The Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board Tuesday approved the purchase of a parcel of environmentally sensitive land in the Weekiwachee Preserve.
The 315-acre parcel of land is located on the northwest corner of New York Avenue and Old Dixie Hwy. in the northern coastal area of Pasco County. The parcel is being purchased for $625,138.
Funding for these purchases comes from the Florida Forever Trust Fund.
Purchasing these parcels of land is consistent with the District’s Florida Forever Work Plan, which specifically identifies the Weekiachee Preserve project. The newly purchased land is near the 10,735 acres of the Weekiachee Preserve currently owned by the District.
This purchase will provide several water management benefits including the preservation or restoration of natural ecosystems and their functions, preservation or enhancement of water quality, and protection of habitats and associated wildlife resources.
The Weekiwachee Preserve consists of a swamp that forms a complex system of productive estuarine marshes and lowlands that offer a natural habitat to wildlife and some endangered species. Acquisition of the environmentally sensitive land plays an important role in the Weekiwachee River’s conveyance system and in flood and storm abatement.