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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 June through September at the following Pasco County properties:

• Cypress Creek Preserve
…

The "Southwest Florida Water Management District(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us "Governing Board(Governing Board)":/about/governingboard voted to begin the process of expanding an area in Eastern Hillsborough that requires special well construction standards to reduce the risk of private wells going dry during frost-freeze events.The special standard require restricted wells to be dug deeper than typical residential wells.…

History buffs can now get an up-close look at the artifacts recovered during the Chassahowitzka Springs Restoration Project. More than 700 artifacts were recovered during the District’s project, which removed sediments with a pump that had accumulated in the springs. Now, some of those artifacts are on display in a new exhibit at the Old Courthouse Heritage Museum in Inverness.  The “Changing People, Changing Springs: Chassahowitzka Discovered” exhibit…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District is holding a workshop to gather the public’s input on how the Starkey Wilderness Preserve should be managed and used.The workshop will be held at the Starkey Environmental Education Center on Thursday, April 28 at 6 p.m. The environmental center is located at the Jay B. Starkey Wilderness Park, 10500 Wilderness Park Road in New Port Richey.The Starkey Wilderness Preserve encompasses more than 19,000 acres of land in…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District is asking for the public’s input on updating the land management plan for the Starkey Wilderness Preserve.A workshop will be held at the Starkey Environmental Education Center on Thursday, April 28 at 6 p.m. The environmental center is located at the Jay B. Starkey Wilderness Park, 10500 Wilderness Park Road in New Port Richey.The Starkey Wilderness Preserve encompasses more than 19,000 acres of land in southwestern…

Something special happened this November in the Green Swamp Wilderness Preserve. Thirteen of fourteen disabled hunters participating in a deer/hog hunt were successful. The event was organized by the National Wild Turkey Federation/Wheelin’ Sportsmen on land managed by the Southwest Florida Water Management District.The hunters harvested ten deer and seven wild hogs during the two-day event. One young man who battles the effects of cerebral palsy was successful in…

Statewide Tracker System One of the reasons the state has been able to mobilize so efficiently to assist the victims of Hurricane Charley is the use of the State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) Tracker System. The system, which operates as a database, was implemented to coordinate needs and resources more efficiently. It was created after Hurricane Andrew struck south Florida in 1992. The system is managed and updated by the SEOC, a part of the Division of…

Excellence in Engineering District employee Bill Hartmann recently received a pat on the back from his peers. Hartmann, who is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), was named the Government Engineer of the Year for 2002–2003. Hartmann was presented with the award at the annual dinner for the ASCE and the Florida Engineering Society. The award is for the ASCE’s Florida Section-Ridge Branch. There are about 100 members in the…

Left: Rep. Richard Glorioso, R-Plant City; Robert Brown, Plant City Commissioner; Heidi McCree, Governing Board member; Hugh Gramling, Hillsborough River Basin Board member; Fred Johnson, former Hillsborough River Basin Board member; and Devon Higginbotham, Northwest Hillsborough Basin Board member, visited the McIntosh Park site. The District’s new Governing Board chair knew early in life that his future lay in the citrus industry. Born in Avon Park and…

They tackled topics like aquatics and invasive species.  Hundreds of students from several counties recently participated in the 2016 Tampa Bay and Nature Coast regional envirothons. The competition is a problem-solving, natural resources education program for high school students allowing them to use critical-thinking skills to solve problems or conduct hands-on investigations about current environmental issues. This marked the 19th year the District sponsored…

Dozens of paddlers recently joined the Florida Wildlife Corridor Expedition team on their excursion along the Rainbow River.  The District recently hosted the Rainbow River Paddle trail mixer in partnership with the expedition at Rainbow Springs State Park. Despite some chilly temperatures, more than 50 people came out to paddle in the event.  Before people launched their canoes and kayaks, they had a chance to meet the expedition team and some of the…

The "Southwest Florida Water Management District":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/ (District) will hold a Recreation Ad Hoc Committee meeting Thursday, May 30, at 9:30 a.m. The meeting will take place at the Tampa Service Office, located at 7601 U.S. Highway 301.The Recreation Ad Hoc Committee, made up of four Governing Board members, will provide guidance and review future staff recommendations. Staff will be evaluating the District's lands to determine whether the current…

_First test this Saturday, Oct. 3 at noon_The Southwest Florida Water Management District will begin monthly audible testing on Saturday, Oct. 3 of three sirens installed near the Edward Medard Park reservoir in southeast Hillsborough County.The audible testing will continue to occur the first Saturday of each month at noon to ensure these sirens perform properly. During testing, the sirens will sound for about 15 seconds and are expected to reach a two-mile radius.The…

Southwest Florida Water Management District land managers plan to hold a series of hog hunts on District land this fall and winter to help reduce the wild hog population.Beginning at 9 a.m. on Oct. 12, prospective hunters can purchase permits for these hunts on the District’s web site at WaterMatters.org/hoghunts/. Permits will be available on a first-come, first-…

Want to know if we’re catching up on the drought? How does the current drought compare to the historic drought of 2000-2001?A new Southwest Florida Water Management District web page provides information on long-term rainfall and river flows in west-central Florida.Color-coded charts and maps compare current rainfall and river flows to historical levels, illustrating the degree to which levels deviate from normal over the 16-county District.The District developed the…

Throughout the year Southwest Florida Water Management District employees volunteer their time and donate money to help support a variety of charitable organizations, but the greatest support comes during the holiday season.The District’s employee committee coordinates the holiday season benevolent efforts, which begin in the fall with an auction to raise funds for the “adopt-a-family” program that helps employees, their families, and their friends and neighbors. Families…

Public participation will be provided through online viewing or conference call options The Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Governing Board will hold its monthly meeting Tuesday, July 28, at 9 a.m. remotely. In-person attendance by Board members and staff will be limited in accordance with the directive in the Florida…

District staff moderated discussion sessions and presented studies during the 8th Biennial Conference on Stormwater Research and Watershed Management. The conference, which was held in late April, was co-sponsored by the District and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP). The two-day conference provided a forum to discuss and debate a wide range of stormwater treatment and watershed management ideas and issues and provide initial peer review.…

The "Southwest Florida Water Management District(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":/ is gathering input needed to improve identification of flooding risks in Citrus County's *Center Ridge watershed*.The District is serving as a cooperating technical partner for the "Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)(Federal Emergency Management Agency)":http://www.fema.gov on its national effort to "update and modernize the FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs)(Federal…

Residents are invited to give input on the District’s Withlacoochee River Watershed Initiative during a series of public workshops. The initiative is a multi-year effort designed to better understand the dynamics of the river and watershed, identify how alterations have affected the system, and evaluate alternatives to better manage the water resources.  Nineteen river model scenarios have been identified through years of citizen input. These scenarios were…