News Release
Dixie Plantation plays key role for red-cockaded woodpeckers
November 1, 2007
Contact: Jennifer Perkins, 352-732-1225
A 9,000-acre Jefferson County plantation is the first private property in Florida to enroll in the Safe Harbor Program for the red-cockaded woodpecker, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) officials said.
Dixie Plantation becomes part of this national conservation program that provides landowners management flexibility, while ensuring a conservation benefit for endangered or threatened species found on their property.
At 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 7, officials for the plantation will participate in a ceremonial signing. A tour of the plantation will follow.
The Safe Harbor Program provides assurances that no additional regulatory restrictions will result if a landowner is able to increase woodpecker populations on his property.
As a listed species, the red-cockaded woodpecker is protected by federal regulations under the Endangered Species Act, and many landowners are concerned about land-use restrictions they may be subject to if a listed species colonizes their property or the species’ numbers increase.
“Participating landowners don’t have to fear that success in increasing the population of red-cockaded woodpeckers will add more regulatory restrictions that will limit the future use of their land,” said Jennifer Perkins, coordinator for the program.
Last year, the FWC and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) launched Florida’s red-cockaded woodpecker Safe Harbor Program, the first statewide program of its kind for any species. This program provides the opportunity for FWC to partner with private landowners in recovering the species and builds critical conservation partnerships between landowners, the FWC and FWS. Florida was the seventh state to enter into a Safe Harbor Program for red-cockaded woodpeckers.
The woodpeckers are about 8 inches in size and black and white in color. They make their nests in cavities they create in mature pine trees, making it the only southeastern bird that excavates cavities in living pines. Each family group needs at least 75 acres of open pine forest to forage.
An estimated 97 percent of red-cockaded woodpecker habitat has been lost in the Southeast United States in the past 200 years as a result of logging, agriculture, development and fire suppression.
For more information on the Safe Harbor Program, visit MyFWC.com/safeharbor.