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The Florida Yard Fandango is returning to the Museum of Science & Industry (MOSI) this spring. The event is being held March 10 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. This is the second year the District has been involved with the Fandango. The goal of this event is to promote Florida-friendly landscaping and lawn maintenance because it is beautiful and saves water, time and energy. Participants will have the opportunity to choose from 15 workshops, including core classes on the… Read more

Residents of the Brooker Creek watershed can learn about their region by visiting the new www.BrookerCreek.org Web site. The site provides information about watershed issues and encourages behavior change that will improve and protect the water resources.BrookerCreek.org was developed by the Southwest Florida Water Management District and is hosted by the Brooker Creek Preserve Environmental Education Center.The Web site includes general information about watersheds, as well… Read more

A homeless osprey may soon be living “the high life,” thanks to an observant District employee and Tampa Electric. William Copeland, a senior environmental scientist in the Tampa Regulation Department, noticed an osprey trying to build a nest on top of an active power pole that serves the facilities building at the District’s Tampa Service Office. “I originally asked Brant Henningsen with the District’s Surface Water Improvement and Management Program where I could… Read more

Who: Lake Panasoffkee Restoration Council members, Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board members and staffWhat: The Council and the District will mark the completion of the Lake Panasoffkee Restoration project.When: Friday, May 29, 2009 at 10 a.m.Where: Coleman LandingWhy: The $28.3 million project was completed in November 2008. The 10-year project was designed to restore Lake Panasoffkee’s historic fish bedding areas, restore the historic lake… Read more

Who:Representatives from the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Surface Water Improvement and Management (SWIM) Program, Tampa Bay Watch, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and approximately 350 volunteersWhat:Volunteers will participate in planting up to 30,000 marsh grass on approximately 34 acres of the Terra Ceia Ecosystem Restoration Project, setting a new record for Tampa Bay for the most… Read more

Tom Prickett and the District staff who participated in his workshop in 1980. Prickett is in the center, wearing a tie. District software engineer Herb Bryant is pictured in the back row, fifth from the left. A giant in the field of groundwater studies who was influential in the District’s early groundwater modeling efforts passed away this September. Thomas Prickett, 71, of Urbana, Illinois, died Sept. 13 in Indianapolis. Prickett is known for being the… Read more

Ekker Preserve, top, before restoration. At bottom, the restoration project after completion of the final grading. A tropical fish nursery that was dominated by nonnative plants and mosquitoes was recently converted into a maturing 23-acre wetland habitat for many native species. The wetland habitat is part of the 85-acre Ekker Preserve in Gibsonton. The District’s Surface Water Improvement and Management Program recently completed construction of the… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District), along with other local and state partners, launched the Weeki Wachee River Education Campaign to inform river visitors about the recreational best management practices that will help protect the river and reduce ecological impacts. A recent ecologically based study found direct links between recreational use on the river and environmental damage. For example, visitors leaving kayaks while on the… Read more

Governor Charlie Crist recently reappointed Mitchell Hammer to the Southwest Florida Water Management District's Pinellas-Anclote River Basin Board.Hammer is a senior appraiser for the Internal Revenue Service who lives in New Port Richey. He was first appointed to the Board in June 2005. His current term ends March 1, 2011.The Pinellas-Anclote River Basin area includes Pinellas County and the southern portion of Pasco County.The District has seven regional Basin Boards that… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District will be conducting "controlled, prescribed burns" during November and December on the Jack Creek property in Highlands County.The Jack Creek property is located in the Leisure Lakes area, approximately one mile west of US 27, three miles south of SR 66 and six miles northwest of Lake Placid. Approximately 100 acres of land will be burned in small, manageable units. The scheduled, managed burns are a part of routine maintenance… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District will be conducting “controlled, prescribed burns” during the rest of January through March on the Prairie-Shell Creek property in Charlotte County.The site is west of U.S. Hwy. 17 and east of the Peace River, approximately eight miles northeast of Punta Gorda. Approximately 100 acres of land will be burned in small, manageable units. The scheduled, controlled burns are a part of routine maintenance of lands… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District will be conducting “controlled, prescribed burns” during the remaining days in November and December on the Prairie-Shell Creek property in Charlotte County.The site is west of U.S. Hwy. 17 and east of the Peace River, approximately eight miles northeast of Punta Gorda. Approximately 100 acres of land will be burned in small, manageable units. The scheduled, controlled burns are a part of routine maintenance of… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District will be conducting “controlled, prescribed burns” during September and October on the District’s Jack Creek property in Highlands County.The property, which is in the Leisure Lakes area, is approximately one mile west of U.S. Hwy. 27, three miles south of S.R. 66 and six miles northwest of Lake Placid. The scheduled, managed burns are a part of routine maintenance of lands managed by the District.… Read more

Camping, hiking, boating, freshwater and saltwater fishing; a full range of outdoor activities are available at the District’s Chassahowitzka River and Coastal Swamps property in southwestern Citrus County. Purchased in the early 1990s, the property is part of a large greenway of public lands that protects the… Read more

The "Southwest Florida Water Management District's Alston Tract(Upper Hillsborough Preserve Alston Tract)":/recreation/areas/uh-alston_tract.html, which is part of the "Upper Hillsborough Preserve(Upper Hillsborough Preserve)":/recreation/areas/upper_hillsborough_preserve.html, will be temporarily closed to the public for hog hunts Jan. 11–13.Only permitted hunters will be allowed on the property during these dates. All of the permits for these hunts have been sold.The "… Read more

From left: David Moore, District executive director; Olivia McLean, director of emergency and security management for the South Florida Water Management District; and Eugene Schiller, District deputy executive director of the Division of Management Services, discuss incident command management. This August, the District’s emergency operations staff completed two required courses that will help the District respond more efficiently and effectively to emergency… Read more

Left: Rob Goding, Wal-Mart regional market manager; Shelley Bailey, Palm Harbor Wal-Mart store manager; Robert B. Stewart, Pinellas County commissioner; Liz Warren, Pinellas County assistant county administrator; Steve Spratt, Pinellas County administrator; Sallie Parks and Todd Pressman, co-chairs ex officio of the Pinellas-Anclote River Basin Board; and Will Davis, Pinellas County Department of Environmental Management director, participated in the grand opening of the… Read more

The "Southwest Florida Water Management District":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/ (District) is gathering information to improve the identification of flood prone areas in Citrus County's East Citrus Withlacoochee River watershed. Residents living in the watershed are invited to attend an open house on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2015 beginning at 4:00 p.m. The meeting will take place at Cornerstone Baptist Church located at 1100 W. Highland Boulevard in Inverness.District… Read more

The "Southwest Florida Water Management District":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/ (District) is gathering information to improve the identification of flood prone areas in Hernando County's Peck Sink watershed. Residents living in the watershed are invited to attend an open house on Thursday, July 9 at 4:00 p.m. The meeting will take place at the District headquarters, located at 2379 Broad Street in Brooksville.District representatives will present preliminary flood prone… Read more

The "Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/about/governingboard/ approved the acquisition of "Boat Spring," which is part of a second magnitude spring system, located in the historic community of Aripeka, on the Gulf of Mexico at the Hernando and Pasco County line. The Hammock Creek spring system includes Boat, Magnolia, Aripeka 1 and 2 springs which all flow into Hammock Creek that connects with the Gulf of Mexico. The… Read more