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Governor Charlie Crist recently reappointed Jack Bispham and Frank Strelec to the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Manasota Basin Board.Paul J. “Jack” Bispham is the owner of Bayside Sod and lives in Sarasota. His term ends March 1, 2011.Frank E. Strelec is a retired attorney who lives in Sarasota. His term ends March 1, 2011.The Manasota Basin Board area includes Manatee and Sarasota counties.The District has seven regional Basin Boards that… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District will be conducting “controlled, prescribed burns” during June, July and August 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

The "Southwest Florida Water Management District(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":/ is gathering input needed to improve identification of flooding risks in the areas surrounding 17 lakes in Highlands County.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… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) is prohibiting campfires and other sources of open flames on District conservation lands in conjunction with numerous county burn bans and dry conditions. Lack of rainfall this spring has made grasses and other light vegetation extremely dry and volatile, increasing the potential for wildfires. Burning is thereby prohibited on these District properties with camping until sufficient rains occur and county burn bans… Read more

Whether your favorite outdoor activity is camping, kayaking, hiking or horseback riding, the District has the place for you to get outside and do your thing. The District owns a variety of properties that include more than 343,000 acres of land open for public recreation. And while about 2.5 million people visit these properties each year, many people don’t realize these recreational opportunities are located just minutes from their homes. That’s why WaterMatters… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District will be conducting “controlled, prescribed burns” during the remaining days of August and September on the Deep Creek property in DeSoto County.The site is approximately three to four miles north of the Kings Highway on-ramp to Interstate 75. The parcel is east of the Kings Highway and north of the Deep Creek subdivision. Approximately 700 acres of land will be burned in small, manageable units. The scheduled,… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District will be conducting “controlled, prescribed burns” during the remaining days of August and September 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, controlled burns are a part of routine maintenance of lands managed by… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District's Aquifer Resource Weekly Update provides information to the public about the health of the water resources.Aquifers are underground layers of rock and sand that hold water. In southwest Florida, more than 80 percent of the water supply comes from aquifers.The Aquifer Resource Weekly Update contains two sections: Aquifer Levels and Rainfall. Levels and rainfall are provided for three regions: north (Citrus, Hernando, Lake, Levy… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District's Aquifer Resource Weekly Update provides information to the public about the health of the water resources.Aquifers are underground layers of rock and sand that hold water. In southwest Florida, more than 80 percent of the water supply comes from aquifers.The Aquifer Resource Weekly Update contains two sections: Aquifer Levels and Rainfall. Levels and rainfall are provided for three regions: north (Citrus, Hernando, Lake, Levy… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District's Aquifer Resource Weekly Update provides information to the public about the health of the water resources.Aquifers are underground layers of rock and sand that hold water. In southwest Florida, more than 80 percent of the water supply comes from aquifers.The Aquifer Resource Weekly Update contains two sections: Aquifer Levels and Rainfall. Levels and rainfall are provided for three regions: north (Citrus, Hernando, Lake, Levy… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) will close all District-managed campgrounds and properties to include trails and day use areas throughout its 16-county region Nov. 9, at 3 p.m. in anticipation of impacts from Tropical Storm Nicole. For the most updated information, please visit the District’s website at… Read more

Governor Rick Scott appointed two new board members to the District’s Governing Board and also re-appointed a board member. Mark Taylor and Michelle Williamson were appointed to the board. Taylor represents Hernando and Marion counties and Williamson represents Hillsborough County. Taylor, 57, of Brooksville, is the president of TTG Properties Inc. Taylor received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida. He is appointed for a term from Aug. 26, 2016… Read more

Long Distance Assistance As of Friday morning, August 13, Hurricane Charley was still projected to strike the Tampa Bay area. That’s when Garry Flood’s supervisor, Dale Ravencraft, asked him to travel to Tallahassee and serve in Florida’s State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC). “I had to leave my wife and two teenage kids here in order to help out,” said Flood. “It was a hard situation, but I just had to pray that they would be safe while I went to help other… Read more

The Governing Board declared April Springs Protection Awareness Month at today’s Governing Board meeting. The move is part of the District’s ongoing effort to restore and protect area springs and encourage community involvement.  The Governing Board also recognized the Springs Coast Steering Committee, which is made up of members of local, regional and state agencies. One of their main goals is to develop management plans tailored for each spring system to identify… Read more

Clearwater Mayor Frank Hibbard calls it “another gem in the crown of Clearwater,” but Kapok Park wasn’t always a beautiful public green space, home to roseate spoonbills, wood storks, sandpipers and many other shorebirds. In December, Representative Gus Bilirakis joined members of the District’s Governing and Pinellas-Anclote River Basin boards, along with the Clearwater mayor and several city staff members, in celebrating the completion of a $19.3 million floodplain… Read more

John Parker (left), his wife Leslie, daughters Melissa and Jessica, and son-in-law Dylan Nugent gather near “Other Man Lake” in Quetico Provincial Park. Sadness spread across the District’s Brooksville Headquarters as coworkers learned about John Parker’s death in a car accident in May. “When you spend more than 20 years working with someone on projects that define your life, and when you share in a common goal, you have a bond, even if you didn’t hang out… Read more

Campgrounds will Reopen to the Public TomorrowThe Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) has returned to normal operations after Hurricane Idalia and will lower the activation level of its Emergency Operations Center to a Level 3 at 7 a.m. Friday, Sept. 1. Level 3 activation is a general state of monitoring during the hurricane season. District lands have reopened to the public; however, campgrounds will open tomorrow at 3 p.m. The Oak… Read more

table(webalert). |Who:|DeSoto and Charlotte county residents, and representatives from the Southwest Florida Water Management District and the DeSoto County Extension office.||*What:*|The District is holding a free family-friendly event at the Deep Creek Preserve in southern DeSoto County. The 2,000-acre tract features recreational opportunities such as hiking, camping, fishing, picnicking and equestrian use.The event includes activities such as guided nature hikes, children… Read more

Above left: This series of pictures shows the dredging machine, the pipe through the lake that carried dredged material to the spoil site and the spoil site. Above right: Anglers enjoy Lake Panasoffkee. The recently completed Lake Panasoffkee restoration project is being hailed as a huge success by Lake Panasoffkee residents and anglers. The $26.9 million, ten-year project restored Lake Panasoffkee’s historic fish bedding areas and lake shoreline by removing… Read more

Just northeast of the Lake Manatee Reservoir in Manatee County, undisturbed areas of native habitats provide an example of historic Florida palmetto prairie, pine flatwoods and scrubby flatwoods communities. The District’s Gilley Creek Tract, part of the Edward W. Chance Reserve, gives Manatee County residents an opportunity to see Florida the way it used to be. “We have a very good example of an old historic Florida ecosystem at the Gilley Creek property,” said… Read more