Ridge Rangers February Newsletter

Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission sent this bulletin at 01/31/2015 03:45 PM EST

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Ridge Rangers are volunteers helping to restore wildlife habitat on the Lake Wales Ridge and nearby areas in Central Florida.

February 2015

Upcoming Events

Winter Meeting - Lake Wales Ridge Ecosystem Working Group

Thursday, Feb 5, 9 AM to 1 PM

Avon Park Air Force Range (near Avon Park, FL)

Meeting Theme: Things that Fly

All Ridge Rangers welcome, learn more and register at https://lwrewg2015winter.eventbrite.com

Help Restore Native Scrub Habitat for Scrub Jays

Avon Park Air Force Range (near Avon Park, FL)

Saturday, February 7, 8 am to noon

We'll be working in teams and using loppers and hand saws to cut down sand pine, wax myrtle, and other overgrown shrubs and trees to improve scrub-jay habitat. (qualified Ridge Rangers may use provided chain saws.)

Eliminating the intruding trees helps maintain scrub habitat in a more open, park-like condition preferred by scrub-jays.

Meet at Bldg 600 - See the location, learn more & sign up at http://outreach.myfwc.com/event/ProjectScrubJayFeb2015

Re-Pot Baby Scrub Oaks to Increase Planting Suvival

FWC Royce Unit (near Lake Placid, FL)

Wednesday, February 18, 9 AM to noon

We’re experimenting with new potting methods to increase survivability of next summer’s restoration planting, and we’re going to re-pot many scrub oak sprouts from tray cells into one gallon pots to allow for greater root growth and more gentle planting … looking for all the re-potting help you’re willing to give!

Meet at the Royce admin parking lot at 9 am – see a map, full details, and sign up at http://outreach.myfwc.com/event/RoyceFeb2015

Remove invasive plants to restore habitat

Bok Tower Gardens (near Lake Wales, FL)

Saturday, February 21, from 9 am to noon

Did you know that Bok Tower Gardens also oversees many conservation areas with natural habitat? We'll be helping to restore one of those areas by removing invasive plants and trees ... come join us!

Meet at the Main Gate at 9 AM, see the map, details, and register at http://outreach.myfwc.com/event/BTGFeb2015

Remove Invasive Guava Trees to Help Restore State Forest

Prairie Tract of the Lake Wales Ridge State Forest (near Frostproof, FL)

Wednesday, February 25, 8 am to noon.

We'll be using handsaws, loppers, and chainsaws (for qualified Ridge Rangers) to help restore this habitat by removing invasive guava trees.

Meet at the Forest Service Office on CR 630 near Frostproof at 8 AM (we'll be moving from there to the Prairie Tract). See http://outreach.myfwc.com/event/LWRSFFeb2015 for the meet location map and to register.

Remove Old Debris to Maintain Conservation Land

FWC Carter Creek Unit (near Sebring, FL)

Saturday, February 28, from 8 am to noon.

We'll be removing old dumped debris, tires, glass, and appliances to help restore this conservation area to a natural state. This is a great opportunity to see this large oak scrub habitat site and help maintain it for endangered species.

Meet at the Carter Creek parking area on Riverdale Road at 8 AM. See the map and register at http://outreach.myfwc.com/event/CarterCreekFeb2015.

News & Updates

Jan 24 2015: Ridge Rangers in training for the pilot phase of the Bonneted Bat Citizen Science Project see and "hear" the echo-locations of a bat (resting in the hands of the instructor with the light hair)

Bonneted Bat Citizen Science Project

In February 2015, FWC is starting a citizen science project in the Central Florida area to determine the presence of the endangered and elusive Bonneted Bat using special acoustic recording devices, which will be located for one week at each of the participant's residences. The area of interest is between the Peace and Kissimmee Rivers, and bounded on the north by SR 60 and on the south by SR 70. If you're a Ridge Ranger and live in this area and would like to participate -- or just learn more about the project -- please contact bill.parken@myfwc.com.

Learn about Bonneted Bats at this link.

Ridge Rangers remove air pototo from FWC Lake Blue

Jan 24 2015: Ridge Rangers deep in the brush removing invasive air potato at FWC Lake Blue Scrub

Ridge Rangers participate in Regional Air Potato Mega Raid

The Heartland, Central Florida, and Osceola County Cooperative Invasive Species Management Areas sponsored eight events across the region last Saturday focused on eliminating invasive air potato. Ridge Rangers hosted the event at FWC Lake Blue unit, where 366 pounds of the potatoes were removed!

Interestingly, the potatoes gathered at these events won’t be destroyed, but rather used to grow biological agents to attack more air potato plants! See this Univ of Florida link for more about air potato biological controls.

Editor: Bill Parken, Ridge Rangers Coordinator, bill.parken@myfwc.com

Ridge Rangers are volunteers helping to restore wildlife habitat on the Lake Wales Ridge and nearby areas in Central Florida. Learn more

Ridge Rangers website: myfwc.com/ridgerangers

Upcoming schedule at Ridge Rangers Online Calendar.

Want to participate in the Ridge Rangers program? Apply here, or just look on our calendar, sign up for a workday and come on out! There are no dues and no commitments in the Ridge Ranger program.

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