Paynes Prairie Additions

Rapid Ecological Project Assessment

Alachua County Forever

Draft Date: March 18, 2003

Matrix Score: 6.98

Size: 420 acres

Number of parcels: 21

Number of owners: 18

Number of Buildings: 15

Location/Description:

The 420 acre Paynes Prairie Additions (PPA) Project is located in unincorporated Alachua County south of the City of Gainesville and adjacent to Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park. The project is separated into two distinct areas by major roadways and residential development. Area 1 is located off of US 441, approximately 0.2 miles south of the intersection of Williston Road and US 441 (Map 1). Paynes Prairie forms the eastern boundary of this site. The second area is located to the south and north of SW 63^rd Avenue; Paynes Prairie forms the southern boundary of this site. The project is based on the Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) Additions and Inholdings list as areas targeted for the optimum boundary of Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park. In addition, this property received two nomination for inclusion in the Alachua County Forever (ACF) program. Acquisition of these lands is, “desirable for direct management by the Division as part of Paynes Prairie State Park. These parcels may include public as well as privately owned lands that improve the continuity of existing park lands, provide additional natural and cultural resource protection, and/or allow for future expansion of recreational activities…Remaining parcels would significantly enhance the protection and maintenance of the park and prairie basin” (Department of Environmental Protection 2001).

Only 79 of the 420 acres of the PPA Project was identified in the Alachua County Ecological Inventory Project (KBN Study) (KBN 1996). The project was called Serenola Forest. The purpose of this Study was to identify, inventory, map, describe, and evaluate the most significant natural biological communities, both upland and wetland, that remain in private ownership in Alachua County and make recommendations for protecting these natural resources, KBN 1996. The KBN Study ranked the Serenola Forest project 28th of 47 projects evaluated in the county, and categorized it as a slightly below average project.

Protecting Water Resources:

According to the Florida Geologic Survey Open File Report 21 (Macesich, 1988), 100% of the Paynes Prairie Additions 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. Johns River Water Management District’s Aquifer Recharge Map for Alachua County, approximately 76% of the Paynes Prairie Additions project exists in a high aquifer recharge area where 12 inches or more of water is recharged to the aquifer on a yearly basis. Approximately 7% is located in a moderately low recharge area where 4 to 8 inches of water per year is recharged to the aquifer. The remaining 17% is located in a low recharge area where 0 to 4 inches of water per year is recharged to the aquifer. 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 420 total acres of land within the PPA project, approximately 38% of the total acreage is wetlands, contains hydric soils, or are areas that fall within the FEMA 100 and 500 year flood hazard zones.

Most of the parcels within the project are located on the edge of the Paynes Prairie basin. Many of these parcels are prone to flooding due to their low elevation and close proximity to the prairie. However they are of higher elevation than the prairie and during periods of high rainfall water flows from these properties and enters the prairie. The properties are important because they include “wetlands, which drain into the prairie and are an integral part of the basin, and an upland buffer” (Department of Environmental Protection 2001) (Map 2).

Natural Communities

Upland Mixed Forest

Calcarious mesic hammock

Depression Marsh

Wet Prairie

Sinkhole

Other

High impact development (houses)

Old Field Pine Plantation

Rough Pasture

The above list of natural communities is from the KBN Report (KBN 1996) and from a brief staff field reconnaissance from adjacent roadways. The ecological quality of the natural communities ranges from poor to good.

Area 1 of the PPA Project is located alond a narrow strip between US 441 and the Paynes Prairie Basin. It contains several houses on large lots with varying levels of disturbance, but the natural communities are of poor to moderate quality throughout much of this site. Although large live oaks and other desirable tree species occur, ground cover diversity is low, many loblolly pines are present, and in some areas there has been significant ground disturbance. Natural regeneration of hardwood species is occurring in areas not actively maintained.

A small area of upland mixed forest, located in area two of the PPA Project, is of good quality and contains an overstory of pignut hickory, live oak, laurel oak, basswood, ash, and diverse groundcover.

The remainder of this area has been subjected to more intensive land use. Much of the site has either been planted in loblolly pine plantations which are now becoming second growth hardwood areas, or are maintained as pasture. A brief discussion with an adjacent landowner supported this; he mentioned that much of the property was converted from pasture to a pine plantation about 25 years ago. Thinning of this area occurred about 5-6 years ago. The site has little desirable overstory and low groundcover diversity. Volunteer loblolly pines are present near the boundaries of the site. However this property does contain three small sinkholes/dried up spring heads surrounded by good quality mesic hammock.

This project, despite its low to moderate quality natural areas, does provide an important buffer to Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park and has been identified by the State DEP as deserving of acquisition. It is included in the Additions and Inholdings list for the Division of State Lands and is addressed in the Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park Unit Management Plan (Department of Environmental Protection 2001) as an area within their Optimum Park Boundary.

Sixty-two percent of the project site is within the Florida Ecological Greenways Network (FEGN) unnamed Priority 6 Area. 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).

The PPA Project does not fall within a Strategic Habitat Conservation Area. Strategic Habitat Conservation Areas were developed by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). 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).

