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Eyeing Alderman's Ford Preserve

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By YVETTE C. HAMMETT, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 2, 2008

TURKEY CREEK - State and county environmental officials donned khaki pants and hiking boots last week and headed for Alderman's Ford Preserve - 985 acres of scrub, pine flatwoods, wetlands and sand hills.

They drove through former pastureland, stood atop bluffs overlooking the Alafia River and hiked to a sandy area recently burned to restore the natural plant habitat.

And they took notes.

The field trip was part of a state-mandated, five-year management review required for every state preserve to ensure they are being managed properly.

In reviewing the conservation lands, the committee was asked to answer two questions: Are the conservation lands being managed for the purpose for which they were acquired? And, is public access available?

The Alderman's Ford Preserve is in east Hillsborough County, south of Plant City. The Alafia River, which runs through it, is flanked by numerous native plant communities and one of the few places on Earth the golden aster flower is found.

The preserve, which offers hiking and horseback-riding trails to the public, also is home to wild cocoa and numerous wildlife species, including sandhill cranes, fox squirrels, gopher tortoises, eastern indigo snakes, bald eagles and the Florida mouse.

"It's still in the early stages of site management," said Hillsborough County biologist Sheryl Bowman, who led the tour. She said the land purchase took place over several years and was completed in 2004.

The county is working to eradicate invasive plants on the property, such as skunk vine and cogon grass. County workers also are burning areas that are overgrown with hardwood trees, inviting native wildlife back in - such as gopher tortoises, which like sunny, open areas. It likely will take years for the entire swath of land to be restored to its natural state.

County staff has more difficulty burning land as development encroaches on wildlife, said Richard Ross, environmental restoration specialist with the county's Environmental Land Acquisition and Protection Program.

"Everyone wants to live near the preserve, but they don't want to be around the smoke," he said.

If environmental managers can't burn in certain areas - a way to mimic natural wildfires - they cannot properly manage the land and restore it, said Ross Dickerson, general manager for the ELAPP program.

Although some areas can be burned, ELAPP has a small staff overseeing 44,000 acres, so it takes more time, Dickerson said.

The state Department of Environmental Protection asked each member of the review committee to complete a checklist, noting which areas of the preserve are up to standard and which areas need more attention.

Keith Singleton, land management review coordinator for DEP, said he will compile the checklists and prepare a report, which could be presented to the county within a couple of months.

"I'll average the scores and look at current conditions and what is being accomplished," he said. "This is like a snapshot in time."

The county then will send a response to the state to explain how it will correct or better target existing problem areas.

Reporter Yvette C. Hammett can be reached at (813) 657-4532 or at yhammett@tampatrib.com.

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