Too Precious To Lose: Managing and Protecting the Richmond Pine Rockland Tract (Richmond) in Miami Dade County, South Florida

Jennifer Possley,Janet Gil,James Duncan,Craig Grossenbacher

doi:10.15365/cate.2020.130104

Abstract

Pine rockland is a globally critically imperiled ecosystem limited to the southern tip of Florida and nearby islands. Miami’s Richmond tract contains the largest American assemblage of pine rockland species. Competing interests challenge management in this fire-dependent ecosystem surrounded by urban development. In 2018, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden and Miami-Dade County updated a 1994 management plan, complete with best practices, new developments, current data and learned experiences. An analysis in Richmond indicated non-traditional areas provided habitat for endangered species.

Highlights

Pine rockland is a globally critically imperiled ecosystem limited to the southern tip of Florida and nearby islands (FNAI 2010)
Competing interests challenge management in this firedependent ecosystem surrounded by urban development
The presence of recently listed wildlife species (Bartram’s scrub hairstreak and Miami tiger beetle) and factors defining a pine rockland forest per county code provided the basis for an indisputable characterization of environmentally sensitive lands

Summary

INTRODUCTION

Pine rockland is a globally critically imperiled ecosystem limited to the southern tip of Florida and nearby islands (FNAI 2010). As part of a complete management vision, it became critical to characterize how protected species were using non-traditional natural areas within Richmond, and to determine which areas (if any) are suitable for development. In the 1990s and 2000s, management activities and acquisition by conservation agencies increased significantly Documentation of these early restoration efforts enabled authors of the revised Richmond plan to include these details and judge which methods were most successful. The presence of recently listed wildlife species (Bartram’s scrub hairstreak and Miami tiger beetle) and factors defining a pine rockland forest per county code provided the basis for an indisputable characterization of environmentally sensitive lands. Developing a management plan for the Richmond pine rocklands drew upon resources from multiple agencies. For the remote sensing analysis, field staff from various agencies mobilized to complete transects throughout the US Coast Guard property

KEY RESULTS

Findings

LITERATURE CITED