STA-5 ABSOLUTELY OFF-LIMITS

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Posted by Bill Pranty on April 13, 2004 at 17:04:07:

Good afternoon,

There has been discussion recently about whether Stormwater Treatment Area (STA) 5 in eastern Hendry County is open to the public.

The answer is NO, it is not open to the public. Regardless of what any SFWMD employees told you -- they're not the people in charge. (The huge painted NO TRESPASSING sign at the entrance gates should sugggest that access is forbidden).

Back in December 2003, I originally had questioned whether the site was open to birding ..http://www.tropicalaudubon.org/tasboard/messages/4023.html.. and nobody seemed to know. However, the website about the area that I had referenced ..http://www.wildflorida.org/hunting/wma/STA-5.pdf.. claimed that the site was open only to hunting on 11 days of the year.

I just spoke with Mr. Fred Davis, who is the Director of Land Stewardship for the South Florida Water Management District. He confirmed to me that the site is not open to birders -- or anybody else -- for any reason, at any time, other than to hunters on a few dates from November through January. Hunters have access solely because the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is willing to supervise the hunters.

Mr. Davis explained that the STAs were purchased for Everglades restoration (not for recreation), and that SFWMD staff are not available to supervise birders -- and there are dangers (e.g., pumps, culverts, etc.) that are liability concerns.

Mr. Davis is quite willing to see the STAs opened for public recreation, but access is not his decision. He hopes that access to STA-5 will be made available within perhaps the next year.

However, Mr. Davis is willing to ask his superiors about granting access to ORGANIZED birding groups (under an Audubon chapter, or perhaps Florida Ornithological Society) with at least two weeks notice. If somebody is willing to plan occasional (i.e., perhaps once per season) trips to STA-5 and to be the official contact person -- responsible for obtaining liability releases, renting multiple-passenger vans, etc., then Mr. Davis is willing to try to coordinate such efforts.

He may be reached by email (please, do not deluge him with phone calls -- and the number listed in Doug Suitor's post is incorrect. The WMD website lists his email addy as , but there may be an underscore (__) between fred and davis.

For now, let's all understand that the site is NOT open to birding -- even to those on foot. Let's please follow the ABA Birding Code of Ethics and stay out of the area -- and please alert other birding listerves about the site being closed to all access.

Thank you.

Best regards,

Bill Pranty
Avon Park, Florida

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Re: STA-5 ABSOLUTELY OFF-LIMITS Bill Pranty 17:08:45 04/13/04 (1)
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: Good afternoon, : There has been discussion recently about whether Stormwater Treatment Area (STA) 5 in eastern Hendry County is open to the public. : The answer is NO, it is not open to the public. Regardless of what any SFWMD employees told you -- they're not the people in charge. (The huge painted NO TRESPASSING sign at the entrance gates should sugggest that access is forbidden). : Back in December 2003, I originally had questioned whether the site was open to birding ..http://www.tropicalaudubon.org/tasboard/messages/4023.html.. and nobody seemed to know. However, the website about the area that I had referenced ..http://www.wildflorida.org/hunting/wma/STA-5.pdf.. claimed that the site was open only to hunting on 11 days of the year. : I just spoke with Mr. Fred Davis, who is the Director of Land Stewardship for the South Florida Water Management District. He confirmed to me that the site is not open to birders -- or anybody else -- for any reason, at any time, other than to hunters on a few dates from November through January. Hunters have access solely because the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is willing to supervise the hunters. : Mr. Davis explained that the STAs were purchased for Everglades restoration (not for recreation), and that SFWMD staff are not available to supervise birders -- and there are dangers (e.g., pumps, culverts, etc.) that are liability concerns. : Mr. Davis is quite willing to see the STAs opened for public recreation, but access is not his decision. He hopes that access to STA-5 will be made available within perhaps the next year. : However, Mr. Davis is willing to ask his superiors about granting access to ORGANIZED birding groups (under an Audubon chapter, or perhaps Florida Ornithological Society) with at least two weeks notice. If somebody is willing to plan occasional (i.e., perhaps once per season) trips to STA-5 and to be the official contact person -- responsible for obtaining liability releases, renting multiple-passenger vans, etc., then Mr. Davis is willing to try to coordinate such efforts. : He may be reached by email (please, do not deluge him with phone calls -- and the number listed in Doug Suitor's post is incorrect. The WMD website lists his email addy as <fred davis@sfwmd.gov>, but there may be an underscore (__) between fred and davis. : For now, let's all understand that the site is NOT open to birding -- even to those on foot. Let's please follow the ABA Birding Code of Ethics and stay out of the area -- and please alert other birding listerves about the site being closed to all access. : Thank you. : : Best regards, : Bill Pranty : Avon Park, Florida

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