|
|
|
Holey Land |
 |
|
This
Holeyland project consists of a modification to the
current operating plan for Holey Land Wildlife
Management Area to implement rain-driven
operations for this area. Water deliveries are
made to Holey Land from the Rotenberger Wildlife
Management Area or from Stormwater Treatment
Area 3 & 4 if Rotenberger flows are insufficient
and the water quality of the deliveries are
assumed to be acceptable. These new lakes are intended to improve the timing and
location of water depths within the Holey Land
Wildlife Management Area. This is what lead
South Florida Water Management to start the
Holey land project and help turn it in to a
world class fishery for many anglers.
Visitor Information
The Holey land management
area consist of canals surrounding the area that support many
species of game fish including
largemouth bass,
bluegill and other
species of sunfish, as well
as catfish and several species of exotic fishes.
In addition, the canal system serves as refuge
for smaller fish species during periods of
severe drought. These forage fish are an
important part of the prey base for many species
of wading birds. Reference the
map below of Holey Land to locate boat ramp(s).
Fishing license information.
Wildlife Viewing
|
South Florida Water
Management District -
Great Blue Heron |
Levees are good
places to view wildlife. You may
encounter white-tailed deer,
raccoons, common opossums,
armadillos, river otter,
bobcats, rabbits, and rats.
Swallow-tailed kites,
red-shouldered hawks, and many
migratory birds are seen during
the winter months. Wood storks,
ibises, great blue herons, snowy
egrets, and cattle egrets are
common. The endangered Florida
panther may be an occasional
visitor to the area.
Wildlife
Spotlight: Alligator
|
Alligator |
The American
alligator is one of the most
commonly seen wildlife species
in Florida. Alligators and other
crocodilians are the only living
Archosauria, the ancient
group that included dinosaurs.
They have many features more
similar to birds or mammals than
to other reptiles. The snouts of
alligators are broad and rounded
whereas those of the much rarer
crocodile are longer and more
pointed.
Alligators play
a key role in the Everglades and
other wetlands. During times of
drought they dig holes that fill
with groundwater. During dry
periods, these alligator holes
are an important source of
freshwater for birds and mammals
and are critical to the survival
of many aquatic species. Since
1988, the Florida Fish and
Wildlife Conservation Commission
has held a public waters -
alligator harvest. Each year
Alligator Harvest Management
Units, including the Holey
Land WMA, are established with
conservative harvest quotas. |
|
Fees
No Daily-Use Permit currently
required. To hunt or fish you must possess the
appropriate
license and permitt.
Facilities
Two boat ramps,
both are noted on the map below. One dirt, which
is not recommended, the other a new two lane
boat ramp good for any size boat with dockage.
Public Access
Persons must enter and exit the
area from the L-5 or Miami Canal levees only.
Airboats may be used for hunting
ducks and coots
in season, and individuals selected to
participate in the public waters alligator hunt
may operate an airboat for the purpose of taking
alligators (Alligator
Hunting Information).
Outside of Water Management
District canals all vessels including airboats
must be equipped with an orange flag at least 10
inches wide and 12 inches long and displayed at
least 10 feet above the bottom of the vessel.
During archery, muzzleloading, and general
gun-walk seasons, only ATVs are permitted for
hunting. While an ATV is in motion, no person
shall occupy any platform or structure attached
to it. No ATV may be equipped with a steering
mechanism that would enable the ATV to be
operated from a platform or structure attached
to it. No person shall operate any ATV,
motorized two-wheeled vehicle, or motorized
three-wheeled vehicle unless it is equipped with
an orange flag at least 10 inches wide and 12
inches long and displayed at a minimum height of
6 feet above the top of the seat.
Vehicle use regulations:
-
No motor vehicle
shall be operated on any part of any
wildlife and environmental area designated
and posted as "CLOSED" because of inclement
weather, poor road conditions, construction,
management activities, or wildlife surveys.
-
No person shall
park any vehicle in a manner that obstructs
a road, gate, or firelane.
