Emmer’s Sorrento Tracts

Rapid Ecological Project Assessment

Alachua County Forever

Draft Date: March 14, 2003

Matrix Score: 4.73 of 9.44

Size: 71 Acres

Number of parcels: 3

Number of owners: 1

Number of Buildings: 0

Location/Description:

The 71-acre Emmer’s Sorrento Tracts (EST) Project is located in an urbanized area of northwest Gainesville. NW 53^rd Avenue borders the site to the north, Norton Elementary School and Rainbows End subdivision to the south, and NW 23^rd Terrace and the Rainbows East subdivision to the west. It is approximately half a mile west of 441 (Map 1). The site is surrounded by residential development. The project is approximately 1.5 miles from the Murphee Wellfield Conservation Easement and 2.5 miles from Devil’s Millhopper State Park, however these connections are through dense residential and commercial development. The closest Alachua County Forever (ACF) project is the 72- acre Hartman Mackey Project, located approximately .2 miles east of the EST site. The site consists of approximately 63 acres of varying quality mesic flatwoods and basin swamp natural communities with a small portion of sandhill and approximately 11 acres of highly disturbed areas.

Protecting Water Resources:

According to the Florida Geological Survey Open File Report 21, approximately 81% of the Emmer’s Sorrento Tracts project is located within the confined aquifer zone of Alachua County, Macesich 1988. This zone is characterized by generally higher elevations underlain by phosphatic clayey sands, sandy clays, and carbonates of the Hawthorn Group. It prevents the rapid movement of surface waters into the Floridan Aquifer. The remaining 18% of the project lies within the perforated aquifer zone. Sediments underlying the perforated zone may contain substantial thickness of clays, but are perforated by numerous karst features, which allow direct hydrologic access to the aquifer.

According to the St. John’s River Water Management District’s Aquifer Recharge Map for Alachua County, 100% of the Emmer’s Sorrento Tracts project exists in a high aquifer recharge area where 12 inches or more of water is recharged to the aquifer on a yearly basis. According to Aucott (1988), the project is located in an area where greater than 10 inches of water per year is recharged to the aquifer.

Of the 71 total acres of land within the Emmer’s Sorrento Tracts project, approximately 29% of the total acreage is either defined wetlands, areas containing hydric soils, or is areas that fall within the FEMA 100 and 500 year floodplain.

The Emmer’s Sorrento Tracts project is located on the upper northeast arm of Hogtown Creek. The wetlands on the property provide temporary storage of water during periods of high rainfall. Water flows southeast into Hogtown Creek which then flows in a southwest direction into Hogtown Prairie and then into Haile Sink where it enters the Floridan aquifer.

Protecting Natural Communities and Landscapes:

Natural Communities

Mesic Flatwoods

Sandhill

Basin Swamp

Seepage Stream

Floodplain Forest

Other

Old Field degraded area

The above list of natural communities is based on a site visit conducted by the City of Gainesville Nature Operations Division in August of 2001. The ecological quality of the site ranges from poor to good.

The predominant natural community is mesic flatwoods, comprising approximately 56 acres located in the central, south and eastern portions of the site. Approximately ten of the 56 acres are of moderate to high quality sandhill, and are more xeric in nature than the rest of the property. This habitat contains a sparse overstory of longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) and slash pine (Pinus elliottii), and groundcover consisting of saw palmetto (Serenoa repens), wiregrass (Aristida beyrichiana), gallberry (Ilex glabra), shiny blueberry (Vaccinium myrsinites), and dwarf huckleberry (Gaylussacia dumosa). The property contains sandhill communities. These are becoming increasingly rare in the Gainesville city limits. However, this parcel’s sandhill natural community is small, fragmented, and is in need of prescribed fire to limit the abundant hardwood encroachment that is evident by a subcanopy of laurel oak (Quercus laurifolia) and water oak (Quercus nigra) and to maintain the longleaf pine and wiregrass present on the site. The remaining mesic flatwoods have been altered, exhibiting fewer typical species than the sandhill, a high density of loblolly (Pinus taeda) and slash pines, a dense midstory of hardwoods, and low groundcover diversity.

