Search Content

The Land Management Section of the "Southwest Florida Water ManagementDistrict":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/ (District) will be conducting prescribed burns during the months of November and December on Edward W. Chance Preserve (Coker Prairie and Gilley Creek Tracts), Southfork Preserve, and the Myakka River- Flatford Swamp tract in Manatee County. The Coker Prairie tract is located south of State Road 64, six miles west of Wauchula Road. The Gilley Creek tract is located…

The Land Management Section of the "Southwest Florida Water ManagementDistrict (District)":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/ will be conducting prescribed burns during the months of July, August and September on the Coker Prairie Tract and Gilley Creek Tracts of the Edward W. Chance Preserve, Southfork Preserve, and the Myakka River- Flatford Swamp tract in Manatee County. The Coker Prairie tract is located south of State Road 64, six miles west of Wauchula Road. The Gilley…

From toddlers to grandparents, volunteers of all ages recently planted salt marsh at the District’s Rock Ponds restoration site.  About 275 volunteers from across the Tampa Bay area joined the District’s Surface Water Improvement and Management Program and Tampa Bay Watch in the planting of 32,000 marsh grass plugs. Hillsborough County and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission helped organize the event.  The plants were installed at the…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District's (District) Hampton Tract, including closed area tracts at Green Swamp Wilderness Preserve in Polk County, will be temporarily closed to the public for feral hog hunts Feb. 1-3. Only permitted hunters will be allowed on the property during these dates. All permits for this hunt have been sold. The Green Swamp Wilderness Preserve Hampton Tract is located at 14301 Rock Ridge Road in Lakeland. This activity is one…

The "Southwest Florida Water Management District's ":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/ McGregor Smith Scout Reservation will be closed to the public for hog hunts February 11-13.Only permitted hunters will be allowed on the property during these dates. All of the permits for these hunts have been sold.The McGregor Smith Scout Reservation is located at 12650 East Boy Scout Road in Inverness.The hunt is one of a series of hog hunts being held on District lands in an effort to…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) will open Phase 2 hog hunt registration Tuesday, Dec. 14, at 9 a.m. The District holds a series of hog hunts on District lands throughout the year to help reduce the feral hog population. What you need to know about Phase 2 hunts:

• Phase 2 will include six hunts that occur January through February 2022.
• Permits are transferable.
• The single top producer on each hunt of Phase…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District's "Lower Hillsborough Wilderness Preserve":http://hoghunts.watermatters.org/ will be the site of wild hog hunts at night Jan. 22-24.Only permitted hunters will be allowed on the property at night during these dates. All of the permits for these hunts have been sold.Lower Hillsborough Wilderness Preserve is located east of Interstate 75 and north of US 301 near the New Tampa area.This activity is one of a series of wild hog…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District's Starkey Wilderness Preserve will be closing early to the public for wild hog hunts at night Jan. 8-10.Only permitted hunters will be allowed on the "Starkey Wilderness Preserve":http://hoghunts.watermatters.org/starkey.php during these hunts. All of the permits for these hunts have been sold.The Starkey Wilderness Preserve is located at 10500 Wilderness Park Boulevard in New Port Richey in Pasco.This activity is one of a…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District's (District) Alston Tract at Upper Hillsborough Preserve in Pasco County will be temporarily closed to the public for feral hog hunts Nov. 9-11. Only permitted hunters will be allowed on the property during these dates. All 11 permits for these hunts have been sold. Alston Tract is located at 42144 Deems Road in Zephyrhills. This activity is one of a series of feral hog hunts being held on District lands to…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District's Hálpata Tastanaki Preserve will be temporarily closed to the public for wild hog hunts Dec. 4-6.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 is approximately six miles east of Dunnellon, south of the Dunnellon Municipal Airport. Public access is located off County Road 484.This activity is one of a series of wild hog…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District's (District) Flying Eagle Nature Center in Citrus County will be temporarily closed to the public for feral hog hunts Nov. 2-4. Only permitted hunters will be allowed on the property during these dates. All 20 permits for these hunts have been sold. Flying Eagle Nature Center is located at 12650 East Boy Scout Road in Inverness. This activity is one of a series of feral hog hunts being held on District lands…

h2. District Seeking Public Input on Proposals for Four PropertiesThe Southwest Florida Water Management District recently completed an evaluation of eight District-managed lands to determine if additional hunting opportunities are available. Draft proposals for four of these lands will be presented at a public meeting on Thursday, Jan. 5. The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. at the Lecanto Government Building, 3600 West Sovereign Path, Suite 166, Lecanto. The draft proposals…

While the winds and rain of Hurricane Irma could be felt across the District for three days, the preparation and response went far beyond that time frame for District staff. As part of the District’s core mission of flood protection, staff immediately jumped into action to meet the needs of the community in a variety of ways. The District’s Emergency Operations Center was activated Sept. 5, days before the history-making storm would make landfall in Florida.…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Alston Tract, which is part of the Upper Hillsborough Preserve, will be temporarily closed to the public for hog hunts Nov. 17-19.Only permitted hunters will be allowed on the property during these dates. All of the permits for these hunts have been sold.The Alston Tract is located at 42144 Deems Road southeast of Zephyrhills in Pasco and Polk counties.The hunt is one of a series of hog hunts being held on District…

table(webalert).|Who:|Pasco County residents, representatives from the Southwest Florida Water Management District, Pasco County Extension office, West Pasco Audubon Society, West Pasco Native Plant Society, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Florida Department of Health, “Step up, Florida!”, Around the Bend Nature Tours, District School Board of Pasco County and the Pioneer Florida Museum.||What:|The District is holding a free family-friendly…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District is providing children the opportunity to participate in one of two free youth hog hunts at the District’s Edward W. Chance Reserve’s Gilley Creek Tract in Manatee County.The hog hunts are scheduled for Oct.17-18 and Oct. 24-25. All youth hunters must be accompanied by at least one adult. During both hunts, participants will use blinds. Dogs will not be used in either hunt.Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World, Orlando and…

Setting prescribed fires in controlled settings can reduce the risk of wildfires burning out of control, as many Floridians witnessed during the state’s wildfire emergency in 2017. That’s why the Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) will be conducting prescribed burns July through September on Potts…

Dedication Celebrates Restoration A real time machine converted land back to a beautiful mosaic of habitats…” That’s what Ann Paul, Tampa Bay Regional Coordinator of Audubon of Florida, calls the completion of a restoration project in southeastern Hillsborough County. Paul and many other special guests joined the Southwest Florida Water Management District and Hillsborough County in a recent celebration of the completion of the Fred & Idah Schultz Preserve.…

The Southwest Florida Water Management District is contributing $36,392 to continue to fund the Hillsborough River Watershed Alliance to help preserve and protect the Hillsborough River Watershed.The alliance, formerly known as the Hillsborough River Greenways Task Force, is a collaborative public-private partnership whose mission is to preserve and protect the natural resources of the Hillsborough River watershed through coalition building, education, research,…

Spending more than two hours on a bus in a traffic jam did not dampen the enthusiasm students had for the task they came to complete. These sixth graders from Learning Gate Community School were at the Schultz Preserve, which is located in southeastern Hillsborough County, to plant 5,000 plugs of marsh grass. The planting was coordinated by the District’s Surface Water Improvement and Management (SWIM) Program and Tampa Bay Watch. Learning Gate Community School…