Input Wanted On Local National Wildlife Refuge

The federal government owns about 1,700 acres in Highlands County and is asking for public input on how to best manage the property at a meeting tonight.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, under the Department of the Interior, controls two county tracts of the Lake Wales Ridge National Wildlife Refuge.

Six hundred and twenty eight acres of "Flamingo Villas" border the north side of U.S. 98 between the airport and U.S. 27.

Carter Creek is located to the north of that parcel and hosts 1,086 acres of mostly scrub. The fish and wildlife service expects to expand and purchase more property at that site.

Bill Miller, wildlife biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said that a comprehensive conservation plan will act as a guide to manage the refuge, established in 1993, for the next 15 years.

Individuals, organizations and businesses, as well as government agencies were asked to attend two presentations and a session set aside for open discussion, with a question and answer period.

The area is closed to the public except for research and environmental educational forays. Several plants and wildlife found no where else are protected. Forty-five state and federally protected wildlife species are found on the ridge.

Two or three million years ago the Lake Wales Ridge, which stretches for about 100 miles, from Ocala to Highlands County, was the only portion of the Florida peninsula above water.

The sandy soil on the four-mile-wide ridge in the center and 60 miles from salt water drains well, and because of its higher elevation, is unique.

"As the waters receded, islands were surrounded by water," said Miller. "The scrub habitat persisted over time and because (the ridge) was isolated there are species of protected plants and animals not found anywhere else."

There are two other portions of the refuge north of the county at Lake McLeod and Snell Creek.

The public scoping meeting to address future management of the Lake Wales Ridge National Wildlife Refuge is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. and run until 9 p.m. South Florida Community College will host the meeting in the campus auditorium in Avon Park. Call Bill Miller at 561-715-0023 for more information.