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4. Use of rubber tired heavy equipment for all mechanical treatment activities conducted on the site to minimize soil disturbance on the conservation sites. 5. Use of soft fire breaks, mowed lines in conjunction with foam or black lines, as control lines, wherever feasible. The use of plowiines in undisturbed habitat areas will be avoided if deemed safe by the DOF. If piowlines are needed, the DOF will back -blade these areas following implementation of the initial burn. 6. Performance of field surveys within occupied scrub -Jay territories during tete nesting season to locate active nests prior to the application of mechanical and/or prescribed fire treatment. Protection of the nest from any kind of management that may take place will be performed to prevent the take of scrub -jays as a result of implementation of habitat restoration and management actions. 5.3,3 Phase Two - Habitat Mananernent Activ_: ties Upon completion of the initial restoration management actions on the Scrub -Jay Habitat Compensation Areas, prescribed fire will be the primary management toot applied to maintain optimal scrub -jay habitat quality. Future burning needs and the size and location of management units will be based on optimal Florida scrub -jay habitat structural criteria, as defined herein, and riot fire frequencies due to the variation of natural community types to fire. The time between burns will also be dictated by the availability of fuels required to carry a fire. Long-term fire management activities shall promote the application of "mosaic:" burns, as generally described above, to increase habitat heterogeneity across the scrub landscape. This will be accomplished by varying the size and location of future management units, fire intensities, and timing of fires (Bobbins and Myers 1992; Breininger and Oddy 1998; Schmalzer et al. 1999). To the extentpractical, no more than 33% of the focal scrub oak habitat patches will be burned in any one fire to unsure that suitable cover, nesting sites, and foraging habitat for use by Florida scrub -jays are always available (Breininger et a/. 1996b). The matrix flatwood habitats will generally be placed on a fire interval to burn at least once every three (3) years to maintain an open landscape. In order to restore optimal landscape conditions for scruh-jays and reduce hazardous fuel loarlings, it is likely that one small fire will be needed at the North Sebastian Conservation Area and Wabasso Scrub Conservation Area on an annual basis. Future habitat nrarnagement actions will be refined and improved based on feedback from monitoring tile effects of tine initial management actions, in conjunction with state -of -the science knowledge and habitat management resources. 0.. 91