As cooler weather approaches, hunting season is heating up. Many of those who hunt on Plum Creek timberlands have relationships with the land that span generations.  For them, hunting is more than a sport – it’s a celebration of culture and family tradition.  Their treks to the same woods each fall brings fond memories of stories their grandfathers told them, and hunting lessons from their fathers.  Their traditions are kept alive across the 494,000 acres of Plum Creek’s North Central Florida timberlands that are leased to individual families and organized hunting clubs every year.

With 289 leases – all of which have sold out the past five years – Plum Creek has established strong ties with local families. Around 2,600 individual members and as many as 7,500 total guests visit the grounds yearly for recreational hunting.  Some families have leased the same properties for more than 20 years, and there are a few hunting clubs that have been returning to the same forests for 30 to 40 years.

Gulf Hammock Hunting Club – Plum Creek’s largest lease and the state’s largest hunting club – has been on the same land since the early 70s. Gulf Hammock’s members have created lasting family memories and traditions hunting deer, hogs, turkeys and squirrels as well as camping, fishing and four-wheeling on the lands.

There is a limited amount of quality hunting land in Florida, and these families have spent decades learning to navigate the hunting grounds. Plum Creek continues to preserve these lands for locals to enjoy recreational activities and family traditions.

“Hunting and navigation takes many skills. It’s when hunters become acquainted with a land like it’s the back of their hand is when they are most successful. Plum Creek has been considerate in helping us preserve our hunting land, the very land that our members have navigated for decades and are a part of their family roots,” Gulf Hammock Hunt Club’s Mac McKoy said.

Recreational opportunities extend beyond the private hunt clubs.  Nearly 45,000 acres of Plum Creek forestlands are leased to the State of Florida as part of Wildlife Management Areas.  The Plum Creek lands located within the Gulf Hammock WMA, the Grove Park WMA and the Relay WMA provide the public with hunting opportunities even during the off-season.

WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT Plum Creek Helps Find "Foster Mother" for Nestling Mississippi Kites
	Above: A Mississippi kite nestling in its new “foster” nest.   Left: Two orphaned Mississippi kite nestlings at the Florida Wildlife Center, soon after they were found.

Plum Creek recently added a new chapter to its ongoing swallow-tailed kites adventure with dramatic rescue efforts for some orphaned nestlings.

Plum Creek has been working with renowned scientist Dr. Ken Meyer of the Avian Research and Conservation Institute (ARCI) to gather data and identify swallow-tailed kite nesting areas in the Gulf Hammock Forest since 1997. 

Last July two nestling Mississippi kites—a species related to the swallow-tailed kite—were apparently blown from their tree top nests during a storm that swept through Dixie and Alachua Counties.  The orphaned birds were taken to the Florida Wildlife Care Center in Gainesville.  The staff there called in Gina Kent, a research ecologist and coordinator at ARCI who has been working with Plum Creek Senior Resource Forester Steve Lowrimore to study swallow-tailed kites on Plum Creek land. The nestlings weren’t mature enough to survive on their own – they needed a kite mother to nurture and feed them.  Armed with climbing equipment, Gina and Steve set off on a search of Plum Creek’s Gulf Hammock land for a suitable “foster nest” with evidence of freshly laid eggs or newborns.

“As we were checking out some of our known swallow-tailed kite nests, we came upon a Mississippi Kite nest that had one nestling about the same age as the two orphans,” said Gina. “It was in a perfect location for us to check on and to monitor. The nest seemed well protected—away from their natural predators like raccoons, foxes and cats.”

“Baby birds have an instinct to cry out for food, and mother birds have an instinct to feed baby birds who are crying out,” explains Gina. “So, even though the new birds were not from this mother, we felt there was a good chance she would bring food for all three nestlings—her own as well as the two orphans.”