-
During
archery, muzzleloading, and general gun-walk
seasons, only ATVs are permitted for
hunting. While an ATV is in motion, no
person shall occupy any platform or
structure attached to it. No ATV may be
equipped with a steering mechanism that
would enable the ATV to be operated from a
platform or structure attached to it. No
person shall operate any ATV, motorized
two-wheeled vehicle, or motorized
three-wheeled vehicle unless it is equipped
with an orange flag at least 10 inches wide
and 12 inches long and displayed at a
minimum height of 6 feet above the top of
the seat.
-
The use or
presence of vehicles on wildlife islands,
tree islands or tree strands is prohibited.
-
All vehicles are
prohibited from the end of the established
duck and coot season through April 30.
Airboats are allowed during this period.
-
Vehicles are
prohibited on all levees except L-5 and
Miami Canal levees.
Location
& Directions:
Southwestern Palm Beach County,
north of Water Conservation Area 3 and on the
east side of the Miami Canal.
From Clewiston
- Take US 27
south to Palm Beach/Broward County line. From
county line, take L-5 levee west approximately 9
mi to first access point, which is on the north
side of the levee.
From Ft. Lauderdale - Take I-595
west to I-75 north. Take I-75 north to US 27.
Take US 27 north to Palm Beach/Broward County
line. From county line, take L-5 levee west
approximately 9 mi to first access point, which
is on the north side of the levee.
View a
map below....
Nearest Cities/Towns
Fort Lauderdale (40 miles
southeast), Boca Raton (30 miles east), South
Bay (12 miles north), and Belle Glade (12 miles
north).
History
Only a century
ago the southern third of
Florida was an unwelcoming wet
wilderness.
Lake Okeechobee was
nearly twice the size it is
today. From the lake, water
crept southward down the
peninsula through swamp and
sawgrass. Rainfall that did not
soak into the underlying
limestone sat on the nearly flat
land. The only dry places were
on the Atlantic coastal ridge
and the Everglades hammocks.
|
Florida Photo Archives
Seminole Indians |
Indians
inhabited south Florida even
before wetter climatic
conditions set into motion the
beginning of the Everglades 5000
or so years ago. At the time
European explorers arrived in
the 1500s, Indian cultures were
well established, and people
lived by hunting, fishing, and
gathering wild foods. Villages
around Lake Okeechobee may have
grown corn, at least for a time.
Most of the Indian population
was in villages near estuaries
and on the coastal ridge. People
traveled from these villages
back and forth to camps in the
Everglades to hunt and fish,
much as modern urban dwellers
continue to do today.
By the mid
1700s, the original Indian
cultures encountered by European
explorers were gone, their
members killed or enslaved, or
dead from diseases to which they
had no resistance. A new group
of Indians-a few hundred
Seminoles and Miccosukees-escaped
to south Florida at the end of
the Second Seminole War in 1842.
They established small
settlements on the tree islands,
hunted, fished, gardened, and
collected wild foods. They plied
the waterways in cypress canoes,
and toward the end of the 19th
century began trading alligator
hides and egret feathers,
desirable commodities in the
world of women’s fashions, for
sewing machines and other goods.
|
Florida Photo
Archives |
In 1948 Congress
authorized the Central and South
Florida Project to protect
agricultural and urban areas
from flooding and to serve as a
source of freshwater for what
was fast becoming the heavily
populated Gold Coast.
Construction of canals, levees,
and water control structures
began in 1949 and was completed
in 1962. These structures have
altered the natural hydroperiods
and disrupted sheetflow from
Lake Okeechobee to Florida Bay.
On some portions of the area
drained land was used for sugar
cane cultivation or cattle
ranching.
Holey Land
derived its name from the fact
that it was used as a practice
bombing range during World War
II and is pocked with bomb
craters.
In 1994 the
state passed the Everglades
Forever Act to address
environmental concerns related
to quality, quantity, and timing
of water entering the
Everglades.
For more
information on Everglades
restoration visit the
South Florida Water Management
web site. |
|
We at
BassOnline.com encourages anglers to
practice catch-and-release when fishing for
any bass. Overall, this species is
a hearty fish and nearly 100 percent will
survive being caught and released when properly
handled. However, bass do not
survive as well in live wells or as long out of
water as some other fish. It is important
that they be released quickly to maximize their
chances for survival.
View Holey Land in a larger map |
|
|