Basin swamp occupies ± 5 acres of the project site. This natural community is dominated by cypress (Taxodium ascendens), swamp tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica var. biflora), red maple (Acer rubrum), loblolly bay (Gordonia lasianthus), and red bay (Persea borbonia), with an understory of fetterbush (Lyonia lucida), royal fern (Osmunda regalis), netted chain fern (Woodwardia areolata), and Virginia chain fern (Woodwardia virginica). It is moderately disturbed, with evidence of hydrologic alteration and soil subsidence. The overstory contains most typical species characteristic of a basin swamp, however, the canopy is not mature, and the understory has low species diversity.

Approximately 11 acres of the site are highly degraded and is not a functioning natural community. There is an extremely high density of invasive, non-native plant species and soil disturbance in the form of mounds and old cement dumpsites is found throughout this portion of the Project.

The property is just south of the headwaters of Hogtown Creek and a portion of this seepage stream runs through the eastern edge of the site (Map 2). The streambed of the creek is very narrow at this locality. Floodplain forest associated with this seepage stream is limited in this area. A canopy of relatively mature mixed hardwoods such as pignut hickory (Carya glabra), swamp chestnut oak (Quercus michauxii) and sugarberry (Celtis laevigata) form a narrow band following the stream formation. A dense understory of blue stem palmetto (Sabal minor) occurs in this area.

None of the EST Project site is within the Florida Ecological Greenways Network (FEGN). The Florida Ecological Greenways Network is a decision support model to help identify the best opportunities to protect ecological connectivity statewide. It was developed by the University of Florida for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. GIS data on land use and significant ecological areas were integrated in a process that identified a statewide Ecological Greenways Network containing all of the largest areas of ecological and natural resource significance and the landscape linkages necessary to link these areas together in one functional statewide network, Hoctor et al., 2002.

There are no Strategic Habitat Conservation Areas within the EST Project area. Strategic Habitat Conservation Areas were developed by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FFWCC). They are private lands containing habitats critical to the continued survival of populations of inadequately protected plants and animals, Cox et al. 2000. These lands are essential to providing some of state’s rarest animals, plants, and natural communities with the land base necessary to sustain populations into the future, Cox et al., 1994.

Twelve percent of the site is within the Florida Natural Areas Inventory (FNAI) Priority 5 Habitat Conservation Priorities. FNAI’s Habitat Conservation Priorities prioritize places on the landscape that would protect both the greatest number of rare species and those species with the greatest conservation need, Florida Natural Areas Inventory, June 2001.

No portion of the EST Project is delineated as an Under-represented Natural Community by FNAI. FNAI Under-represented Natural Communities are those natural community types that were inadequately represented on conservation lands in Florida. A natural community is considered to be inadequately represented if less than 15% of the original extent of that community is currently found on existing conservation lands. Under-represented natural communities include, seepage slope, upland hardwood forest, pine rockland, tropical hardwood hammock, sandhill, scrub, upland glades, and pine flatwoods. This data was developed by the Office of Environmental Services, Florida Department of Environmental Protection and FNAI, FNAI, December 2001.

The Emmer’s Sorrento Project is a small, fragmented parcel located in a very urbanized portion of Alachua County and the City of Gainesville. It has no functional connections to larger greenspaces or conservation areas.

PROTECTING PLANT AND ANIMAL SPECIES:

Common Name Endemic/ Large Fed/State FCREPA/FNAI Observed

Home-Range Status Designation

Reptiles

Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake -/- -/- -/S3 SM

Eastern Indigo Snake -/- T/T SSC/S3 SM

Florida Pine Snake -/- -/SSC SU/S3 SM

Birds

Cooper’s Hawk -/- -/- SSC/S3 SM

Osprey -/- -/- T/S3S4 SM

Mammals

Florida Black Bear X/L -/T T/S2 F

X= Endemic, L=species with large home ranges according to the Closing the Gaps in Florida’s Wildlife Habitat System, S= observed by Alachua Co. EPD staff and/or an LCB subcommittee member, SM= documented on the Species Models maps created by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, F= Focal species used for the most detailed analyses in the Closing the Gaps in Florida’s Wildlife Habitat Conservation System, Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission, 1994, N= Florida Natural Areas Inventory Element Occurrence, P= potential for species based on habitat types, K=documented in the Alachua County Ecological Inventory Project.

The above data lists the Florida black bear as a possible inhabitant of the EST site; however this species is unlikely to found in this area because of the isolation of the site within an urban area as well as its small size. If a black bear was found on the project site, it would most likely be relocated to more suitable habitat.

