FWC Biologists Face the Challenges of Restoring Native Habitat for Florida’s Wildlife
Florida defines its boundaries,
government, and character in the
state constitution. Article II says
“It shall be the policy of the state
to conserve and protect its natural
resources and scenic beauty.” We
have a duty to bind the wounds we
inflict on the natural treasures that
lend so much to the enviable life-
style we Floridians enjoy.
Key Definitions
1. Ecological Restoration: Ecological
restoration is the process of assisting
the recovery of an ecosystem that
has been degraded, damaged, or
destroyed (SER 2004). This definition
has been adopted by the Florida Fish
and Wildlife Conservation Com-
mission Ground Cover Restoration
Team.
2. Donor Site: A donor site is a
biologically diverse and exotic plant-
free area of land where native plant
seed is collected either by hand or
machine.
3. Recipient Site: A recipient site
is an area of land that has been
degraded, damaged, or destroyed
by past land-use practices and is in
need of replanting with native plant
seed.
4. Site Preparation: Site prepara-
tion involves using various chemical
and/or mechanical manipulations
to the recipient site that will produce
a mineral-soil seed-bed on which to
plant native seed.
*Society for Ecological Restoration International Science & Policy Working Group (SER). 2004. The SER International Primer on
Ecological Restoration. www.ser.org & Tucson: Society for Ecological Restoration International.
2 FFWCC Restoring Florida’s Native Plant Communities from the Ground Up: 2006-2007 Annual Report
• Providing nesting and foraging
habitat for native wildlife, includ-
Photo Credit: Erick Blackmore
ing threatened and endangered
species
• Promoting healthy natural com-
munities
• Restricting the expansion of non-
native plants
• Providing human services such as
flood control, water storage, aqui-
Scrub jays need specific amounts fer recharge, oxygen production,
of bare ground and shrubs to
forage and raise their young. and recreational opportunities
Florida has wrangled with the Agriculture in Florida has trans-
challenges of restoring native hab- formed native plant communities
itat for a long time. As far back like sandhills, scrub, flatwoods and
as the late 1920s, phosphate min- prairies into pastures, pine planta-
ing companies launched voluntary tions and other farming operations.
reclamation projects and, in the More than 100,000 acres of these
1950s, public concern prompted altered habitats are on Florida Fish
the Florida Legislature to begin and Wildlife Conservation Com-
weighing in on environmental res- mission (FWC) managed lands.
toration. In 1975, Florida law- As the lead managers on 1.4 mil-
makers passed the first legislation lion acres, FWC biologists have
requiring phosphate companies to taken on an ambitious and system-
restore the lands they mined. Res- atic approach to fine-tune restora-
toration expanded over time and
today includes lands managed by
the state.
The legislature has an estab-
lished policy to increase restoration
on public lands (F.S. 259.032(1)).
Restoring native habitat fulfills cru-
cial environmental functions and
Bobwhite quail take advantage
services such as:
of newly planted ground cover
at a restoration area.
 Over the last century, native habitat has been converted to various agricultural operations. Pastures that
occur on FWC-managed lands are being restored to their once diverse native pine-grasslands.

tion techniques and practices on and bare ground the threatened

altered habitats. In the Concep-
tual Management Plan for each
FWC-managed property, one of
the stated management goals is to
restore altered habitats that occur
on the property to a native habitat
condition.
These non-native habitats cannot
support native wildlife populations
that depend on specific native
plants for food or cover. Short-
legged ground birds, such as bob-
white quail, for instance, cannot
travel very well through non-na-
tive pasture grasses. Traditionally
managed pine stands sustain fewer
birds and bird species than we find
in mature restored pine-grassland
stands (Wood et al. 2004). Once
plowed, agricultural fields do not
provide the combination of shrubs
It shall be the policy of the
state to conserve and protect
its natural resources and
scenic beauty - Florida State
Constitution.
Restoring native ground cover
provides a diversity of food for
healthy gopher tortoises.
Florida scrub jays need for forag-
ing and raising their young. Re-
storing these altered lands to native
habitat is one approach that FWC
can take to protect and conserve
Florida’s wildlife.
Just as builders start with the foun-
dation when constructing a house,
FWC biologists begin restoration
efforts from the ground up by re-
establishing native grasses, herbs
and other soft-stemmed plants,
known as ground cover. When the
ground cover matures, FWC bi-
ologists analyze the need to plant
shrubs and trees. Had they plant-
ed shrubs and trees first, reestab-
lishing proper ground cover would
be more expensive and more likely
to fail. When 90% of the plants
on a restored site consist of native

