Forest Service to restore 85 acres in Point Washington State Forest

April 29, 2015

The 85 acre area under restoration is located between CR393 and CR83 in Santa Rosa Beach.
The 85 acre area under restoration is located between CR393 and CR83 in Santa Rosa Beach.

The Florida Forest Service is in the process of restoring a historical, native Longleaf Pine (Pinus Palustris) ecosystem within Point Washington State Forest.  Initially, this will involve the complete removal of off-site Sand Pine (Pinus Clausa) on 85 acres.  A timber harvest operation will serve to accomplish this objective.

Due to fire suppression and harvesting of the longleaf legacy canopy prior to the creation of Point Washington State Forest, the area has been invaded by Sand Pine. With minimal sunlight reaching the forest floor, this has created an unfavorable environment for the rich diversity of ground cover species that support most of our native wildlife species.

A gopher tortoise exiting its burrow in a newly restored long leaf pine ecosystem. This restoration process will bring the forest back to its natural state.
A gopher tortoise exiting its burrow in a newly restored long leaf pine ecosystem. This restoration process will bring the forest back to its natural state.

In its current state, it poses few positive characteristics that support the immense number of native species that would typically be found in one of our ecologically correct plant communities. This step is the first of many in an attempt to restore Point Washington State Forest for the benefit of our native species and the many users of the state forest.

The Forest Service’s goals with this timber harvest are to remove the dense Sand Pine over-story from the current plant community and replant the area with Longleaf Pine. Historically, this plant community’s over-story was composed primarily of Longleaf Pine and typically more open which allowed sunlight better opportunity to reach the forest floor.

This process is not a development, but rather a restoring of the forest to its native ecosystem.  The Florida Forestry Service follows best management practices with primary zones based on Outstanding Florida Waters as found in the Florida Service Manual, Silviculture Best Management Practices.  The Florida Forest Service is dedicated to restoring our unique and highly sensitive ecosystem and improving the overall health of these ecosystems.

The Florida Forestry Service is currently bidding out this project and the bidding will close on May 12th.  Once the winning bid is accepted, the contractor will have one year to complete the timber harvest.  Forestry has begun working on improving the road to accommodate the contractor.  During the project, the contractor will enter and exit on Hwy 83, and will not be using Hwy 30-A.

Should you have any questions, please contact the local Florida Forest Office at 850-267-8325.