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Andrews WMA

Natural Communities

The land gradually slopes from an elevation of 40 feet above mean sea level in the southeast to about 5 feet above mean sea level at the Suwannee River. Along the river are low bluffs (up to 15 feet high by 1/2 mile long). Roughly 20 percent (800 acres) of the area is in the 100-year floodplain of the Suwannee River, and approximately 80 acres are in planted pine. Within Andrews are a variety of forest types from xeric (dry) to mesic (moist) to hydric (wet). Within the hardwood hammock forest, xeric and mesic communities are found side by side.

In comparison with other parts of Florida, in Andrews few trees have been removed from the forest. Bordering the Suwannee River and adjacent to the mesic forest is floodplain swamp. Large sloughs parallel the river, and in some places project inland, forming islands of river-front bluffs. Scattered throughout Andrews are numerous sinkholes, whose banks contain a diverse assemblage of temperate and tropical ferns.

Management

Little restoration is needed here. Andrews is managed as a high-quality, resource-based natural area where indigenous plants and animals are the feature attraction. The management philosophy is to preserve and protect existing native plant and animal communities.