Please pardon our dust

Dear Visitors to Hugh Taylor Birch State Park:

The park has several restoration projects underway at this time. The first is a wetland restoration project located in the center of the park at the North end. This project involves the removal of exotic vegetation and restores proper hydrology (water flow) to this mangrove wetland habitat.

The Florida Park Service is mandated by the Florida Legislature to remove these invasive exotics and restore the native plant communities. Several of the exotics we have at Birch State Park are category I invasive exotic trees. The Australian Pine is not a true pine and is in the same category as the Brazilian Pepper and Melaleuca. Many of these trees were introduced to Florida decades ago and have since heavily infested our native areas. Invasive exotics are undesirable because they grow and reproduce much more quickly than, native plants.

Australian Pines have a very shallow root structure, and they grow more than twice as tall (80-120 ft.) as native trees. This combination allows them to be toppled more easily by strong winds. They are a poor food source for the native wildlife and crowd out native plants that provide these essential food sources. Some of these trees have been treated with a herbicide and are left standing. The dead trees (snags) then become somewhat beneficial as they decompose. Cavities will be hollowed out by Woodpeckers, which will create nesting for several species of birds including Owls and the threatened Pileated Woodpecker. The decomposing trees also provide nutrients and a variety of beneficial Insects for the native flora and fauna.

The next restoration project is actually made up of several smaller projects. They include the removal of invasive exotic vegetation, mainly Australian Pines. These areas include the S.W. corner of the park, the freshwater lagoon (Long Lake), the N.W. end of the park and the Eastern portion of the Main Park Drive.

Each of these environmentally sound projects was submitted at different times and has been waiting for funding from several years to over 10 years. There are several factors that came together which caused these projects to happen at the same time. The wetland project is a two million-dollar, 15-month mitigation project being done at virtually no cost to the park. The other projects were funded from an unexpected surplus of funds from projects around the State of Florida that were unable to be completed prior to the end of the fiscal year 6/30/02. These extra funds would have become unavailable.

The good news for the park visitors, the native plant communities and the native wildlife that depends on these plants and trees for food and shelter is the removal of these noxious, invasive exotic trees. This will allow the recovery of these areas with a more diverse combination of native plants and wildlife. The visitors will see a much more diverse plant community and an increase in viewable wildlife.

The not so good news for the park visitors is during this temporary process the park does not look its best. There is large equipment in areas of the park, and some areas of the park have been temporarily closed to the visitors for safety reasons. The park has gone to great lengths to minimize these impacts to the visitors by regulating locations and times when certain portions of these projects can be performed to allow the visitors the best opportunities to use the park during this difficult time.

The removal of these exotics will allow the Park to focus on replanting these areas as needed. The end result will be a more aesthetically pleasing, productive native plant community that truly represents "The Real Florida" as it is represented at over 150 State Parks through out Florida.

I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely apologize for any inconvenience these projects may cause our regular, occasional and first time visitors.

On behalf of the Department of Environmental Protection, the Florida Park Service and the staff here at Hugh Taylor Birch State Park, I would like to thank our visitors for your patience during this difficult time and for your continued support that we have been so fortunate to have received for many years.

If you have any questions or would like additional information, please feel free to ask any of the staff here at the park. They may also be contacted at 954-564-4521 (Ranger Station) or I, (Jim Gibson - Park Manager), may be contacted at 954-468-2791.