Wood, D. R., W. Burger Jr., J. L. Bowman, and C. L. Hardy. 2004. Avian community response to pine-grassland restoration. Wildlife
Society Bulletin 32(3):819-829.
FFWCC Restoring Florida’s Native Plant Communities from the Ground Up: 2006-2007 Annual Report 3
plants, then the restoration effort is pastures or agricultural fields, al-
considered a success. though two sites, Aucilla WMA and
Tide Swamp WMA, are former pine
As of June 2007, FWC biolo- plantations. FWC staff work on
gists have established study sites restoration projects themselves on
at 15 wildlife management areas most of the study sites, however on
(WMAs) and wildlife environmen- four sites contractors do much of
tal areas (WEAs) to launch ground the work. They include Lake Wales A diverse native ground cover
cover restoration (Table 1). FWC Ridge WEA, Moody Branch WEA, supports many species of grass-
es and wildflowers that will
staff is restoring flatwoods, san- Dinner Island WMA and Spirit of
attract a variety of insects, which
dhills and dry prairie habitats. the Wild WMA. are the building blocks of the
Most of the study sites are former wildlife food chain.

Table 1
Current FWC ground cover restoration study sites on 15 wildlife management areas
and wildlife environmental areas.

4 FFWCC Restoring Florida’s Native Plant Communities from the Ground Up: 2006-2007 Annual Report
FWC Biologists Develop Specific Steps to Restore Ground Cover

FWC biologists have determined 3. Collect the right combination of 5. Maintain the newly planted
the following six steps produce the native ground cover seeds for the ground cover by spot treating
best results for successful ground restoration area from a non-native any remaining non-native and/or
cover restoration on study sites. plant-free location, known as a weedy plants.
donor site. It takes three acres of a
1. Determine the native habitat donor site to provide enough seed
type and decide what it will take to to replant one acre of the restora-
restore the site to its native condi- tion area.
tion.

6. Monitor plant and wildlife use on

the restored site and refine restora-
tion techniques where necessary.

2. Prepare the site by eradicating

non-native and weedy plant spe-
cies to establish a bare mineral-
soil seed bed.

4. Plant the native seeds using

equipment that will provide good
seed and soil contact. To ensure
proper coverage of the restoration
area, seeds are planted at a rate of
10-12 pounds per acre.

FFWCC Restoring Florida’s Native Plant Communities from the Ground Up: 2006-2007 Annual Report 5
FWC Biologists Overcome Challenges in Order to Move Forward with Large-Scale
Ground Cover Restoration

Having tested and fine-tuned successful restoration techniques, FWC biologists are planning their next
ground cover restoration activities. They are anticipating specific challenges ahead and gearing up to over-
come them.

• Biologically diverse and weed-

free donor sites are limited to a few
areas on FWC-managed lands.
Biologists are improving additional
donor sites on WMAs and WEAs.
Through aggressive prescribed
burning, and other management
tools, they can cultivate new donor
sites which are diverse and weed
free.

Prescribed burning at Three Lakes Wildlife Management Area is used

to stimulate native seed production.
• An increase in donor sites on
FWC-managed lands will provide
only a portion of the seeds the
FWC needs to restore all the lands
that need attention. The agency is
encouraging seed producers in the
private sector to help cultivate and
market more seed sources for na-
tive ground cover.

This tall stand of native grass on private lands is loaded with seed
that was collected and then planted at a restoration site at Moody
Branch Wildlife Environmental Area.

6 FFWCC Restoring Florida’s Native Plant Communities from the Ground Up: 2006-2007 Annual Report
• Farmers and ranchers typically
choose extremely hardy grasses for
grazing such as bahia and Bermu-
da. Consequently, these grasses
are difficult to replace with native
grasses, and the longer an area
has been in pasturage, the more
resources are required to restore it
to native ground cover. FWC bi-
ologists must spend an additional
year treating older pastures with
chemicals to remove all exotic
pasture grasses.

Dense mats of pasture grasses reduce food availability and hinders

movement for many types of wildlife.

• Privately contracted ground cov-

er restoration may cost as much
as $1,800 per acre. When FWC
biologists perform a ground cover
restoration project, the restoration
costs are around $800 per acre,
and approximately $400 per acre
is spent on necessary equipment.
However, once purchased, equip-
ment costs are minimized to repairs
and maintenance. As projects are
completed, biologists are able to
compare in-house and contracted
costs for future project planning
(Figure 1).
Figure 1
Comparison of projected FWC in-house and contracted ground cover
restoration costs.

