Platt Branch Wildlife Area Public Hearing July 29 In Lake Placid

Help plan the future of the Platt Branch WEA

VENUS, FL. -- 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 see 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 FWCMgmtPlans@MyFWC.com.

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.