Royal fern was the only listed plant found on the property; however extensive listed species surveys were not conducted. The Florida Natural Areas Inventory Elements of Occurrence data (2001) does not indicate any FNAI tracked species and the FFWCC 2001 bald eagle nest data shows no bald eagle nests on or near the EST site.

Several invasive, non-native plant species were found on the site, mostly concentrated in high densities within the 11 acre disturbed area. These include Chinese tallow tree (Sapium sebiferum), air potato (Dioscorea bulbifera), glossy privet (Ligustrum lucidum), mimosa (Albizia julibrissin), and Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica).

The EST property is not within one of the Regional Biodiversity Hotspot areas. The purpose of the Regional Biodiversity Hot Spots maps, developed by FFWCC, is to “convey more detailed information on the known locations of as many components of biological diversity as possible, regardless of whether or not they fall within proposed Strategic Habitat Conservation Areas, to help meet the need for conservation information at regional and local levels”, Cox et al., 1994.

Management:

Vigilant management is necessary to control the spread of invasive, non-native plants which are already in high densities throughout a large portion of the site. In addition, a significant portion of the natural communities are degraded due to lack of prescribed fire. Prescribed fire is necessary to control the hardwood encroachment that is evident by a subcanopy of laurel and water oak and to maintain the remnant wiregrass and other groundcover species. Prescribed fire at this site would be difficult to implement due to the surrounding urban land use. In addition, hydrological restoration may be necessary to enhance the basin swamp natural community. This type of restoration would be difficult to achieve due to the sites isolation within a very urbanized area and the inability to flood adjacent properties.

Achieving Social and Human Values:

The EST site is a not listed as a Natural Resource-based Recreation Area, Knight, et al. 2000, nor as a priority Ecological Greenway. The Natural Resource-based Recreation map was developed by FNAI in collaboration with DEP, FFWCC and the Florida Division of Forestry. The recreation potential of a site depends on available road access, presence of a water body or beach, proximity to urban areas, and size of the site. “These criteria were applied to Potential Natural Areas delineated by FNAI using aerial photography and revised using the 1995 Water Management District land cover data. Sites were ranked by recreation potential.” Knight, et al. 2000. In addition, the EST Project is not included in the Emerald Necklace Land Conservation Initiative - “a publicly accessible, connected, and protected network of trails, greenways, open space, and waterfronts surrounding the Gainesville urban area.

The EST Project is an easily accessible urban natural area located in a residential area. This site would provide an opportunity for local residents to explore nature and may provide some environmental interpretation opportunities for nearby schools. At a minimum, the site provides needed urban greenspace within a developed area of Gainesville.

Economic & Acquisition

In February 2003, the EST parcels received development and plat approval for a single family residential development called Sorrento. The plans call for the development of 77 single family lots with several common areas and conservation areas, primarily used for stormwater management. The Sorrento project is currently in the process of selling off these lots and developing the project.

For comparison to other ACF projects, the ACPA’s 2002 Just Value or land value for the entire project is $754,400 or $10,583.61/acre. The total value is the same as the Just value because there are no buildings or infrastructure on the site. These figures are for comparative purposes between nominated properties, and are not an accurate reflection of the true cost of the property if acquired by the Alachua County Forever Program.

Parcel 07891-000-000 and 07891-001-000 would be considered keystone parcels for this project. Parcel 7891-002-000 is not considered a keystone parcel because it is so degraded and has little to no environmental integrity when considered on its own.

Literature Citations

Aucott, W. 1988. Water Resources Investigation Report 88-4057. USGS.

Cox, J., R. Kautz, M. MacLaughlin, and T. Gilbert. 1994. Closing the Gaps in Florida’s Wildlife Habitat Conservation System, Office of Environmental Services, Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission, Tallahassee, Florida.

Cox, J. and R. Kautz. 2000. Habitat Conservation Needs of Rare and Imperiled Wildlife in Florida. Office of Environmental Services, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Tallahassee, Florida.

Florida Natural Areas Inventory. June 2001. Florida Forever Conservation Needs Assessment Technical Report

Hoctor, T.S., J. Teisinger, M.G. Carr., P.C, Zwick. 2002. Identification of Critical Linkages Within the Florida Ecological Greenways Network. Final Report. Office of Greenways and Trails, Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Tallahassee, FL.

Knight, G., A. Knight, and J. Oetting. 2000. Florida Forever Conservation Needs Assessment Summary Report to the Florida Forever Advisory council. Florida Natural Areas Inventory.