FFWCC Restoring Florida’s Native Plant Communities from the Ground Up: 2006-2007 Annual Report 7
FWC Staff at Three Lakes Wildlife Management Area Successfully Restore Native Ground Cover

Three Lakes is located in south- other winter migrants. Sandhill, • Root-raking and burning un-
ern Osceola County, approximate- flatwoods, and prairie are types wanted shrubs;
• Broadcasting herbicide to re-
ly 30 miles south of St. Cloud and of habitat that make up the grass-
move non-native ground cover;
bordered by lakes Marian, Jackson lands at Three Lakes WMA. • Burning dead material after her-
and Kissimmee. It is part of the bicide treatments; and
Kissimmee Prairie which historically Concerns over nationwide de- • Disking and rolling the site to
was a vast grassland system mak- clines of grassland bird species create a mineral-soil seed bed.
ing it one of the most biologically have prompted the restoration of
valuable areas in central Florida. 400 acres of improved pasture at After preparing the site, biologists
Three Lakes (Figure 2). Before col- collect native seeds from a donor
Native grassland habitat is criti- lecting and planting native seeds, area of Three Lakes WMA that
cal to sustaining migratory and FWC biologists at Three Lakes has diverse plant species as well as
nesting songbirds such as mead- WMA carry out specific site prep- a history of spring burning. The
owlarks, Bachman’s sparrows, arations on the restoration area, collected seeds are planted on the
Florida grasshopper sparrows, and such as: prepared restoration site and any

Figure 2
Ground cover restoration area locations at Three Lakes WMA. The restoration areas are sur-
rounded by additional grasslands, which is the desired ground cover to be planted.

8 FFWCC Restoring Florida’s Native Plant Communities from the Ground Up: 2006-2007 Annual Report
remnant non-native ground cover
is spot-treated with herbicide for
multiple years. Prescribed burn-
ing the restored area is the final
process used to reestablish a na-
tive plant community. Total cost to
complete successful ground cover
restoration on the 400-acres at
Three Lakes WMA is an estimated
$730 per acre.
The FWC monitors the separate
plant species at the restoration site
and compares them to the donor
site. Initial results from Three
Lakes show the planted native
ground cover is working. Within
two years of planting native seed,
the desired grasses are significant-
ly more abundant than the non-
…the improved habitat value
[due to restoration] increases
the likelihood of the species
continued existence in the
face of dwindling and frag-
mented native habitats.
native grasses (Figure 3). At this
time, 97% of the grasses that are
occurring on the restoration area
are native plants.
Providing a rich, diverse ground
cover improves forage, cover, and
nesting habitat for specialists like
Florida grasshopper sparrows and
gopher tortoises. Game species
such as bobwhite quail and wild
turkey also flourish when ground
cover is returned to a native condi-
tion. As wildlife return to these re-
stored areas and increase in num-
bers, the improved habitat value
increases the likelihood of the
species’ continued existence in the
face of dwindling and fragmented
native habitats.

Figure 3
Pre- and post-seeding frequency of occurrence of nonnative and desired native plants from a
ground cover restoration project at Three Lakes WMA. Frequency of desired native plants has
increased from June 2005 to November 2007 while nonnative plants have decreased.
FFWCC Restoring Florida’s Native Plant Communities from the Ground Up: 2006-2007 Annual Report 9
 Beginning

After a mineral-soil seed-bed has been

prepared the native seed is planted. Three
months post-planting, patches of plants
begin to sprout on the restoration area.

End

March 2006

After almost two years post-planting na-

tive seed, the restoration area now looks
like a mature grassland. The dog fennel
has dropped out and the native desired
grasses have matured and spread out. At
this point in time, the lopsided Indian grass
is in full bloom, however there are other
mature grasses mixed in that will flower at
different times of the year. It is expected
that as time goes on and growing season
prescribed burning is returned to the resto-
ration area the desired plants will continue
to thrive and provide forage and cover to
wildlife.

October 2007

August 2

10 FFWCC Restoring Florida’s Native Plant Communities from the Ground Up: 2006-2007 Annual Report
 Five months after planting seed, many na-
tive plants have germinated and are easier
to identify. Some restoration sites will ex-
perience a rapid growth of invading woody
plants such as dog fennel. But this is only a
temporary response, and weedy plants are
eventually replaced by native species.

May 2006

Almost one year after seed planting the

restoration area still appears weedy. Dog
fennel has grown considerably and is dom-
inant on the restoration area. Although
it looks impenetrable, when viewed from
above there is space on the ground for the
desired plants to continue to grow.

After two growing seasons the dog fen-

nel has decreased greatly and the desired
planted species are maturing. No action
November 2006
was done on the restoration area that
would affect the dog fennel growth. By
leaving the site alone to self organize na-
ture takes it’s course.

st 2007

FFWCC Restoring Florida’s Native Plant Communities from the Ground Up: 2006-2007 Annual Report 11
“Managing Fish and Wildlife Populations for their Long-
term Well-being and the Benefit of People.”

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