Tates Hell – Womack Creek

Tates Hell – Womack Creek Mitigation Area / Ochlockonee River and Bay Watershed / Liberty County / Legacy ID – UWRMP 5.6.1

This mitigation site is in the Womack Creek drainage of Tates Hell Swamp.  It is directly adjacent to the Ochlockonee River and consists of a total of ~70 acres, ~50 acres that was historically hydric pine and ~20 acres of forested hardwood wetlands.  The hydric pine areas were clear cut in the early 1990s and not replanted.  The associated hardwood wetlands remained intact and were not disturbed.  Following the clear cut, the historically hydric pine areas were left fallow and allowed to regenerate naturally.  The cut over areas are now dominated by laurel oaks, live oaks, water oak, sweet gum, maple and titi.  Aerial photography flown in 1953 indicates that the site was primarily hydric pine flatwoods with some mixed hardwoods due to the fire exclusion.  Mitigation will include enhancement and restoration of the 70 acre site by restoring 50 acres of clear cut hydric pine by using a modified roller chop method for a site preparation, followed by burning and replanting 20 acres of the site with wire grass plugs.  In turn the associated hardwood wetlands (~20 acres) will be enhanced through the restoration of a historic high quality wetland buffer.

This mitigation is being implemented to offset FDOT impacts associated with I-10 Little River Bridge, Roberts Landing Road at Silver Lake Creek, US 319 Curtis Mill Creek Bridge, and US 319 Little Tide Creek Bridge