Tropical Audubon Society

South Florida’s Voice of Conservation

Carlos, for future reference, where are the Sparrow Fields and the parking area located? Thanks.

Hi Ron:

Directions for this and nearly all other locations are listed under 'Birding Locations' right above the Bird Board. See link below.

http://www.tropicalaudubon.org/birds/birding-locations#rockyglades

Carlos

Typical for South Florida. Pretty soon we'll only be allowed to bird in our backyards, maybe.

South Florida Water Management District has become a real pain in the @ss. The land they manage is public land and should be available to everyone. It's becoming a real problem! I can understand closing off a small area during construction, but other than that I believe even the gates should be open to allow cars in. They just need to post signs saying enter at your own risk. Pretty soon we won't be able to bird anywhere unless we own the land.

SFWMD is a public agency, and as such is subject to public pressure. When they tore out the remaining Australian pines and other trees along the Snapper Creek Canal behind our neighborhood and destroyed a beautiful canopy, after Hurricane Andrew, most of the neighbors joined forces to lobby the Agency to restore the habitat and some canopy, rather than leaving it a barren drainage ditch. We collaborated on a xeriscape that produced a lovely canopy and habitat for birds and other wildlife that would have otherwise never happened. If you think the agency is being unreasonable in their closures, then I suggest you organize, mobilize, lobby(yes they have public meetings in Palm Beach), and bring whatever pressure you can upon them to improve access.At this point, has anyone even made their grievance known to staff and the SFWMD commissioners? I doubt the commissioners and staff read the Birdboard, but they do read the Herald, and they do have phones--sometimes it is amazing what you can get done by starting a dialogue---

Thank you Joel.
When Carlos contacted me about the closure, which I was not aware of, I asked him to write something for the TAS BirdBoard so A) people can become aware of the situation and B) anyone who knew something about this could share it with the rest. I immediately tried to contact someone I know at SFWMD but this person was not available Friday. I will try again on Monday. We don't know all the facts; we need to talk to someone at the agency to know exactly what's going on.

This could be temporary; however, as with the case with Research Road (ENP) a few years back the District may not be aware that this area is birded often. This particular area of Miami-Dade is often unpatrolled and subject to vandalism, in both state and federal lands. It is my understanding that, in the near future, Richmond Drive may be closed where the Everglades NP boundary begins. This will occur because restoration to the Chekika campground will take place...eventually.

The District may have concerns about vandalism to their pump station at C357, or maybe it is because of Off-Road Vehicle use in the are, which happens often and I have witnessed myself. Regardless, this area IS public land and may be accessed from the south, if one so chooses to walk the several miles through the Frog Pond WMA.

A dialogue has to be started between the birding community and SFWMD/FWC concerning access to these areas. A "townhall" type of meeting could take place, sooner than later (maybe TAS could mitigate this). While Joel brings up an excellent suggestion, I agree with others' concerns: if you don't speak up and let the agencies know you exist, access to these areas may diminish more and more.

-RJ