12/14/2010
David Jowers, Park Manager,
Paynes Prairie State Preserve,
100 Savannah Drive,
Micanopy, Florida. 32667
Dear Mr. Jowers:
We, The Suwannee- St. Johns Sierra Club (Florida Chapter), would like to ask for the Paynes Prairie State
Preserve to establish an indefinite moratorium on the removal of Bison, Horses, and Cattle from the
preserve.
Livestock management at the preserve is a complex issue and we were not given enough time to
scrutinize the Management Plan prior to the public input hearing on 11/30/2010. Nor is two weeks
during the busy holiday season enough time to respond to the plan.
Also, there was not enough information about the number of (herd) escapes, etc., that supposedly
present a liability for the Preserve, the overlying reason for the herd reduction.. The proposed .
moratorium will allow for more time for information gathering on the facts and figures about the
liability involved in the issue.
A moratorium will allow for us and yourselves to develop a more valid management plan, which will be a
long term herd management plan, not a herd removal plan. Many of the references in the draft
management plan were antiquated, one was 50 years old, the newest reference was dated 2008.
In developing a valid and acceptable livestock management plan we would like to have the following
issues and/or alternatives considered and addressed:
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The Florida Park Service should explore alternatives to the reduction of the herd(s).
The Preserve should determine the ratio of Males to females in the herd(s) so that if reduction is
required, extinction is not the result.
In order to retain the herd and simultaneously reduce liability, the herd(s) should be reclassified
as “wildlife” rather than “livestock”.
The male bison should be removed to allow the Bison herd to reduce naturally in order to allow
time for a valid Bison herd management based on current scientific data.
Since the Park service should have a fence, the fence should be maintained to prevent escape.
This fence maintenance will also preserve the integrity of the park boundary from encroaching
urbanization.
Funding for the Veterinarian service and feed, which would have been used in the
“interpretive” area, should be concentrated on the perimeter fence.
Bison, Spanish Horses, and Cracker Cattle are of significant cultural and historic value. The Florida Park
Service should utilize them as an asset. Paynes Prairie State Preserve, known universally for the herds,
should be a destination for visitors far and wide. The Florida Park Service should explore every
alternative to allow these herds to roam freely in their natural habitat for ours and future generations.
Whitey Markle
Conservation Committee Chair, Suwannee-St. Johns Sierra Club (Florida Chapter).
Cc:
Mr. Donald Forgione, Director,
Florida Park Service. Florida Department of Environmental Protection,
3900 Commonwealth Boulevard.
Tallahassee, Florida, 32399