Protecting pond wildlife

March 02, 2004

By Bruce Ritchie
DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER

The U.S. Forest Service is closing about 6,500 acres of the Apalachicola National Forest in Leon County to off-road vehicles because some motorists are driving through and along the shores of shallow ponds.

The striped newt and other rare wildlife depend on the ponds for breeding, biologists say. The ponds already are off-limits to vehicles, but some motorists are ignoring the rules, said Mary Pat King, a Forest Service law-enforcement officer.

"It's pretty frustrating if you can't catch people when they're here," King said Sunday while looking at a damaged pond.

The area south of Tallahassee will be closed temporarily while the Forest Service continues this year to study motor-vehicle use, said Kimberly Bittle, deputy district ranger for the Forest Service in Crawfordville. Licensed vehicles can continue to use numbered forest roads in the closed area.

Hundreds of vehicle drivers ride in the national forest on weekends, especially in the spring. A few of those who were interviewed Sunday said they don't want to harm ponds and wildlife. But they also said they don't want their access restricted.

Forest Service rules allow motor vehicles only on established trails within the national forest. Resource damage, which includes driving in or near ponds, is prohibited, King said.

Biologist Bruce Means said he's been studying life in the ponds since 1966 and has seen more extensive damage in the past five years. Recent letters from Means and other area residents raising concerns about vehicles prompted the closure, agency officials said.

About 20 species of amphibians live only in the shallow ponds, Means said. Other species include the gopher frog, mole salamander and chicken turtle, he said.

The ponds can remain dry for several years before refilling from rains. Vehicle tires destroy vegetation and cause deep ruts. Newts, salamanders and their larvae are trapped and die in the drying ruts as the ponds slowly recede.

Along the shoreline and throughout the forest, the vehicles also create wide sandy trails. They are barriers for the tiny newts and other rare creatures as they move between ponds or into the forest vegetation as part of their life cycles.

"When they come upon this big (bare) area, it's just like you and I coming upon a desert wondering if we could cross it and find any water along the way," he said.

On Sunday, King warned Matt McConnell and his friends about driving their all-terrain vehicles and target shooting near a dry pond south of Tallahassee. McConnellsaid he wasn't riding in the area.

McConnell said he doesn't mind if areas are closed to protect wetlands. But he also said it can be difficult to know where the wetlands are when they appear to dry. He said more can be done by agencies to help vehicle users stay out of such areas.

"You got people trying to have an honest good time," he said. "Sometimes it's hard to figure out where you can do that."

About a half-mile away, Andy Carter said he hopes the Forest Service will keep the area open to vehicle users.

"We ride out here every weekend," Carter said. "It's really the only place in this area to ride in."

Means said the area being closed by the Forest Service is too small. He said other ponds that are being damaged are outside of the closed area.

"Certainly they (Forest Service officials) can do better," he said.

The closed area was chosen because that's where there are the most ponds and off-road vehicle use, Bittle said. Wire fencing will be placed around another eight to 10 ponds outside the closed area to prevent vehicle damage to them.

Since 2001, the Forest Service has been considering restricting vehicle access in other parts of the forest. The temporary closed area could be reopened, Bittle said, or it could remain closed permanently as part of a proposal that could be issued later this year.

Said Bittle: "Right now we focused on the critical areas - the areas defined by the map."

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