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Jerry Rice, chair; Judy Whitehead, vice chair; Jennifer Closshey, treasurer; and Neil Combee, secretary, were all elected to their positions in May. A unanimous vote at the May Governing Board meeting elected Talmadge G. “Jerry” Rice as Governing Board chair of the Southwest Florida Water Management District. “I have had the privilege to serve under four very dynamic and effective chairs, Ronnie Duncan, Tom Dabney, Watson Haynes and Heidi McCree,” said Rice. “…

Setting prescribed fires in controlled settings can reduce the risk of wildfires burning out of control. That’s why the Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) will be conducting prescribed burns October through December on the Lower Hillsborough Wilderness Preserve. The Lower Hillsborough Wilderness Preserve is located south of Cross Creek Boulevard between U.S. Highway 301 and Morris Bridge Road near…

Setting prescribed fires in controlled settings can reduce the risk of wildfires burning out of control. That’s why the Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) will be conducting prescribed burns October through December on the Starkey Wilderness Preserve. Starkey Wilderness Preserve is located east of New Port Richey, west of the Suncoast Parkway, north of…

  Left: Kaylee Meadows, a student from Wiregrass Ranch High, plants longleaf seedlings; center: Sheila Hollahan helps volunteer Felix Renta. How long does it take to plant 1,000 trees? Only an hour if you are the 51 volunteers who recently came out to Conner Preserve to plant longleaf pine seedlings. The District donated the thousand trees, which were planted on an 11-acre restoration site in the preserve to help restore the ecosystem. Volunteers were…

WHO: Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) land management staff. WHAT: District land management staff will set prescribed fires in a controlled setting, which can reduce the risk of wildfires burning out of control, as many Floridians witnessed during the state's wildfire emergency last spring. WHERE: Jay B. Starkey Wilderness Park at Starkey Wilderness Preserve, located at 10500 Wilderness Park Blvd…

Setting prescribed fires in controlled settings can reduce the risk of wildfires burning out of control, as many Floridians witnessed during the state's wildfire emergency last spring. That's why the Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) will be conducting prescribed burns March through September 2018 at Weekiwachee Preserve in Pasco County. Weekiwachee Preserve is located north of Hudson, west of U.S. Highway 19 and includes the Aripeka Sandhills…

Setting prescribed fires in controlled settings can reduce the risk of wildfires burning out of control, as many Floridians witnessed during the state's wildfire emergency in early spring. That's why the Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) will be conducting prescribed burns during the next 12 months within the Green Swamp, including the Green Swamp East, Green Swamp West, Hampton and Upper Hillsborough properties. These properties are located in eastern…

Setting prescribed fires in controlled settings can reduce the risk of wildfires burning out of control, as many Floridians witnessed during the state's wildfire emergency in early spring. That's why the Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) will be conducting prescribed burns October through January 2018 on the Green Swamp Hampton Tract property in Polk County. The Hampton Tract property is located north of Rock Ridge Road and east of U.S. Highway 98, north…

Homeowners in South Venice have long touted water quality as a top neighborhood issue, and they recently celebrated a project that will create additional habitat and help improve water quality in their local waterways.  Residents and other community leaders celebrated the South Venice Beach Waterway Restoration Project, a culmination of the work to restore about 7,500 linear feet of the Siesta and Briarwood waterway banks in South Venice Beach. By creating a…

District staff often will say their co-workers feel like family. But for some employees, it really is true. Here’s a few stories of family connections at the District: Tradesworker Tyler Ledington was excited to join the District eight months ago. Growing up, he saw how the District provided for his mom, senior administrative assistant Susie Holton. Susie, a 35-year veteran of the District, took Tyler to many “Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day” events.  The…

Setting prescribed fires in controlled settings can reduce the risk of wildfires burning out of control, as many Floridians witnessed during the state's recent drought. That's why the Land Management Section of the Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) will be conducting prescribed burns during the months of July, August, and September on the Lower Hillsborough Flood Detention Area (LHFDA) in Hillsborough County. The LHFDA property is located in the area…

Setting prescribed fires in controlled settings can reduce the risk of wildfires burning out of control, as many Floridians witnessed during the state's recent drought. That's why the Land Management Section of the Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) will be conducting prescribed burns during the months of July, August, and September at the Conner Preserve in Pasco County. Conner Preserve is located south of State Road 52 and east of U.S. 41 near the…

Setting prescribed fires in controlled settings can reduce the risk of wildfires burning out of control, as many Floridians witnessed during the state’s wildfire emergency in 2017. That’s why the Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) will be conducting prescribed burns July through September on the Lake Panasoffkee property in Sumter County. The Lake Panasoffkee property is located…

The Land Management Section of the Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) will be conducting prescribed burns now through the month of March on the Halpata Tastanaki Preserve in Marion County. The property is located two miles east of Dunnellon and seven miles northeast of the City of Hernando and is bounded by County Road 484 on the north, State Road 200 on the southeast and the Withlacoochee River on the southwest. Approximately 1,000 acres will be burned…

The Land Management Section of the Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) will be conducting prescribed burns now through the month of March on the Potts Preserve in Citrus County. The property is located approximately two miles east of City of Hernando and 3.5 miles north-northeast of Inverness. Potts Preserve is east and southeast of State Road 200 and north of Turner Camp Road and is bounded by the Withlacoochee River on the east. Approximately 200 acres…

The Land Management Section of the Southwest Florida Water ManagementDistrict (District) will be conducting prescribed burns during the months of October through March on the Halpata Tastanaki Preserve in Marion County. The property is located two miles east of Dunnellon and seven miles northeast of the City of Hernando and is bounded by County Road 484 on the north, State Road 200 on the southeast and the Withlacoochee River on the southwest. Approximately 1,000 acres will…

The Land Management Section of the Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) will be conducting prescribed burns during the months of October through March on the Potts Preserve in Citrus County. The property is located approximately two miles east of City of Hernando and 3.5 miles north-northeast of Inverness. Potts Preserve is east and southeast of State Road 200 and north of Turner Camp Road and is bounded by the Withlacoochee River on the east. Approximately…

Setting prescribed fires in controlled settings can reduce the risk of wildfires burning out of control. That’s why the Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) will be conducting prescribed burns June through September at Myakka River - Deer Prairie Creek Preserve and Myakka River - Schewe Tract in Sarasota County. Myakka River - Deer Prairie Creek Preserve and Myakka River - Schewe Tract…

Setting prescribed fires in controlled settings can reduce the risk of wildfires burning out of control. That’s why the Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) will be conducting prescribed burns June through September on the Hálpata Tastanaki Preserve in Marion County. Hálpata Tastanaki Preserve is located 2 miles east of Dunnellon and 7 miles northeast of the city of Hernando and is…

The "Land Management Section of the Southwest Florida Water ManagementDistrict ":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/documents/plans/landusemgmt/ (District) will be conducting prescribed burns during the months of November through March on the Halpata Tastanaki Preserve in Marion County. The property is located two miles east of Dunnellon and seven miles northeast of Hernando and is bounded by County Road 484 on the north, State Road 200 on the southeast and the Withlacoochee…