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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…

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…

All Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) offices will be closed Thursday, Nov. 10, due to potential impacts from Tropical Storm Nicole. District offices are scheduled to be closed Friday for Veteran’s Day. Information regarding District-related meeting cancellations will be provided to the media and made available on the District’s website at…

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…

All Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) offices will be closed Tuesday, Aug. 29, and Wednesday, Aug. 30, due to potential impacts from Tropical Storm Idalia. Information regarding District-related meeting cancellations will be provided to the media and made available on the District’s website at…

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…

 Proximity to the Charlotte Harbor estuary is reflected in the tidal nature of the river and its associated floodplain wetlands. The Peace River is highly braided in these lower reaches and the name of the property is derived from a prominent branch of the river, known historically as "Deep Creek," which parallels the eastern boundary of the site.About half of the property is pine flatwoods consisting of longleaf pines and a diverse mixture of native shrubs and herbs. A…

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…

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…

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…

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…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District will be conducting "controlled, prescribed burns" during December, January and February on the Flatwoods Park and Oak Ridge Equestrian areas of the District's Lower Hillsborough Wilderness Preserve in Hillsborough County.The Lower Hillsborough Wilderness Preserve is located just south of Morris Bridge Road and just east of I-75, approximately three miles northeast of Temple Terrace. Approximately 700 acres of land will be…

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…

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.…

In order to increase efficiency of operations and reduce costs, the Governing Board approved a resolution to merge the budgets of the District’s eight Basin Boards into the Governing Board’s budget, while keeping a reduced Cooperative Funding Initiative to fund regional projects. The District’s eight Basin Boards provided guidance for local programs and projects that were specific to the watershed basin they protected. Through the Cooperative Funding Initiative, the Basin…

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,…

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…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) is gathering information to improve identification of flood prone areas in Sumter County. Residents living in the Jumper Creek watershed are invited to attend an open house on Thursday, April 12 at 4 p.m. The meeting will take place at the Sumter County Fairgrounds, located at 7620 SR 471 in Bushnell. District representatives will present preliminary data for flood prone areas, explain the basis behind the…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) is celebrating February as Florida Hiking Trails Month by inviting the public to explore the more than 850 miles of hiking trails on District lands. Florida Hiking Trails month, recognized by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, encourages Floridians to take advantage of Florida's extensive trail system. Many trails on District lands are nearby and are also open for related activities such as nature…