Tate's Hell State Forest
Tate's Hell State Forest is 202,437 acres (819 km²) of land in Franklin and Liberty counties in Florida. The forest is located near Carrabelle off US 98 along the coast. At one time Tate's Hell supported at least 12 major community types which included: wet flatwoods, wet prairie, seepage slope, baygall, floodplain forest, floodplain swamp, basin swamp, upland hardwood forest, sandhill, pine ridges, dense titi thickets and scrub. The Tate's Hell State Forest area is an important hydrologic area which supplies fresh water into the Apalachicola Bay, the Carrabelle River and the Ochlockonee River.
During a 40-year period of private ownership prior to the state’s acquisition in 1994,over 800 miles (1,300 km) of forest roads and ditches were constructed on the property to accommodate intensive commercial forest management operations. Most of the area was changed to a pine monoculture and the drainage canals dried what had been previously wetlands. There was extensive loss of habitat and wildlife. Some believe that Apalachicola Bay has suffered from the loss of the previously continuous fresh water flow into the bay provided by the wetlands, adding to the effect of loss of water flow into the bay from the Apalachicola River. Many see as one of the causes being surface water use in the Apalachicola Flint Chattahoochee River Basin such as supplying drinking water to the city of Atlanta, for agriculture use in Georgia, and for other purposes. Such debate over the use of water in this basin is the subject of a long-standing feud among the three southern states over which use or which user takes precedence over the others. A recent court ruling[1] sets forth the history of water use in the upper reaches of the basin.
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[edit] Restoration
Since its acquisition by the State of Florida Department of Forestry in 1994, 12 restoration projects have been undertaken to restore some of the natural drainage and natural communities. These projects include removal or planting of some road beds, restoring natural water flow, and alteration of planted species. As of 2007, eight of the 12 projects had been completed at a cost of $1.446 million and affecting 39,070 acres (158.1 km2) of the State Forest. It will however, take a much longer time for the forest to return to a more natural state. The Florida Department of Forestry and North West Florida Water Management District continue to study and plan for future restoration of the Forest.
[edit] Animals and plant life
Many endangered or threatened animals live in Tate's Hell State Forest. They include the Bald Eagle, American Black Bear, Gopher Tortoise, and Red-cockaded Woodpecker. Some rare plant species living on the forest include Thick-leaved Water-willow (Justicia crassifolia), White Birds-in-a-nest (Macbridea alba), Florida Bear Grass (Nolina atopocarpa), Chapman's Butterwort (Pinguicula planifolia), and Small-flowered Meadow beauty (Rhexia parviflora). Common animals such as alligators and wild cats are found in the area as well.
[edit] History
Local legend is that a local farmer named Cebe Tate went hunting in the woods in this area. He went into the swamps hunting for a Panther that was killing his livestock. Most stories end with Tate being lost in the forest for 4 to 7 days until he finally came to a clearing near Carrabelle. There he stated "My name is Cebe Tate, and I just came from Hell!" He then died.
[edit] References
- Recreation: Tate's Hell[dead link]
- History of Carrabelle and Franklin County
- Forest Management
- FL-dof.com
[edit] External links
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