Upland Habitats: Sandhill Community

Sandhill Community

The Habitat of your dreams!

Are you a Gopher Tortoise that is being displaced or simply looking to upgrade your home? Well then, with over 2,300 acres available Gold Head Branch State Park is the place for you!

An ideal sandhill Community Located on the North Central Ridge of Florida it has all the amenities that you want and need! Want Long Leaf pines? This area has some of the few remaining old growth Long Leaf Pines in Florida. The longleaf pines are widely spaced and allow for an open environment with sweeping views of the forest. There is plenty of wiregrass for you to feast upon including the occasional prickly pear which is a treat that you will love!

Worried about other trees shading out your favorite foods? No problem! There are periodic prescribed burns that not only keep the turkey oaks at a manageable level but also help renew the foods that you love to eat and don’t worry you are safe from the fire in your underground burrow. As you know the prescribed burning is essential to maintaining the sandhill community habitat otherwise aggressive growth of oaks and shrubs would overtake areas and deprive resources of the plants and animals that currently live there.

Sandhill Community - Photo by Ryan Worthington

Being a keystone species we know you have no problem sharing your burrow with your neighbors and there are quite a few here as you may know. During the winter months your friend the Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake will take a break from hunting and join you in the comfort of your underground home. You can expect the occasional visit from the Eastern Indigo Snake, Gopher Frog, Florida Mouse, and Florida pine snake who are becoming increasingly rare and depend on you. There are many other roommates of yours that we call commensals that you help, so you can expect a welcoming community should you relocate here. Have you seen the harvester ants? They primarily feed on seeds hence their name, if you notice a lack of fire ants, it is because of their presence. They also help with seed dispersal as they carry, store, and feed on seeds.

Deer Lake - photo by Ryan Worthington

Want to see more than the sand of the sandhills? Well Gold Head has some amazing features. There are multiple lakes and they are not all the same! Deer lake and Sheeler Lake are deep sinkhole lakes. Sheeler is clear and is over 23,000 years old! Pebble and Little Lake Johnson are right next to each other and have some fantastic views. Not into lakes? Well how about Gold Head Branch! The spring fed ravine that runs the length of the park until it empties into Little Lake Jonson. With lower temperatures, cold water, and a deep ravine it offers vegetation and animals that are not normally found within the sandhill Community.

Sheeler Lake - Photo by Ryan Worthington

Should you relocate here you will not have to worry about being displaced by a highway, subdivision, or other development. This park is conserving the area within its boundaries including the sandhill community. It is also a part of the Ocala to Osceola Wildlife Corridor (the O2O). This is a 100 mile long, 1.6 million acre stretch of land that connects the Ocala and Osceola National Forests. This is made up of both public and private lands that will allow you ample areas to settle down should you chose to move somewhere other than Gold Head Branch State Park.