A cooperative project between the Southwest Florida Water Management District and Hillsborough County will restore more than 160 acres within the county’s 2800-acre Fish Hawk Creek Preserve. Portions of the preserve are adjacent to District-owned lands and are within the Fish Hawk Creek watershed.
This project will restore natural vegetation to upland habitat areas within the preserve. In addition to providing habitat for wildlife, the restoration of natural vegetation will reduce stormwater runoff to Fish Hawk Creek, which is a direct tributary of the Alafia River, which flows into Tampa Bay.
Restoration efforts will focus on the overgrown hardwood areas and fallow pastures at five sites along the south side of Fish Hawk Creek. The dense hardwoods will be thinned out using chain saws and other mechanical means followed by controlled burns to reduce the extra underbrush. The sites will be monitored four times a year for at least a year to determine the degree to which the native plants are growing back. If necessary, appropriate native herbaceous plant species will be reintroduced through direct planting or seeding. Wildlife use of the treated areas will also be monitored.
The fallow pastures will receive a series of herbicide treatments before the soil is plowed over to kill the dominant Bahia grass and other undesirable plant species. Once this is complete, native plants will be reintroduced to the area through direct seeding or planting.
The Fish Hawk Creek Preserve Habitat Restoration Project, which is a cooperatively funded effort between Hillsborough County and the District, is estimated to cost $200,000. Hillsborough County and the District have each budgeted $100,000, with the District’s share being equally divided between the District’s Alafia River Basin Board and the State Surface Water Improvement and Management (SWIM) Program.
The Florida Legislature established the SWIM Act in 1987, requiring the five water management districts to maintain a priority list of water bodies of regional or statewide significance. The districts develop plans and programs for the improvement of these water bodies. Tampa Bay is the District’s top SWIM priority.