Holey Lands/Rotenberger W.M.A

[wilburz]

I don't hunt in the buggy area anyways. Just figured if the buggies can tear the place up so can the atv's, just at a slower pace. I am with you close the place off totaly just like BullCreek or 3 Lakes.

[enniehall]

I'm a new rider with no where to ride...how do i get to the holey lands

[inked4life87]

they are closed now,but you can get there by us-27 to broward/palm beach line there you will see a sign on the west side that says holey lands/rotenberger,make a turn in there and ride the paved road till you hit the dirt road and then till the lot,you can park there or ride further down the leve to some other spots.

[inked4life87]

 THIS WAS SENT TO ME BAY FWC-LT WHEN I ASKED WHEN HOLYLANDS WAS GOING TO OPEN  UP AGIAN..



Actually the Biologist are talking about opening Holey Land and Rottenberger Wildlife Management Areas (WMA's) in the near future.  With the Everglades WMA being closed for much longer.  This has to do with the way that that the everglades naturally flows even with all of the human interaction that has taken place over the past few decades, it still flows north to south.
 
Until they give us a specific opening date I do not want to publish it other than it might happen soon.  This will cause some user group conflicts that hopefully we can deal with effectively. 
 
So, here is the proposal as it stands now...
 
Holey Land and Rottenberger will be open in the near future (if the current weather holds).  This will open the L-5 North Levee, Miami Canal Levee north of the L-5, and the North L-4 Levee to vehicle traffic.  Also the WMA's will be open for the upcoming hunts depending on the opening date (here is where the user group conflicts begin)...
 
The conflict that we have experienced in the past is that hunters in the WMA's setup stands and/or blinds and try their very best not to move or make sounds, then a recreational ATV rider comes near the stand and/or blind possibly scaring off any deer that might be in the area.  How we would like to deal with this is to restrict the recreational ATV riders to the levees during the hunt seasons to allow the hunters to have an undisturbed hunt so that they can possibly harvest a deer.  How we plan on doing this is by enforcing a rule in the WMA pamphlet that states that ATV's can only be used for hunting during the archery, muzzle loading and walk seasons (the vehicle season rules already address that all vehicles in the area must have a permit).  We do not feel that this is a huge problem for the recreational ATV operators since they have access to the interior parts (off the levees) of the WMA's for a larger part of the calendar year than the hunters.
 
So, if the areas are opened soon vehicle traffic will be allowed almost everywhere except for the L-5 South and L-4 South Levees and interior portion of the Everglades Francis Taylor WMA.  We will ask that all traffic not directly related to hunting be confined to the open levees and allow the hunters their privilege of an undisturbed hunt. 
 
If this happens everybody will still get the opportunities to enjoy their hobbies, but it will take cooperation from all involved.  If people do not hunt they will still be required to follow the guidelines as set forth in the WMA pamphlets and rules of the emergency closures that can be found on our web site myfwc.com.
 
I have been slack in reading the posts on ATVFlorida.com but if you want to cut and paste this response in the appropriate place I would not have a problem with it as long as the whole response is posted and it will help in the long run so I don't have to type it again.  I will post on the site as soon as it is official that the areas will reopen again.
 
Thanks,
 
Lt. Chris Sella

[SSRancher]

SWEET!!

[Gamer]

I looked up the hunting dates for this year.

Archery Sept 10th-Oct 9th
Muzzleloading Gun Oct 15-23rd
General Gun Oct 29th-Jan 8th

So basically we have to stay on the levee's for these dates or is there other dates that have to be included?  Also can we ride off the Levee's inbetween the dates like Oct 10th-14th when there is no hunting?  I completly understand that the hunters need there time too but there also getting the best months to be out there.  Correct me if I'm wrong but Holeylands will now be closed to ORV's if your not hunting from Sept 10th till the beginning of May?  That's a long time.  Then it will close again due to high water levels.  I don't see this as a good thing for recreational ORV's.  How about a rule like ORV's will be permitted off the levee's after a certain time every day like 2:00pm since most hunting is done in the morning.  Tell you what open up the area in the Everglades WMA east of the Levee over by Holiday Park and U.S. 27 during hunting season and you won't hear any complaints from us.   

[s214]

great 3 months of riding a year. Man I should of bought a jet ski.

[AintSkeered]

So, does that now mean we have to bring our guns with us and get permits to ride ATVs in Holyland?

[AintSkeered]

If Everglades WMA remains closed, can we get our gun-vehicle permits, bring our archery equipment and legally ride our ATVs during archery season, etc.? If so, I'm okay with lstaying out of the area from 5am to 2pm for hunters and we'll ride the rest of the time.

[AintSkeered]

When you consider the effects of annual summer rains and the 2005-2006 Hunting season, it's now an incorrect statement to say that "recreational ATV operators have access to the interior parts (off the levees) of the WMA's for a larger part of the calendar year than the hunters!" Aren't ATVs also prohibited from the end of the General Gun season(Jan to April 30th? Since the Holeyland regs allow hunting from 1/2 before sunrise to 1/2 after sunset, why can't FWC NOT enforce the reg between sunset and sunrise, when hunting is prohibited? Will the prohibition be enforced between hunting seasons? Why is the SFWMD holding back so much water from draining out of the northeast quadrant of the Everglades WMA?

[AintSkeered]

The more I think about this nonsense........... Let me understand this. The Holeyland/Everglades WMAs were recently closed to protect wildlife so that they'll be healthy enough to be gunned down from September 8 to April 30th?

[AintSkeered]

Can't wait to see what Katrina does to those reopening plans! Will we still be protecting the wildlife? LOL

[FTR44C-REP]

Just go to Seminole MX Park.  It's alot more fun.

[TRX350_On_The_Rack]

Time for a hunting permit, a case for my bow and then some

[AintSkeered]

Archery Sept 10th-Oct 9th, well? Does it open, YET?

[mmason]

I know you can ride at Rotenberg during hunting season, can you ride when it is not hunting season?

[SwampRat]

I know you can ride at Rotenberg during hunting season, can you ride when it is not hunting season?

Yep, but you can't carry guns out of season.   

[AintSkeered]

Update: Continued bad news! They've now closed much of Big Cypress due to all of the water. So, it'll prolly be months before we'll have any place legal to ride in SFL. 

http://myfwc.com/whatsnew/05/stormnews/closingsreopenings.html

[AintSkeered]

http://myfwc.com/whatsnew/05/south/holeylandopen.html

[rubicon500kid]

is this place open or not 

[soldado37]

How big is this place? is it more mudd or trails?

[AintSkeered]

Still flooded to the max!

[AintSkeered]

Florida OHV Recreation Management Workshop
May 1- 4, 2006
Hilton-Ocala
Ocala, Florida

http://www.fl-dof.com/calendar/2006_ohv_may_wkshop.html

[soldado37]

Still flooded to the max!

Is it still flooded? is there a number to call and find out?

[AintSkeered]

No number to call, unless you want FWC's OPINION. I can't imagine that they'd be telling you what you want to hear. No promises, but, I'll try to do a visual this weekend and report back. I suspect it's still too flooded, though.