A 10-year plan for the Herky Huffman/Bull Creek Wildlife Management Area will be presented at a public hearing in Osceola County on Thursday, Sept. 20. People are invited to the 7 p.m. public hearing at the Osceola Board of County Commissioners Chambers, 1 Courthouse Square #4700,Kissimmee.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) staff will present the draft land management plan for the FWC-managed Herky Huffman/Bull Creek WMA, and people will be encouraged to comment and ask questions. For more information on the upcoming local public hearing, go to MyFWC.com/Conservation and select “Terrestrial,” “Management Plans” and “Upcoming Local Public Hearings.”

The Herky Huffman/Bull Creek WMA is in southern Osceola County, adjacent to the Triple N Ranch WMA and Three Forks Marsh Conservation Area. This WMA provides many opportunities for outdoor recreation, including hunting, fishing, wildlife viewing, hiking, biking, horseback riding, paddling and camping.

Red-cockaded woodpeckers, eastern indigo snakes, gopher tortoises and American alligators are among the native wildlife living in its flatwoods and swamps.

This WMA‘s floodplain encompasses the Crabgrass, Jane Green and Bull Creek systems, and conserves water resources that help prevent floods and enhance ecological functions. The area also contains an entire spectrum of relatively undisturbed plant communities occurring within the upper basin of the St. Johns River.

“Herky Huffman/Bull Creek WMA was purchased to ensure the conservation of fish and wildlife resources and other natural and cultural resources, and to offer public opportunities for outdoor recreation,” said Dylan Imlah, FWC land conservation planner. “This draft plan will specify how we intend to do that.”

All lands purchased with public funds must have a management plan that ensures the property will be managed in a manner that is consistent with the intended purposes of the purchase. Hunting and fishing regulations are not included in this plan or meeting; those are addressed through a separate public process.

To obtain a copy of the land management prospectus for Herky Huffman/Bull Creek WMA, call Dylan Imlah at 850-487-9102 or email Dylan.Imlah@MyFWC.com.

For more information and background on management plans and their goals, visit MyFWC.com/Conservation and select “Terrestrial” then “Management Plans.”

For more on the Herky Huffman/Bull Creek WMA, go to MyFWC.com and select “Wildlife Viewing” then “Wildlife Management Areas.”

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Media contacts: Diane Hirth, 850-251-2130; Greg Workman, 352-620-7335