Prescribe Fires Planned for Guana River WMA
Wildlife biologists with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) in St. Johns County plan to burn more than 1,800 acres in Guana River Wildlife Management Area (WMA) during the upcoming 2012-2013 prescribed fire season.
Biologists specially trained to safely conduct these controlled fires carefully watch the weather conditions, which must meet specific criteria, before conducting a burn. In addition, the Florida Forest Service must issue the FWC a burn permit for each planned fire.
There are more than 22 burns scheduled this winter at Guana River WMA. These controlled burns improve habitat for various wildlife species, including imperiled species. They are also a land manager’s tool to reduce wildfire hazards, control invasive and/or exotic vegetation, control plant diseases affecting native vegetation, enhance native ground cover plants and seed production, and restore and maintain fire-dependent ecological sites.
While the burns are in progress and for many hours afterward, there is potential for smoke along roads that are in close proximity to the fires, including A1A. The FWC cautions motorists to drive slowly with lights on while traveling in smoky areas.
People who are sensitive to smoke may contact the FWC at 352-732-1225 and ask to be placed on a notification list for future burns at Guana River WMA.
The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission came into existence on July 1, 1999 - the result of a constitutional amendment approved in the 1998 General Election as part of the package proposed by the Constitution Revision Commission.
In the implementation of the Constitutional Amendment, the Florida Legislature combined all of the staff and Commissioners of the former Marine Fisheries Commission, elements of the Divisions of Marine Resources and Law Enforcement of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, and all of the employees and Commissioners of the former Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission.
Five years later, after consulting stakeholders, employees and other interested parties, the FWC adopted a new internal structure to address complex conservation issues of the new century. The new structure focuses on programs, such as habitat management, that affect numerous species. It will focus on moving the decision-making process closer to the public and did not require any additional funding or additional positions.
