lobby at 8:30 am and returns at 12:30 pm. Participants will carpool to and from the event. Pre-registration is required, but there is no fee associated with the trip.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Red-cockaded Woodpecker Management Workshop at the Apalachicola National Forest:
Apalachicola National Forest is home to 650 groups of red-cockaded woodpeckers (RCWs) and is the only recovered population of RCWs in the world. Wildlife Biologist Joel Casto with Milliken Forestry, will host this workshop with the assistance of Maria Zondervan, St. Johns River Water Management District, in the beauty of this vast forest. They will demonstrate how to use equipment such as peeper scopes to check nests for eggs and young. See how special Swedish climbing ladders and belts are used to access the nests for banding (and practice some climbing yourself is you wish). Practice using spotting scopes to read colored leg bands on RCWs foraging high in the trees. Handle modified nets used to catch adult RCWs for translocations. This workshop will be taking place right at the start of nesting season, so with any luck, there may even be chicks to band. The use and installation of artificial cavity inserts will be discussed. Forest Service land management techniques such as timber harvests, prescribed fire, and invasive plant control will be described.
Torreya State Park:
High bluffs overlooking the Apalachicola River make Torreya one of Florida's most scenic places. The park is named for an extremely rare species of Torreya tree that only grows on the bluffs along the Apalachicola River. Developed by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s, Torreya is popular for camping, hiking, and picnicking. Bird watching is also a popular activity. Over 100 species of birds have been spotted in the park. Forests of hardwood trees provide the finest display of fall color found in Florida and beautiful cover in the spring. During your trip, you will learn about the latest sandhill restoration activities taking place within the park and how these efforts are being funded by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s gopher tortoise mitigation funds and Project Orianne.
Tall Timbers Research Station:
Tall Timbers is a widely regarded information resource for the areas of fire ecology, game bird management, vertebrate ecology and forestry. The Research Station is recognized as the home of the study of fire ecology and is an advocate to protect the right to use prescribed fire for land management. The Land Conservancy is recognized as one of the nation’s leading land trusts, as it has protected traditional land uses in north Florida and South Georgia by conserving more than 100,000 acres in this region through conservation easements. Tall Timbers Research Station also manages the 200-acre Wade Tract Preserve. The Wade Tract is one of only a very few old-growth stands that has been managed with fire for decades. It is also the only stand specifically dedicated to research purposes. The history of research conducted on the Wade Tract; coupled with the extreme rarity of this old-growth forest type, make it one of the most important ecological research sites anywhere. On this field trip, Tall Timber’s staff will show us their test plots that demonstrate the effects of fire in longleaf ecosystems on wildlife and habitat, and discuss the science behind their management strategies. There will also be an opportunity for visitors to band Bachman’s sparrows.