Gina and Steve came back to the area two hours later to observe the nest. They could see the mother and father actively retrieving and bringing food back to the nest for the chicks—all three of them. “We later observed all three of the kite nestlings and could see that they were all strong individuals. It was obvious to us that the mother had easily adopted the orphan kites and nurtured them as her own,” said Gina.

Over the course of the kite study, a total of 264 nests have been located and monitored on Plum Creek lands, now averaging about 35 nests each spring. Satellite tracking of the birds that nest in the Gulf Hammock Forest has provided remarkable insights into the migration paths and population of this majestic species.  The kites travel each spring from wintering grounds in South America to nest on the Florida Peninsula.  Plum Creek’s contributions to the growing body of knowledge have not gone unnoticed.   The ongoing research partnership has earned recognition from the Florida Chapter of the National Audubon Society and Partners-In-Flight, an international organization that presented Plum Creek with a national stewardship award in 2003.

In mid-August, Plum Creek also provided public guided tours of their lands in Alachua County. Community members could see firsthand these working forest resources that can play a prominent role in the County’s future conservation, economic development and community development efforts.  As the process continues, there are more opportunities to get involved.  Visit the website for dates and location of our upcoming educational forums and community workshops – and submit ideas or comments for the task force members to consider.

In September, Florida Trend published a story featuring Florida’s latest green developments.  Plum Creek was highlighted in the article.

The story illustrates the impact Florida’s green developments felt from the economic downturn this year. The article notes that Plum Creek, like many of the other developments featured, is moving ahead with business and goals despite changes in the state's Department of Community affairs.

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT   Plum Creek Funds Recreational Projects with Foundation Grants

Tim Monroe, Jackie Appling, Williston City Manager Pat Miller and Mayor Gerald Hethcoat receive $10,000 check from Plum Creek’s Steven Lowrimore and Ben Dow. (Image courtesy of the Williston Pioneer.)

In July two local recreation projects took a big step forward with the help of separate donations from the Plum Creek Foundation. The Putnam Land Conservancy and the City of Williston each received a $10,000 grant to fund construction plans for outdoor recreation facilities.

“Outdoor recreation areas and public parks have such a positive impact on local communities by encouraging physical activity and creating a shared community space,” said Ben Dow, resource supervisor for Plum Creek Florida, who presented the grant checks to both of the organizations. “These rural areas are in desperate need of a place to hold community events and for children to play, and Plum Creek is proud to help fulfill that need.”

As Plum Creek’s senior resource forester of harvesting in Lake Butler, Charles “Charlie” Dunn is responsible for monitoring harvest sale blocks and managing contract loggers. Dunn also acts as the company liaison for the Florida National Scenic Trail, participates in marking, transporting and releasing Gopher Tortoises onto Plum Creek’s Lochloosa Conservation Easement, and monitors harvest operations to ensure that all standards for Best Management Practices, the Sustainable Forestry Initiative and conservation easement regulations are met or exceeded.

Dunn joined the company in 2000 as a forestry intern in Gulf Hammock. Since joining the team he has been the resource forester of harvesting in Lake Butler, resource forester of decision support in Gulf Hammock and senior resource forester of silviculture in Palatka.

Before joining the Plum Creek team, Dunn was a forestry technician with Suwannee River Forestry and a GPS technician with Suwannee River Water Management District.

Dunn has compiled a great list of training licenses including S-190 Intro to Wildland Fire Behavior, S-130 Firefighter Training, L-180 Human Factors on the Fireline, Private Pilot’s License and Project Learning Tree.

He is also a member of the Society of American Foresters, Xi Sigma Pi Honorary Forestry Fraternity and Alpha Zeta Honorary Agricultural Fraternity.

Dunn was born and raised in Miami before moving to Gainesville and earning his degree from the University of Florida.  When not busy with his many responsibilities at Plum Creek, you’ll find him cooking for friends and family, participating in outdoor activities or just spending time with his wife Catherine and two daughters, Audrey and Amelia, at their home in Gainesville.