Help plan the future of the Platt Branch WEA

Photos available

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) will present the draft materials for the Platt Branch Wildlife and Environmental Area 10-year Land Management Plan at a public hearing in Highlands County on Wednesday, July 29.

The public hearing will be held at 6 p.m. at the Town of Lake Placid Community Room 1069 US Highway 27 N. Lake Placid, FL 33852. The public is encouraged to attend and will have the opportunity to comment and ask questions regarding the Land Management Plan for the FWC-managed WMA.

Located just south of Lake Placid, the 1,982-acre Platt Branch Wildlife and Environmental Area (PBWEA) lies within a rural landscape of ranchlands, citrus groves, conservation lands, and the southern Lake Wales Ridge. The property borders the northern edge of the Fisheating Creek Wildlife Management Area (FCWMA) in the upper Fisheating Creek Basin. The area protects key depressional wetlands that drain into Platt Branch and Fisheating Creek, the only free-flowing tributary to Lake Okeechobee, and serves as an important link in South Florida's regional wildlife corridor. Additionally, the PBWEA contains diverse natural communities that include scrub, hammocks, flatwoods, marshes and swamps. This habitat diversity supports a wide range of resident and migratory bird species, offering excellent opportunities for birding and wildlife watching.

For more information regarding this and other upcoming public hearings, visit MyFWC.com/Conservation then click "Terrestrial Conservation" and "Management." Hunting and fishing regulations are not included in this plan or public hearing; they are addressed through a separate public process. Visit MyFWC.com/Hunting and click on the Hunting Handbook under "Regulations" or MyFWC.com/Fishing and select either Saltwater Recreational Regulations or Freshwater Recreational Regulations to learn more about hunting and fishing regulations.

To learn more about Land Management Plans, visit MyFWC.com/Conservation, click "Terrestrial Conservation," then scroll to "Management Plans". To obtain a copy of the draft elements of the Management Plan for the Platt Branch WEA, please contact [email protected].

Pursuant to Chapters 253 and 259, Florida Statutes, all lands purchased with public funds must have a Land Management Plan that ensures the property will be managed in a manner that is consistent with the intended purposes of the purchase.

Pursuant to the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act, any person requiring special accommodations to participate in this meeting should notify the agency at least five calendar days before the meeting by calling 850-488-6411 or contacting the agency using the Florida Relay Service at 800-955-8771 (TDD) or 800-955-8770 (Voice), if you are hearing or speech impaired. If you believe that you have been discriminated against in any program, activity or facility, or if you need more information, contact the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission at:

FWC, Office of Human Resources

620 S Meridian Street,

Tallahassee, FL 32399

Or write to:

Office of Diversity, Inclusion & Civil Rights

Department of the Interior

1849 C Street, NW

Washington, D.C. 20240