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Funds Available Individuals and groups concerned about water-related issues in their communities can apply for a Southwest Florida Water Management District community education grant. Grant recipients can receive up to $5,000 funding for projects involving water-related issues. The projects are to take place between March 15 and June 30, 2004. Grant applications are due Oct. 17, 2003. To receive an application package, call 1-800-423-1476, ext. 4756 or visit the…

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…

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…

Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) officials have postponed its Sept. 12 Governing Board tentative budget hearing due to emergency conditions facing the District from Hurricane Irma. The public hearing will be rescheduled at a later date. Information concerning District-related meeting cancellations and office closures will also be provided to the media and made available on the District's website at…

All Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) offices will be closed on Friday, Sept. 8 in accordance with Governor Rick Scott's direction to close state offices in preparation for Hurricane Irma. The District will continue to monitor the progress of Hurricane Irma throughout the weekend to determine if future closings are necessary. Information regarding District-related meeting cancellations will be provided to the media and made available on the District's…

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…

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,…

Left to right: (1) A Lake Placid resident reviews a map of potential flooded areas associated with a catastrophic failure at the G-90 structure. (2) The G-90 water control structure is located on Jack Creek in Lake Placid. (3) David Crane, District structures operations manager (right), answers questions from residents about the flood inundation area. (4) Steve Clardy, District analyst (right), uses GIS technology to locate a Lake Placid resident’s property.…

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…

All Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) offices will be open Thursday, July 8, as the District returns to normal operations after Tropical Storm Elsa. The District will lower the activation level of its Emergency Operations Center to a Level 3 at 8 a.m. Thursday morning. Level 3 activation is a general state of monitoring during the hurricane season. All District-managed campgrounds and properties to include trails and day use areas throughout…

  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…

The "Southwest Florida Water Management District":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/ (District) is gathering information to improve identification of flood prone areas in western Marion County. Residents living in the Lake Stafford/Priest Prairie/West Marion watersheds are invited to attend an open house on Thursday, Aug. 20, beginning at 4:00 p.m. The meeting will take place at the Dunnellon Public Library, located at 20351 Robinson Road in Dunnellon. District representatives…

Atop Hillsborough County’s newest “mountain,” visitors got a glimpse of the largest coastal restoration project ever performed for Tampa Bay. Community leaders helped the District dedicate the Rock Ponds Ecosystem Restoration Project during a ceremony Wednesday. Located just north of the Manatee County line in Ruskin, the project will create coastal habitats and…

There is a new house on the block in north Tampa, and behind the doors of this quaint cottage is a powerful system that will bring significant reductions to flooding in the area. The City of Tampa recently held a ribbon cutting for the Donut Pond pump station, which is part of the larger Duck Pond Project to ease flooding issues in the North Tampa area. Governing Board member Wendy Griffin attended the event.  The project features two pump stations, one in the…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District is now on Pinterest. The social media page, found at "Pinterest.com/SWFWMD ":http://pinterest.com/SWFWMD/ marks the District's continued expansion into the growing world of social media.Pinterest is an information-sharing website designed like a virtual bulletin board. Users can "pin" links to boards, manage themed collections of information and share with others. Pinterest is the third most popular social media site behind…

Ed Craig, Manager of the "Facilitating Agricultural Resource Management Systems":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/agriculture/farms/ (FARMS) Program at the "Southwest Florida Water Management District ":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/ (District), has been selected as one of three professionals in the state of Florida to serve as a non-voting technical advisor to the Florida Farm Bureau's (FFB) Water Natural Resources Advisory Committee for a one-year term. This honor allows Mr.…

 The unique habitat found on this property includes bay swamp, cutthroat grass seeps, sand pine scrub, hardwood hammock and pine flatwoods. These habitats are rich in natural beauty. The bay swamp habitat dominates the property with abundant red bay, sweet bay and red maple trees. The Jack Creek tract is significant because it protects a large stand of Lake Wales Ridge scrub. This rare community provides habitat for one of the densest concentrations of endangered…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District will present its frost/freeze management plan and associated draft rules to the public 6:30 p.m. Sept. 14 at the "Hillsborough Community College Trinkle Center(HCC Trinkle Center)":http://www.hccfl.edu/pc/trinkle-center.aspx, 1206 N. Park Road, Plant City.During the 11-day January 2010 freeze event, the combined pumping by Dover/Plant City area farmers dropped the aquifer level 60 feet in some locations, causing 140 sinkholes…

The "Southwest Florida Water Management District's Hálpata Tastanaki Preserve(Hálpata Tastanaki Preserve)":/recreation/areas/halpata.html will be temporarily closed to the public for hog hunts Feb. 22–24.Only permitted hunters will be allowed on the property during these dates. All of the permits for these hunts have been sold."Hálpata Tastanaki Preserve(Hálpata Tastanaki Preserve)":/recreation/areas/halpata.html is approximately six miles east of Dunnellon, south of the…

h3. District lands offer a fun, easy and low-cost way to spend time with family and friends in 2010 Why make a New Year's resolution to join a gym in 2010, when you can "Get Outside!" on more than 343,000 acres of public recreation lands to hike, bike and camp for little or no cost?The Southwest Florida Water Management District recently revised its 152-page Recreation Guide, which features more than 50 parks and preserves in the region owned by the District and its…