Approximately 95 percent of the site is within the Florida Natural Areas Inventory (FNAI) priority 4 and 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)

About 1% of the project area is delineated as Upland Hammock, an Under-represented Natural Community. 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 on conservation lands 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)

Protecting Plant and Animal Species:

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

Home-Range Status Designation

Amphibians

Eastern Tiger Salamander -/- -/- SU/S3 SM

Gopher Frog -/- -/SSC T/S3 SM

Striped Newt -/- -/- R/S2S3 SM

Reptiles

American Alligator -/- T/SSC -/S4 SM

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

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

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

Gopher Tortoise -/- -/SSC T/S3 F

Peninsula Mole Skink -/- -/- -/- SM

Short-tailed Snake X/- -/T T/S3 SM

Spotted Turtle -/- -/- R/S3? SM

Birds

Black-Crowned Night Heron -/- -/- SSC/S3? SM

Black Rail -/- -/- R/S3 SM

Cooper’s Hawk -/- -/- SSC/S3 SM

Florida Sandhill Crane X/L -/T T/S3 F,S

Great Egret -/- -/- SSC/S4 SM

Least Bittern -/- -/- SSC/S4 SM

Little Blue Heron -/- -/SSC SSC/S4 SM

Snowy Egret -/- -/SSC SSC/S3 SM

Southern Bald Eagle -/L T/T T/S3 F

Swallow-tailed Kite -/L -/- T/S2 F

Tricolored Heron -/- -/SSC SSC/S4 SM

White Ibis -/- -/SSC SSC/S4 SM

Wild Turkey -/L F

Wood Stork -/- E/E E/S2 SM

Mammals

Bobcat -/L -/- -/- F

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

Northern Yellow Bat -/- -/- SU/- SM

Round-tailed Muskrat X/- -/- SSC/S3 SM

Sherman’s Fox Squirrel -/- -/SSC T/S3 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 KBN Study noted Godfrey’s privet and greenfly orchid on the Serenola Forest site, however it is unclear whether these occur on the PPA Project area or occurred in a different area of the 575 acre KBN Project.

The FWC 2001 data shows four bald eagle nests within 2 miles of the PPA Project site.

Thirty-seven percent of the site is within Regional Biodiversity Hotspots. The purpose of the Regional Biodiversity Hot Spots maps, developed by FWC, 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).

Exotic plants found on the Serenola Forest project include bordergrass, coralberry, Chinese privet, hedge privet, trifoliate orange, mimosa, white flowered spiderwort, paper mulberry, and Japanese honeysuckle in low abundance (KBN 1996). The brief field reconnaissance by ACF staff located an area of cogon grass on the project site.

Achieving Social and Human Values:

Only one percent of the Paynes Prairie Additions Project area is identified as a Priority two Natural Resource-based Recreation Area (Knight et al. 2000), and 62% is within a Priority six Florida Ecological Greenway Network Project. The Natural Resource-based Recreation map was developed by FNAI in collaboration with DEP, FWC and DOF. 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).

The project is included in the State Park Optimum Boundary listing.

The PPA Project is not part of 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” but was identified as a Conservation Area in the Initiative, due to its potential acquisition as part of the DEP Additions and Inholdings List.

The project would enhance the Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park by adding property identified in its Optimum Park Boundary, providing additional manageable area for natural and cultural resource protection, as well as potential recreational activities. A discussion with Jim Weimer, the Payne's Prairie Preserve State Park biologist, echoed this sentiment.

The property provides good opportunities for compatible resource based recreation, particularly in conjunction with recreational uses on Paynes Prairie.

Management Issues:

The PPA Project, although adjacent to Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park, is located in a low density residential urban matrix and is bisected by a major roadway (US 441). This imposes several management challenges including invasive plant infestations, implementation of prescribed fire and detrimental human activities.

Much of the PPA Project has been significantly altered by land use activities including converting natural areas to pasture, establishment of pine plantations, and clearing of land for development. Even in areas not currently managed for pines or pasture, the diversity within these habitats is poor to fair at best and is in need of environmental enhancement and restoration. This would include harvesting of the loblolly pines and prevention of loblolly pine recruitment, and allowing for natural regeneration in much of the site. More intensive restoration efforts such as direct seeding may be necessary to restore the pasture areas if desired. Prescribed fire may be applicable in restoring some of the upland areas that were historically mesic flatwoods. Invasive plant control and monitoring would also be necessary, particularly near residential areas.

However, this site, regardless of its environmental quality, still provides an important buffer for Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park.

Economic and Acquisition Issues:

There are 21 parcels and 18 owners in the 420 acre Paynes Prairie Additions Project. The Alachua County Property Appraiser (ACPA) shows 15 buildings occurring on the project site. The ACPA’s 2002 Just Value or land value for the entire project is $2,468,200 per acre or $5,881/acre. The ACPA’s total value (Just, Miscellaneous and Building) for the project area is $2,699,400or $6,427/ acre. These figures are for comparative purposes between nominated properties, and are not necessarily an accurate reflection of the true cost of the property if acquired by the Alachua County Forever Program.

All parcels are considered keystone because they have been identified on the DEP Additions and Inholdings list.

The property has several zoning designations: Parcel 07220-000-000 is zoned BH (Highway oriented business), Parcel 07222-002-000 is zoned AP (administration and professional), Parcel 07213-001-000 is zoned PUD (planned unit development); the remaining parcels are zoned residential at varying levels of density. The entire Project has a Future Land Use designation of residential.

There is an imminent threat of development on the project site.

Other:

The PPA Project contains many known archaeological sites, as is common around the perimeter of Paynes Prairie. There are nine Master Site File sites located within the boundaries of the Project. Monitoring and management of these sites for disturbance is necessary for their protection.

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.

Department of Environmental Protection. 2001. Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park Unit Management Plan. Advisory Group Review Draft. 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.

KBN, A Golder Associates Company. 1996. Alachua County Ecological Inventory Project. Prepared for Alachua County Department of Growth Management, Gainesville, Florida.

Macesich, M. 1988. Geologic Interpretation of the Aquifer Pollution Potential in Alachua County, Florida, Open File Report – 21. Florida Geologic Survey, Tallahassee, Florida.

Florida Natural Areas Inventory. December 2001. Florida Forever Conservation Needs Assessment Version 1.1 Supplement to the technical Report June 2001. Tallahassee, Florida.