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The Southwest Florida Water Management District will be conducting "controlled, prescribed burns" during July on the District's Conner Preserve.Conner Preserve is located four miles north of Land O' Lakes. Approximately 500 acres of land will be burned in small, manageable units. The scheduled, managed burns are a part of routine maintenance of lands managed by the District.According to Land Management Supervisor Will VanGelder, burns are conducted to mimic natural fire…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District will be conducting "controlled, prescribed burns" during July on the District's Chito Branch Reserve in Hillsborough County.Chito Branch Reserve is located in Lithia. Approximately 300 acres of land will be burned in small, manageable units. The scheduled, managed burns are a part of routine maintenance of lands managed by the District.According to Land Management Supervisor Will VanGelder, burns are conducted to mimic natural…

Jason DiBattista, District tradesworker, inspects the sprinkler heads at the District each month, cleaning in and around them. The District’s rain sensor device overrides the irrigation timer if there has been enough rain. Making sure your irrigation system is operating effectively and efficiently is always important, but it is even more critical during periods of drought when water restrictions are tighter. Here are a few simple ways to check your irrigation…

Governor Charlie Crist recently appointed Devon Higginbotham to the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Hillsborough River Basin Board.Higginbotham was appointed to succeed Hung T. Mai. She is from Plant City and is a residential contractor with Archive Properties. Her term ends March 1, 2010. Higginbotham was appointed to the District’s Northwest Hillsborough Basin Board in 2006, but resigned her seat to serve on the Hillsborough River Basin Board.…

Governor Charlie Crist recently appointed one and reappointed another member to the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Peace River Basin Board.Ken Harrison of Arcadia was reappointed. He is a rancher. His term ends March 1, 2010.Pat Crisman of Bartow was appointed to succeed Ann Dunlap. She is a State Farm Insurance Agent. Her term ends March 1, 2010.The Peace River Basin Board area includes DeSoto and Hardee counties as…

Who:Southwest Florida Water Management District staff, Keep Hillsborough County Beautiful staff and volunteersWhat:A volunteer river cleanup is being coordinated at Hillsborough River State Park. Volunteers will be provided with canoes, gloves, garbage bags and trash pickers to collect trash along the river. If there are enough participants, volunteers will also collect trash along the park’s trails and parking areas.The river cleanup is part of “Hillsborough…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Serenova Tract, which is part of the Starkey Wilderness Preserve, will be closed to the public Jan. 12-14. The District is limiting access to the property to prepare for an event that allows disabled hunters the opportunity to experience the outdoors.The Serenova Tract is located in Pasco County, adjacent to the Tampa Bay Water Starkey wellfield. The entrance is just west of the Suncoast Parkway on the south side of State…

Gov. Jeb Bush recently appointed Jack Bispham to the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Manasota Basin Board.Bispham, who is from Sarasota, is the owner and president of Bayside Sod, Inc. He succeeds Evelio Sardina. Bispham’s term began May 8 and ends March 1, 2008.The Manasota Basin Board area includes Manatee and Sarasota counties, which are each represented by a minimum of three people. A Governing Board member presides as the chair ex officio of…

The Florida Greenways and Trails Council has agreed to include three Southwest Florida Water Management District properties in the state’s designated system of greenways and trails.The properties include the 18,000-acre Starkey Wilderness Preserve in Pasco County, the 16,000-acre Lower Hillsborough Flood Detention Area in Hillsborough County and the 31-mile segment of the Florida National Scenic Trail that goes through the Green Swamp Wilderness Preserve.The goal of…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) is gathering information to improve identification of flood prone areas in Citrus County. Residents living in the Chassahowitzka River watershed are invited to attend an open house Tuesday, Dec. 6, at 4 p.m. The meeting will take place at the Citrus County Government Building, located at 3600 W. Sovereign Path in Lecanto. District representatives will present preliminary data for flood prone areas,…

The "Southwest Florida Water Management District(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":http://watermatters.org, together with Citrus and Marion counties and the cities of Crystal River and Dunnellon, will proclaim March 14-20 as Springs Awareness Week. Nitrate pollution from overusing fertilizers is one reason the quality of our springs is declining. Everyone who lives, works and plays in west-central Florida can take these simple steps to help protect our springs:*…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) will temporarily close the Flying Eagle Dead River Flats airboat slide due to required maintenance. The airboat slide is located on the Flying Eagle berm between the Withlacoochee River and Flying Eagle Marsh in eastern Citrus County.Maintenance activities will start April 14 and are scheduled to be completed by April 25. Attempts to use the slide in its current condition could damage airboats.The District operates…

Left: Philip Rhinesmith, District senior environmental scientist, demonstrates animal track plaster casting techniques to a group of students. Center: Students examine and identify macroinvertebrates in a water sample at the water quality station. Right: The soil sampling station was popular among many of the students on the field trip. Seventh-grade science students from Wildwood Middle High School recently stepped outside the classroom to collect and…

The "Southwest Florida Water Management District(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":/ is gathering input needed to improve identification of flooding risks in North Port.The District is serving as a cooperating technical partner for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on its national effort to update and modernize the FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs). The current FIRMs are 30 years old and are outdated because natural and physical changes caused…

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 Cardinal Lane watershed.The District is serving as a cooperating technical partner for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on its national effort to update and modernize the FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs). Most of the current FIRMs are 10 to 30 years old and are outdated…

  Left: District staff outside the Welcome Center: Will Miller, land use and protection manager; Colleen Kruk, senior land use specialist; Eric Sutton, Land Resources assistant director; Heidi McCree, Governing Board member; and Lou Kavouras, deputy executive director, accept a plaque honoring the District’s commitment to Nature’s Classroom. Center: Sixth graders from Young Middle School take water samples and examine what they scooped up — in this case, a water…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board Tuesday recognized Talmadge G. “Jerry” Rice for his dedication to public service as an outgoing member of the Governing Board and the Withlacoochee River Basin Board.Rice was appointed by Governor Jeb Bush in March 2003. He served as the Governing Board chair from June 2006 until May 2007. Before serving as chair Rice was also the Board’s vice chair and treasurer. As a Governing Board member…

The District took to the air this spring to treat hydrilla on selected areas of Lake Panasoffkee. The aquatic herbicide Aquathol K was applied to approximately 200 acres of the 4,000-acre lake. Aerial application by helicopter is used when large, open-water areas require treatment and is much more efficient than by boat. The helicopter was able to treat approximately 10 acres per trip, completing the 200-acre area in a couple hours. This treatment would have taken…

The District took to the air this spring to treat hydrilla on selected areas of Lake Panasoffkee. The aquatic herbicide Aquathol K was applied to approximately 200 acres of the 4,000-acre lake. Aerial application by helicopter is used when large, open-water areas require treatment and is much more efficient than by boat. The helicopter was able to treat approximately 10 acres per trip, completing the 200-acre area in a couple hours. This treatment would have taken…

Members of the District’s Governing Board and Withlacoochee River Basin Board recently celebrated with the City of Webster’s Mayor Stephen Croft and city officials as Senator Paula Dockery presented a $500,000 check to assist with funding of the city’s stormwater project. City officials expect significant development and growth in Webster over the next years. The stormwater project will help develop a watershed management plan that will address flood protection…