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  1. #1
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    Default Sections of FL trail temporarily closed

    http://www.floridatrail.org/wp-conte...r_02082018.pdf This one is due to bear activity. Who would have thought in Florida.

    http://www.floridatrail.org/wp-conte...-Feb.-2018.pdf Prescribed burning

  2. #2
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    and I was toying with the idea of doing a little one night hike in a couple of weeks maybe in that area... if I can't get reservations on Cumberland Island
    bummer bear

  3. #3
    Registered User kestral's Avatar
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    http://interactive.orlandosentinel.com/bears/index.html

    folks around Orlando are tired of problem bears, so they relocate them in Ocala, which is already sated with bear!
    i am assuming bears are territorial, so problem number one, and these bears are used to a relatively free lunch and don’t mind close contact with people, problem number two.

    It’s the bears only chance before being euthanized, so I understand why this is attempted. Don’t know the success rate of relocated bears.

    Ongoing problem of tampering with ecosystem. I don’t know a simple answer, but I do know it’s just a matter of time until a very dangerous situation arises. I would definitely not sleep with food in tent anywhere near this area for years to come. Folks on this site are probably much more astute in evaluating bear threats than the average weekend family with little kids. Ocala is a beautiful and popular area. Shame that bears will be euthanized now.

  4. #4
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    go back to the pre Lawton Chiles bear hunts, they were stopped by lobbyist not by biologist and now we are reaping the rewards of the politics.

    I am not and have never been a bear hunter just to take that out of the equation.

    creek

  5. #5

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    jbwood, see my thread a couple down from yours. There's a bear at HP getting to food. Juniper is "closed" but people are hiking and camping out there, anyway.

  6. #6
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    OK, so side question but related....
    If you were heading out sometime in the next month or so to do a 1 night hike in the general area of Ocala NF, what section would you do?

    I ask because I was toying with the idea of going to check out just that area that is closed in a few weeks....
    I hope to find something interesting to hike, not just a boring straight jeep trail...and hope for a decent place to camp....

  7. #7

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    "in a few weeks" it will, most likely, no longer be closed. Park at Pat's Island, hike south for about an hour and you're at Hidden Pond. Plenty of places to camp, behind HP, in the Crooked Sapling spring prairie area.

    Note: as warm at it has been will mean the flies (deer flies, etc) will be out earlier. I usually run into them about mid-March but it could be early March the way things are warming up.

  8. #8
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    yeah, I've been a bit concerned about flies and bugs.... would prefer to go when a bit cooler, but it is what it is....
    but unfortunately that suggestion puts me right into the closure...and I am planning to go before it expires. Thanks though. I'll keep that one in mind for future reference!

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Creek View Post
    go back to the pre Lawton Chiles bear hunts, they were stopped by lobbyist not by biologist and now we are reaping the rewards of the politics.

    I am not and have never been a bear hunter just to take that out of the equation.

    creek
    Over development and urban sprawl is the problem not that bears are overpopulated...


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  10. #10
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    Juniper Prairie Wilderness reopenedDate(s): Feb 23, 2018
    Juniper Prairie Wilderness reopened.

  11. #11

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    That was fast. Maybe this bear was "removed".

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