Devil’s Hammock Fire Plow Purchase Raises a Taxpayer Question: Is the County Expanding Into Work Already Handled by the State?
By Linda Dean Cooper
The BOCC approved a $30,005 fire-line plow for Devil’s Hammock Wildlife Management Area without including the deed governing the property in the agenda packet provided to commissioners or the public before the vote.
That deed clearly outlines how the property is supposed to be managed and is now available for public review on the Spotlight on Levy County Government website.
Commissioners and the public should have had that document before approving the purchase.
The Devil’s Hammock Deed Requires Coordination With State Agencies
The deed requires the property to be managed for conservation and natural resource protection and directs that management be coordinated with state agencies, including the Florida Division of Forestry, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and the Suwannee River Water Management District.
Those agencies already possess the personnel, equipment, and expertise to conduct wildfire management, prescribed burns, and fire-line maintenance.
By accepting the deed, Levy County also accepted the covenants and restrictions attached to the property under the Grant Award Agreement referenced in the document. Those conditions run with the land.
Did Anyone Read the Devil’s Hammock Deed?
Of course not — it wasn’t included in the agenda packet provided to commissioners or the public before the vote.
Why didn’t the BOCC reject the agenda item until a complete information packet was provided?
This is not the first time commissioners have approved an agenda item without key documents included in the public packet. The DPS compound discussion moved forward the same way, with the lease governing that property missing from the agenda backup when the Board considered the issue.
Preparing complete agenda packets is the responsibility of the County Manager’s office.
But the BOCC has the authority — and the duty — to refuse action until the documentation is provided.
Yet Levy County has now approved a $30,005 fire-line plow for the property.
But a Plow Rarely Stands Alone
A fire-line plow is rarely the end of the story.
Equipment like this typically requires a compatible tractor or dozer, trained operators, maintenance, fuel, and ongoing operational costs. If the county is stepping into forest management at Devil’s Hammock, taxpayers deserve to know whether this purchase is the first step in a larger expansion of equipment and responsibilities.
Had to File a Public Records Request Just to See the Deed
A public records request seeking the agreement referenced in the agenda item and communications with state agencies produced one document: the Devil’s Hammock warranty deed.
The request was submitted March 3. The county’s response on March 10 produced only the deed.
The agenda item itself referenced an agreement related to Devil’s Hammock, but no such agreement was included in the agenda packet or produced in response to the records request.
Without that request, the public would never have seen the document governing how the property is supposed to be managed.
The county produced no other documents of any kind.
No management plan.
No coordination records.
No correspondence with the Florida Division of Forestry.
No documentation showing state agencies were consulted before the purchase was approved.
Yet the BOCC approved the purchase anyway.
Taxpayers should not have to file public records requests just to see the documents the BOCC should have had before the vote.
Questions the BOCC Never Answered Before Voting
Before approving specialized equipment tied to conservation land, commissioners should have required clear documentation answering basic questions.
But the BOCC approved the purchase without answering any of them.
- Who is actually responsible for maintaining fire lines at Devil’s Hammock?
- Are state agencies already performing this work?
- What does the management plan require?
- Did county staff review the deed restrictions before recommending the purchase?
- Was the Florida Division of Forestry consulted before the county approved forestry equipment?
Those are not minor details. They are the basic questions responsible government asks before spending taxpayer money.
Yet the BOCC approved the purchase anyway.
Instead, the Board approved the purchase first and left taxpayers to chase the paperwork afterward through public records requests.
That is not due diligence. That is government spending operating backwards.
County Manager Mary Ellen Harper has not hesitated to terminate employees when performance falls short. If that standard applies throughout county government, should it not also apply to the management structure responsible for placing incomplete agenda items before the Board?
At some point, the question is no longer whether mistakes are being made, but why the same management practices keep repeating, and why no one is stopping them.
The BOCC has the authority to demand complete documentation before approving costly agenda items. When that responsibility is ignored, taxpayers are left footing the bill for decisions they were never given the information needed to evaluate.
BOCC: Do your job — or the voters will fire you.
Fire planning:
See the highlighted paragraph in the Devil’s Hammock Warranty Deed, Project Site Requirements section, Item 7 (PDF page 12 / document page 8).
Agency coordination:
See the highlighted paragraph in the Devil’s Hammock Warranty Deed, Project Site Requirements section, Item 12 (PDF page 13 / document page 9).Below: See the highlighted paragraph in the Devil’s Hammock Warranty Deed, Project Site Requirements section, Item 12 (PDF page 13 / document page 9).
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Posted March 11, 2026 | Spotlight on Levy County Government
