Aucilla Wildlife Management Area (WMA) | |
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![]() Entrance sign at Boundary Road | |
Location | Jefferson County, Florida |
Nearest city | Tallahassee, Florida |
Coordinates | 30°16′31″N83°59′42″W / 30.27528°N 83.99500°W Coordinates: 30°16′31″N83°59′42″W / 30.27528°N 83.99500°W |
Area | 50,549 Acres |
Governing body | Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission |
Aucilla Wildlife Management Area conserves 50,549 acres of hydric hammock, mesic flatwoods, upland forest, and spring-run river twelve miles southeast of Tallahassee in Jefferson and Taylor Counties in Florida.
The expanse of Aucilla WMA and its diversity of habitats provides a home to a large diversity of animal species. Mammals range from Florida black bears and bobcats to North American river otters and white-tailed deer. The property is part of the Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail due to its abundance of warblers, limpkins and wood storks, along with many other migratory and resident bird species. Reptiles and amphibians are represented by species such as eastern diamondback rattlesnakes, gopher tortoises and American alligators. [1]
Evidence of Aucilla Wildlife Management Area's history dates back at least 12,000 years. Bones of prehistoric mammals such as mastodons and giant ground sloths have been found in the Wacissa River, Aucilla River and sinkhole ponds located on the property. Arrow points, pottery and human remains point to the heavy use of this area by Native Americans over the past several thousand years. [2]
Slaves modified an existing channel that connected the Aucilla and Wacissa River in an attempt from their masters to enhance access to the Gulf of Mexico from northern markets. [3] Seminole Indians hid out in the dense swamps during offensive campaigns during the Seminole Wars. In the early 1900s, the area saw increased human use as its old-growth bald cypress and longleaf pine was heavily logged. [4]
The size and composition of Aucilla Wildlife Management Area allow for a range of recreational activities. The Aucilla and Wacissa Rivers are two of the most popular paddling streams in the Florida Panhandle. The Aucilla River passes karst formations and is considered to be a more challenging paddle. The clear, spring-fed Wacissa River is more popular with tubers and those seeking a more relaxing paddle. [5]
The Aucilla Sinks Trail, along with portions of the Florida National Scenic Trail, give hikers access to karst features like sinkholes and solution holes. Goose Pasture Campground along the Wacissa River contains a number of campsites available on a first-come, first-served basis. [6]
The sloughs and rivers of Aucilla WMA contain strong populations of largemouth bass, Suwannee bass and bream. [7] Wild turkeys, white-tailed deer and, especially, feral hogs are abundant in the area and hunters may pursue them during the appropriate seasons. [8]
Media related to Aucilla Wildlife Management Area at Wikimedia Commons
Jefferson County is a county located in the Big Bend region in the northern part of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2010 census, the population was 14,761. Its county seat is Monticello.
Manatee Springs State Park is a Florida State Park located six miles west of Chiefland on SR 320, off US 19. Manatee Spring is a first magnitude spring that flows directly into the Suwannee River by way of a short run. Present also are swamps and hardwood wetlands along the Suwannee, along with many sinkhole ponds, including one with a cave 90 feet below the ground that connects to a popular divers' destination known as the catfish hotel.
The Red Hills or Tallahassee Hills is a region of gently rolling hills in the southeastern United States. It is a geomorphic region and an ecoregion.
The Cody Scarp or Cody Escarpment is located in north and north central Florida United States. It is a relict scarp and ancient persistent topographical feature formed from an ancient early Pleistocene shorelines of ~1.8 million to 10,000 years BP during interglacial periods. The Cody Scarp has a slope of 5% to 12%.
Tosohatchee Wildlife Management Area is located along the St. Johns River east of Orlando in Christmas on Taylor Creek Road, off SR 50.
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The Florida Trail is one of eleven National Scenic Trails in the United States. It currently runs 1,500 miles (2,400 km), from Big Cypress National Preserve to Fort Pickens at Gulf Islands National Seashore, Pensacola Beach. Also known as the Florida National Scenic Trail, the Florida Trail provides permanent non-motorized recreation opportunity for hiking and other compatible activities and is within an hour of most Floridians. The Florida National Scenic Trail is designated as a National Scenic Trail by the National Trails System Act of 1968.
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The Wacissa River is a large, spring-fed stream located in south-central Jefferson County, Florida. Its headwaters are located about a mile south of the town of Wacissa, where the river emerges crystal clear from a group of large limestone springs. From its headsprings, the river flows approximately 12 miles (19 km) south through a broad cypress swamp before breaking into numerous braided channels which join the Aucilla River a few miles further south. The river is managed by the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission as part of the Aucilla Wildlife Management Area, and has been declared an Outstanding Florida Waterway by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is a Florida government agency founded in 1999 and headquartered in Tallahassee. It manages and regulates the state's fish and wildlife resources, and enforces related laws. Officers are managers, researchers, and support personnel, and perform law enforcement in the course of their duties.
Green Bottom Wildlife Management Area is located on former plantation lands of U.S. Congressman and Confederate General Albert G. Jenkins. The 1,096 acres (444 ha) in Cabell County and Mason County are located along the banks of the Ohio River about 16 miles (26 km) north of Huntington, West Virginia. The Green Bottom WMA land is a mixture of farmland, mixed hardwood forest, wetlands, and open water. The Jenkins Plantation Museum is located on Corps of Engineers land adjacent to the WMA. The museum is located in the original 1835 Green Bottom Plantation House, and is operated by the West Virginia Division of Culture and History.
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Econfina Creek is a small river in the middle Florida Panhandle. It flows through hilly country, and has sections of whitewater rapids. Much of its flow comes from springs. The river ends at Deer Point Lake, a reservoir that provides the freshwater supply for Panama City and much of Bay County.
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Fred C. Babcock/Cecil M. Webb Wildlife Management Area (WMA) is Florida's oldest Wildlife Management Area and protects 80,772 acres just south and east of Punta Gorda in Charlotte and Lee Counties, Florida. The area is accessed from its own exit off of Interstate-75.
Escribano Point Wildlife Management Area (EPWMA) contains 4,057 acres of salt marsh, shrub bog, and sandhill habitat fourteen miles north of Pensacola in Santa Rosa County, Florida. In 2004, an initial 1,166 acres were acquired by the Florida Forever program and leased to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to establish the EPWMA.
Apalachee Wildlife Management Area (WMA) consists of 7,952 acres of upland longleaf pine and wetland habitat three miles north of Sneads in Jackson County, Florida. The area is broken up into three management zones, all located along Lake Seminole and the Chattahoochee River.
Suwannee Ridge Wildlife and Environmental Area (WEA) conserves 1,428 acres of longleaf pine uplands, karst topography and hardwood hammocks ten miles southwest of Jasper in Hamilton County, Florida.
Fort White Wildlife and Environmental Area (WEA) protects 1,610 acres of primarily sandhill habitat four miles west of Fort White in Gilchrist County, Florida.