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Good things are happening!
Ridge Rangers worked on two major restoration planting efforts over the summer, and in total 2,200 individual native plants were restored to the Lake Wales Ridge region. On Walk-in-the-Water Wildlife Management Area, Ridge Rangers assisted Florida Forestry Service biologists in planting 1,500 wiregrass plugs to restore sandhill habitat. Further south, on FWC’s Lake Wales Ridge Wildlife and Environmental Area (LWR WEA) Royce Unit, 700 native plants were added over five workday events, bringing the total number of natives planted since 2018 to 1,300.
 Ridge Rangers plant native trees and flowering plants, some grown at our on-site nursery, at the ground cover restoration area.
 Blazing star and other flowering plants have gone to seed this year thanks to your efforts!
 1,500 wiregrass plugs were restored to Walk-in-the-Water WMA in just one workday.
The summer may have been hot, but the Ridge Rangers refused to let that stop them! Three workday events were scheduled between June and October to tackle invasive plants encroaching on native vegetation in FWC’s managed lands. Ridge Rangers are called upon by area biologists to remove invasive plant species by hand pulling when other treatments may damage the native vegetation and rare plants along the Lake Wales Ridge.
 Removing non-native plants while protecting native plant species from damage.
A whopping 3 tons (6,000 lbs) of roofing shingles and other debris were removed by Ridge Rangers over two weekend workday events in August on FWC’s LWR WEA Carter Creek Tract. This effort removed debris harmful to both wildlife and humans and will allow nearby productive flowering plants to recolonize the surface that had been covered by the shingles, a real win for both wildlife and nature enthusiasts!
 Ridge Rangers remove partially buried roofing shingles and other debris.
 Pollinators, such as skippers and bees, enjoy the nectar of Feay’s prairie clover which was blooming prolifically at the site of the debris cleanup.
 Feay’s prairie clover was abundant at the site of the cleanup and will now have room for future growth.
The Florida scrub-jay is Florida’s only endemic species of bird, meaning they’re found nowhere else in the world. In June, Ridge Rangers Marilyn Blair and Bill Smith attended the Florida Audubon Society’s Jay Watch training and surveyed for this Federally-designated Threatened bird. Surveys were conducted in July rewarding participants with plenty of opportunities to view scrub-jays while contributing valuable scientific information to Florida Audubon and FWC. If you would like to get involved with Jay Watch see Florida Audubon’s website (link below) .
https://fl.audubon.org/get-involved/jay-watch
 Volunteers and biologists learned how to conduct scrub-jay surveys at a training session in May. |
