The Withlacoochee State Forest is 164,073 acres of pure Florida nature. Sandhill habitats to luscious swamps deep within the heart of the forest which spreads through sections of Citrus, Hernando, Lake, Pasco, and Sumter counties. This forest is home to thousands of wildlife and plant species as well as opportunities for recreational adventures and land stewardship.
Since the second week of June, Hernando Youth League (HYL) baseball traveled from Jacksonville to Alabama to seek championship titles.
HYL coach Tim Sims and Timothy Whatley gave these young men an outlet during the most challenging and complex time the nation is facing- to nab a World Series championship title as they traveled to Alabama over the July 24 weekend.
Brooksville- As mentioned in my previous article, there are a variety of responsibilities surrounding the Withlacoochee State Forest, one of those duties is to keep the public informed.
Judi Tear, Wildfire Mitigation Specialist & Information Officer at the Withlacoochee Forestry Center, is the one who keeps the public informed by providing essential information.
Brooksville, Fla.-- The Withlacoochee Forestry Center has many positions. One facet of any job is the ability to rely on each other. Gerri Velazquez, Facility Maintenance Administrator, and Cherie Plourde, Road Crew Staff, are great examples.
In our previous article, Bev and I hiked the trails in the Withlacoochee State Forest seeking out woodland birds, and now it is time to explore a different type of habitat. For this adventure, we met up with Hernando Audubon member Claudia Amsler at a rookery on private property in southeast Brooksville.
The weekly series ‘Walk on the Wild Side’ with Lilly Browning was popular for local wildflower enthusiasts, and now I will take you on another journey: ‘Wild Skies’ Birding with Bev Hansen of the Hernando Audubon Society.
The Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail is a network of 510 premier wildlife viewing sites across the state, and eight of those locations can be found in Hernando County.
Bayport, FL--On June 16, 2020 Hernando County Government published a notice stating that the Hernando County Department of Public Works (DPW) has begun work on the reconstruction of Bayou Drive, located near Hernando Beach, for a 90-day work period. Bayou Drive will reopen for public access on September 15, 2020.
As a continuation of the series of articles on Meeting the People that Manage the Withlacoochee State Forest, I would like to introduce you to Sarah Stewart who is currently a Duty Officer with the Florida Forest Service.
“I am a fire dispatcher. We handle all the burn authorizations for the five-county area. We also respond crews out to wildfires in that area, and any properties state, federal or private,” Stewart explained.
Since the beginning of January 2020, over 1000 reported wildfire cases have burned over 16,000 acres. The two recent wildfires located in Santa Rosa county in the western portion of the Florida panhandle, and one in Collier County have been the largest to date.
In 1990, Susan Tellem and Marshall Thompson co-founded American Tortoise Rescue located in Malibu California. They also created World Turtle Day as a way to bring awareness to the public about turtles and tortoises. Turtle Day was celebrated last week on May 23.
“I have always been an animal person and always had a strong love for animals,” Tellem said.
