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Who:Southwest Florida Water Management District Basin Board members and staff, Friends of the Withlacoochee Gulf Preserve, Yankeetown School middle-grade students, Mayor Dawn Clary and other Yankeetown representativesWhat:The groups are celebrating the grand opening of the Withlacoochee Gulf Preserve, which includes 413 acres of publicly owned land managed by Yankeetown, a boardwalk, hiking trails and an educational building.The event will include a dedication ceremony,… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) is gathering information to improve identification of flood prone areas in Sumter County. Residents living in the Bushnell watershed are invited to attend an open house on Thursday, September 1, beginning at 4:00 p.m. The meeting will take place at the Bushnell Community Center, located at 407 E. Belt Avenue in Bushnell.District representatives will present preliminary flood prone area information, explain the basis… 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 Tuesday, Sept. 27, at noon in anticipation of impacts from Hurricane Ian. For the most updated information, please visit the District’s website at… Read more

As the difficult task of cleaning up after the deadly Hurricane Charley continues, Southwest Florida Water Management District employees have mobilized to assist local governments clear roads and culverts, and transport and unload vital supplies.District staff and equipment have been dispatched to Polk, Charlotte, Hardee and Highlands counties.Polk CountyTwenty-nine District employees, dispatched from the Bartow Service Office Incident Command Center, are working with Polk… Read more

The "Southwest Florida Water Management District(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":/ is celebrating February as Florida Hiking Trails Month by inviting the public to "Get Outside!" and explore the more than 850 miles of hiking trails on District lands.The District has organized two "Get Outside!" guided hikes in February. District employees will guide three hikes at each property, with a maximum of 15 people on each hike. Hikers are encouraged to pre-register… Read more

The "Southwest Florida Water Management District ":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/ (District) is gathering information to improve identification of flood prone areas in Levy County. Residents living in the Town of Bronson watershed are invited to attend an open house on Thursday, Oct. 8 beginning at 4:00 p.m. The meeting will take place at the Dogan Cobb Building, located at 660 E. Hathaway Ave. in Bronson. District representatives will present preliminary flood prone area… 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 at 3 p.m. in anticipation of impacts from Tropical Depression Fred. For the most updated information, please visit the District’s website at WaterMatters.org… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) Brooksville office is now fully operational and will reopen on Friday, Sept. 15 following Hurricane Irma. All other District offices remain open. Information regarding District-related meeting cancellations will be provided to the media and made available on the District's website at WaterMatters.org. As a reminder, you can find the latest… Read more

Fellow scientists are calling Martin Kelly’s Florida “River Flow Patterns and the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation” study one of the more important contributions to hydrologic science in Florida, and perhaps elsewhere, in the past several decades. Kelly is a manager in the District’s Ecologic Evaluation Section. “The peer review panel’s response to our work was especially gratifying,” said Kelly. “The multidisciplinary panel recognized the importance and implications of… Read more

Who:Representatives from the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Land Resources Department, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Hernando County Planning Department, Hernando County Audubon Society and volunteersWhat:As part of the 15th Annual National Public Lands Day, the District’s Land Resources Department is coordinating a volunteer work day at the Weekiwachee Preserve, which is located along the Hernando County Coast, west of the… Read more

The "Southwest Florida Water Management District":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/ (District) is gathering information to improve identification of flood prone areas in Hernando and Pasco Counties' Squirrel Prairie and Pithlachascotee River Headwaters watersheds. Most of the currently available floodplain information is 10 to 30 years old and is outdated because of natural and physical changes caused by land use, development and erosion.Residents living in the Squirrel Prairie… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) will keep District-managed recreation lands open for individual and small group day use in its 16-county region to provide the public with a place to get outside and exercise. However, all campgrounds and campsites remain closed. (Please note, some lands are managed in partnership with other agencies. Please visit the individual property’s webpage to see if it is managed by another agency, and check property… Read more

h2. District Seeking Public Input on Evaluation of Properties for HuntingThe "Southwest Florida Water Management District(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":/ is gathering information to determine if there are additional hunting opportunities available on public lands that are managed by the District.As part of that information-gathering effort, the District is holding a public workshop on *Friday, July 29*, beginning at *3:30 p.m.* at the Hillsborough Community… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) will hold a virtual public meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday, July 26, to discuss updates to several of the District’s land management plans. The purpose of this meeting is to inform the public about updates to these plans, to solicit input from stakeholders, and to incorporate feedback from the public and stakeholders into the development of the new 10-year plans. The land management plans to be updated include… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District will be conducting "controlled, prescribed burns" during March and April on both the "Deer Prairie Creek Preserve and neighboring Schewe Tract(Myakka River - Deer Prairie Creek Preserve)":/recreation/areas/myakka-deerprairie.html.Deer Prairie Creek Preserve, which is jointly owned and managed by the District and Sarasota County, lies between Interstate 75 and US Highway 41. The Schewe Tract, which lies north and south of… Read more

The "Southwest Florida Water Management District's(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":/ "Conner Preserve(Conner Preserve)":/recreation/areas/conner.html will be temporarily closed to the public for hog hunts Feb. 7–9.Only permitted hunters will be allowed on the property during these dates. All of the permits for these hunts have been sold."Conner Preserve(Conner Preserve)":/recreation/areas/conner.html is located at 22500 SR 52 north of Land O' Lakes in Pasco… Read more

The "Southwest Florida Water Management District's(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":/ "Coker Prairie Tract":/recreation/areas/edwardchance-coker.html, which is part of the Edward W. Chance Reserve, will be temporarily closed to the public for hog hunts Feb. 7–9.Only permitted hunters will be allowed on the Coker Prairie Tract during these dates. All of the permits for these hunts have been sold.The Coker Prairie Tract is located at 34300 East SR 64 in Myakka… Read more

The "Southwest Florida Water Management District's(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":/ "Little Manatee River Southfork Tract(Southfork Tract)":/recreation/hoghunt/littlemanatee.php will be temporarily closed to the public for hog hunts Jan. 17–19.Only permitted hunters will be allowed on the Southfork Tract during these dates. All of the permits for these hunts have been sold.The Southfork Tract is located at 29400 SR 62 in Duette, east of Lake Parrish.The hunt… Read more

The "Southwest Florida Water Management District's(Southwest Florida Water Management District)" "Coker Prairie Tract":/recreation/hoghunt/coker.php, which is part of the Edward W. Chance Reserve, will be temporarily closed to the public for hog hunts Jan. 10–12.Only permitted hunters will be allowed on the Coker Prairie Tract during these dates. All of the permits for these hunts have been sold.The Coker Prairie Tract is located at 34300 East SR 64 in Myakka City, east of… Read more

  The drowning of thousands of chickens at several Masaryktown chicken farms was one of the catalysts for the creation of the District. From devastating flooding caused by hurricanes to severe droughts to an unprecedented freeze, major weather events have played an important role in shaping the District’s policies and procedures during the last 50 years… Read more