- March 2, 2025
The Flagler County Board of County Commissioners has passed a resolution designed in part to deter poachers who have stolen game from wooded areas along State Road 100, sometimes trooping right through subdivisions to get into the woods and shooting rifles uncomfortably close to peoples’ homes.
The resolution authorizes County Administrator Craig Coffey to temporarily close certain public lands that haven’t yet been prepared for public recreational use.
“There’s nothing there right now that’s set up and proper for the public, to protect the environment and make it safe,” Coffey said at the commission’s regular Monday meeting. “We don’t want vandals, or people going in there and getting hurt.”
Commissioner Frank Meeker called the poaching an “abuse of property,” and said it “puts the residents at risk for stray bullets flying around.”
He was out on State Road 100 at night recently, he said, when he heard at least six gunshots from a large-caliber rifle, right across from the country club.
“Being a hunter myself, the sound I was hearing was way closer than what I would like to hear in a residential area,” he said. “There are safety issues for people walking out there. There are safety issues for people living in the area.”
Palm Coast resident Dennis McDonald, who ran for County Commission last year and often attends commission meetings, urged the commission to vote against the ordinance.
He said it restricts the rights of many residents because of the criminal actions of a few, and that its language is too broad.
“What the intent is and what gets done outside of these chambers is often two different things,” he said. “This thing needs to be defined very clearly. You’re talking about a lot of land.”
The criteria for closure stated in the resolution is: “when the administrator deems it necessary to protect the public’s health, safety and welfare or to otherwise protect or enhance the natural or historic resources and value of the public lands.”
The commission approved the resolution in a unanimous vote but asked Coffey to notify the commission of any planned closures. County Attorney Al Hadeed said the measure is essentially a formal recognition of a power Coffey already has.
Some of the areas that could be closed include Bulow Woods — an area between Old Kings Road and Bulow Creek, and south of State Road 100 — and some of the land around Pellicer Creek. The creek would still be accessible to boaters and fishermen reaching it by water.
The county intends to make as much land as possible available for the public, Coffey said, and will work to develop those areas for recreational use.
