TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- A lake near Gainesville where archaeologists found Indian canoes from as far back as 5,000 years ago will be off limits to the harvesting of timber from its depths.
Citing the importance of the ancient site, Gov. Jeb Bush and the Cabinet unanimously decided Tuesday to keep so-called "deadhead loggers" from pulling old logs from Newnan's Lake, also known as Lake Pithlachocco.
Dozens of years ago, Florida loggers used to move timber by floating it along waterways. Some of it sank, and modern-day loggers can apply for permits to remove the valuable wood in a process known as deadhead logging.
A permit was issued in 1999 to L.C. Pinson to recover old timber from Newnan's Lake and he started to in 2000, although by the time he started the recovery Florida was in a drought and the lake was nearly dry.
At the same time, some local high school students were working on an archaeological research project on the lake, and discovered several wooden canoes buried in the muck.
As the scope of the find became apparent, a state archaeologist tested the canoes and Pinson stopped logging pending the findings.
Carbon dating of 53 of the 93 canoes two years ago put them at 500 to 5,000 years old, with most built more than 3,000 years ago.
Bush and the Cabinet voted to prohibit further taking of logs from Lake Pithlachocco, which Seminoles say means "place of long boats."
The state agreed to expedite permits that Pinson has pending for deadhead logging on other lakes and bodies of water to compensate him for losing access to Newnan's Lake.
The Cabinet also voted to clarify that when it determines whether deadhead logging will be permitted in other water bodies it will consider the presence of significant cultural resources, such as Indian sites, and not just environmental concerns as was previously the case.
"The resources in Newnan's Lake are too valuable to risk," said Fred Dayhoff, a representative of the Miccosukee Indian Tribe. "This is a very significant cultural site to the Native American people."
The canoes were up to 22 feet long with rounded sterns and bows. A few that were tested for the type of wood were made from pine.
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