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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 (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

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":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 Most of the currently available floodplain information is 10 to 30 years old and is outdated because of natural and physical changes caused by land use, development and erosion.Residents living in the Squirrel Prairie… Read more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 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 (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

  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

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 "Southwest Florida Water Management District's(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":/ "Alston Tract":/recreation/hoghunt/alston.php, which is part of the "Upper Hillsborough Preserve":/recreation/areas/upper_hillsborough_preserve.html, will be temporarily closed to the public for "hog hunts(Feral Hog Hunts)":/hoghunts Nov. 15–17.Only permitted hunters will be allowed on the property during these dates. All of the permits for these hunts have been sold.The Alston… Read more

 Photo left: Monica Dorken is ready with a bucket as Susan Harris, Hill-Gustat Middle School seventh- and eighth-grade teacher, holds a puffer fish she captured during their wading tour as Liz Abell, Sun ’n Lake Elementary fourth-grade teacher, looks on. Photo right: Monica Dorken, Charlotte Harbor Environmental Center educator/program coordinator, checks to see what Dorothea Strickland, K–12 science resource teacher, caught in her net. Highlands County… Read more

The "Southwest Florida Water Management District's Conner Preserve(Conner Preserve)":/recreation/areas/conner.html will be temporarily closed to the public for hog hunts March 2–4.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 County.The hunt is "one of a series of hog hunts(… Read more

The "Southwest Florida Water Management District's Conner Preserve(Conner Preserve)":/recreation/areas/conner.html will be temporarily closed to the public for hog hunts Feb. 15–17.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 County.The hunt is "one of a series of hog hunts(… Read more

table(webalert). |*Who:*|The Tampa Port Authority, Hillsborough County and the Southwest Florida Water Management District.||*What:*|The Cockroach Bay Restoration Project represents one of the largest, most complex coastal ecosystem restorations ever developed for Tampa Bay.Before the restoration, this area suffered from a number of environmental problems, including habitat degradation, invasive plant infestation and poor water quality. Since the property was purchased by… Read more

The Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Governing Board will hold its monthly meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 18 at the Tampa Service Office, which is located at 7601 U.S. Hwy. 301 N. in Tampa.The meeting will begin at 9 a.m.The Governing Board typically meets on the last Tuesday of the month. This month the meeting is being held a week earlier because of the Thanksgiving holiday. Read more

Efforts to restore Lake Panasoffkee are progressing well as almost half of the 1,977-acre dredging portion of the Lake Panasoffkee Restoration Council’s four-step, multi-million dollar restoration plan is complete.According to the Lake Panasoffkee Restoration Council’s annual report, which was recently accepted by the Southwest Florida Management District and will be submitted to the Legislature, approximately 956 acres have been dredged.The restoration plan, which is being… Read more

Small portion of debris removed from area sinkholes. The District has completed a three-year project to improve water quality in the District’s springs by removing debris from sinkholes and areas with high aquifer permeability. Over the three-year period, 90.77 tons of debris were removed from 18 sinkholes and other karst features in Pasco, Hernando and Citrus counties. Some of the items removed from the sinkholes included shopping carts, newspaper stands… Read more

Northeast of the recently-restored Lake Panasoffkee, a wetland forest of freshwater marshes rises to the pine flatwoods and scrub oaks of upland sandhills to form the vast floodplain forest of the District’s Lake Panasoffkee property. The 9,911-acre property was acquired by the District to preserve the floodplain forest. Thick marsh vegetation prevents access to the lake from the property, but the property has a lot to offer. Visitors will find a large pavilion,… Read more