FWC, Boy Scouts plant dozens of native trees
News Release
Friday, February 25, 2011
Media contact: Gabriella B. Ferraro, 772-215-9459
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
(FWC) staff teamed up with the Boy Scouts of America Troop 111 on
Feb. 19 to plant dozens of native trees on a spoil island on Lake
Okeechobee.
Together, FWC staff and the Palm Beach County-based
Boy Scouts dug holes and planted more than 80 young trees,
including red maple and bald cypress, on Buckhead Ridge Island, a
manmade island on the north side of Lake Okeechobee. Once mature,
the trees will help enhance habitat on the island.
Buckhead Ridge Island is one of six spoil islands,
which means they were built from muck scraped from Lake
Okeechobee's bottom after periods of drought. Over the past decade,
FWC biologist and Lake Okeechobee ecology expert Don Fox and his
team have constructed and planted the islands, which have become
home to native wildlife, including bobcat, quail, turkey and
turtles.
"The Scouts were a great help; we were able to
plant a large number of trees in a short time," Fox said. "But what
really made the day special was the opportunity to show these city
and suburban kids this great lake and the diverse fish and wildlife
resources that call this area home."
Persons with Disabilities