Wildflower Preserve Restoration Update
Early July 2020
The Southwest Florida Water Management District and their contractor, Diversified Professional Services, report that the habitat restoration project at Wildflower Preserve is continuing to move ahead on schedule.
The aerial photo below (looking northwest) shows project work as of June 24th. The future estuarine wetlands located just west of the Fiddlers Green II condominiums are nearing completion and work has begun on an additional wetland area closer to Lemon Creek.
You might wonder about the green vegetation covering portions of the new wetlands. That’s a plant called Duckweed and it should decrease significantly when the new wetlands are connected to Lemon Creek later this summer.
Over on the eastern side of the property, another District contractor has begun work on mowing and treating the upland areas to reduce the heavy growth of invasive plants (including Guinea grass, Caesar weed, Castor bean, and Brazilian pepper) in preparation for future native planting. (Controlling invasives will be an ongoing challenge in the months and years ahead!)
Our thanks to the Southwest Florida Water Management District for leading the work on this major habitat restoration initiative!
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Wildflower Preserve is owned by Lemon Bay Conservancy. Major funding support for this habitat restoration project is being provided by the Southwest Florida Water Management District and by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The District is also providing project management.
For more information on LBC, visit us at LemonBayConservancy.org or call our office at 941-830-8922.
