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The Southwest Florida Water Management District will be conducting “controlled, prescribed burns” during February and March on the District’s Cypress Creek property in Pasco County. The property is approximately 3 miles east of Land O’ Lakes. The scheduled, managed burns are a part of routine maintenance of lands managed by the District. Approximately 250 acres of land will be burned in small, manageable units.According to District Land Manager…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District will be conducting “controlled, prescribed burns” during April on the District’s Weekiwachee Preserve. The property is approximately 1 mile west of Spring Hill. The scheduled, managed burns are a part of routine maintenance of lands managed by the District. Approximately 200 acres of land will be burned in small, manageable units.According to District Land Manager Kevin W. Love, burns are implemented to…

District staff celebrated many accomplishments in 2012 and continued to serve the community by carrying out the core mission. After decades of collaboration and work with other cities, agencies and community partners, several restoration projects were completed in 2012. Projects like those at Cockroach Bay and Clam Bayou improved water quality and restored sensitive habitats. Mother Nature packed a wallop in 2012, bringing the threat of two tropical storms. Staff…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District will be conducting “controlled, prescribed burns” during January on the District’s Weekiwachee Preserve. The property is approximately 1 mile west of Spring Hill. The scheduled, managed burns are a part of routine maintenance of lands managed by the District. Approximately 100 acres of land will be burned in small, manageable units.According to District Land Manager Kevin W. Love, burns are implemented to…

New Leadership If there’s one certainty, it is this: Thomas G. Dabney is prepared. Soon after being named to the Governing Board in April 2000, Dabney granted a wide-ranging interview to The Sarasota Herald-Tribune. The interview covered such complex topics as saltwater intrusion and the hydrogeology of west-central Florida. He was prepared. Dabney was prepared one year after joining the Board when he was named vice chair, devouring mountains of material that…

More and more community associations are asking the District and the county Extension agents with the Florida Yards & Neighborhoods program for help with their landscape and irrigation concerns. Some of the common problems Extension agents see include excessive watering and fertilizing as well as overpruning and improperly maintained irrigation systems. By taking a proactive approach to learn about efficient irrigating techniques and Florida-friendly landscaping,…

The public is welcome to attend an informational meeting to discuss flooding and water quality issues in the Christina watershed in Polk County.The Southwest Florida Management District and Polk County are evaluating the watershed, located in and north of Mulberry in western Polk County within the District’s Alafia River Basin and part of the headwaters to the North Prong of the Alafia River. The watershed boundaries are roughly south of County Road 540A, east of…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Governing Board Tuesday approved a plan to complete a comprehensive study of the Withlacoochee River watershed. The ongoing study was being conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) until federal funding dried up. Over the next three fiscal years the District will budget approximately $2 million to complete the study tasks.The first portion of the study that identified water resource issues in the…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District is working with willing property owners to improve the flood control capability of the Peace Creek Canal by treating aquatic vegetation in select areas.Approximately 20 miles of the canal will be targeted for treatment Nov. 14, 15 or 16. If weather conditions are not favorable, an alternative date is set for Nov. 28-30.The Peace Creek Canal runs from Lake Hamilton to the Peace River and provides necessary drainage for a large…

The "Southwest Florida Water Management District(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":/, the "US Fish and Wildlife Service(U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)":http://www.fws.gov/, and the "Friends of Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge(Friends of Chassahowitzka)":http://friendsofchazz.org/ are holding a public open house at the newly acquired Three Sisters Springs property on "National Public Lands Day(National Public Lands Day)":http://www.publiclandsday.org/,…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District is announcing the recipients of the 2005 Community Education Grant Program. The grants, which are up to $5,000 each, will help fund projects that provide communities the opportunity to learn about water resources.This year the District awarded 29 grants Districtwide for a total of $107,667.The overall goal of the Community Education Grant Program is to actively engage adults in water-related issues pertaining to conservation,…

Scott Black, Dade City commissioner, presents Jennifer Closshey, Governing Board treasurer, with the award while Sallie Parks, Governing Board member; Jennette Seachrist, SWIM program manager; Manny Pumariega, Planning Council executive director; and Joe Jordan-Robinson, Northwest Hillsborough Basin Board vice chair, look on. A project that is providing low-salinity fisheries habitat and improving water quality made waves at the Tampa Bay Regional Planning…

District's Cooperative Funding Initiative to Continue In order to increase efficiency of operations and reduce costs, the Southwest Florida Water Management District's Governing Board approved a resolution today to merge the budgets of the District's eight Basin Boards into the Governing Board, while keeping a reduced Cooperative Funding Initiative to fund regional projects. The District's eight Basin Boards provided guidance for local programs and projects that were…

Governor Ron DeSantis appointed James “Jim” Turner and reappointed Paul “Jack” Bispham, John Hall, and Nancy Watkins to the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Governing Board. Turner represents Charlotte and Sarasota counties, Bispham represents Manatee County, Hall represents Polk County and Watkins represents Hillsborough and Pinellas counties.Turner, of Sarasota, is Senior Counsel at Williams Parker Law Firm. Turner earned his bachelor’s degree in management…

Hispanic Outreach Nearly 10 percent of the people who live in the District are Hispanic, and for many, Spanish is their first language. To reach that audience with a water conservation message, the District developed the Hispanic Outreach Program. The idea behind the campaign began with the Governing Board’s Diversity Committee, said project manager John Walkinshaw. Spanish-speaking District employees also showed an interest in promoting the outreach. Alberto…

The Land Management Section of the "Southwest Florida Water Management District":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/ will be conducting prescribed burns during the month of June on lands acquired by the District known as the Weeki Wachee property. The location of this tract of land is approximately two miles west of Weeki Wachee and Spring Hill and 0.5 miles east of Hernando Beach. The scheduled, managed burns are a part of routine maintenance of lands managed by the District…

The "Southwest Florida Water Management Governing Board":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/about/governingboard/ voted today to elect new officers to the board. "Carlos M. Beruff":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/about/governingboard/profiles/carlos_beruff.html was elected chair of the Governing Board. Beruff represents Manatee County, and is owner and president of Medallion Homes Gulf Coast, Inc. Beruff was appointed to the Board in July 2009, and re-appointed in March 2013."…

The District recently launched a campaign to encourage residents who irrigate their lawns to skip a week of watering during December, January and February. The “Skip a Week” campaign was developed based on research from the University of Florida, which determined that grass doesn’t need to be watered every week during the cooler months. In fact, one-half to three-quarters of an inch of water every 10–14 days is sufficient. “Residents should water only when their…

 At the FARMS program presentation are (from left to right) Paul Samuels, Peace River Basin Board member; Mac Carraway, Manasota Basin Board member; Senator Mike Bennett; Representative Nancy Detert; Patsy Symons, Governing Board secretary; Tom Dabney, Governing Board member; Frank Strelec, Manasota Basin Board member; and Ken Harrison, Peace River Basin Board member. Members of the District’s Governing Board and the Manasota and Peace River basin boards…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District will be conducting “controlled, prescribed burns” during June, July and August on the District’s Upper Hillsborough property in Pasco and Polk counties.The Upper Hillsborough property is approximately 2 miles east of Zephyrhills. The scheduled, managed burns are a part of routine maintenance of lands managed by the District. Approximately 300 acres of land will be burned in small, manageable units.According…