January 2021 Status: We celebrated the completion of our major habitat restoration project at the newly renamed “Lemon Creek Wildflower Preserve” in January 2021. The Preserve is now open daily for Lemon Bay Conservancy member access!
Habitat Restoration
Project Funding
We qualified for $750,000 in SWFWMD funding for this project through their Cooperative Funding Initiative (CFI) program. The money used to purchase the Wildflower land was counted as our matching contribution. As it became apparent that we would need additional funding to complete the project, Lemon Bay Conservancy donors provided an additional $75,000 that was also matched by SWFWMD through CFI funding.
NOAA is our second major project partner. In 2015, we applied for a grant thru the NOAA Coastal Ecosystem Resiliency Grant program. Our project was one of only six nationwide selected for funding, with a grant commitment of $422,500.
When you add it all up, our LBC team and our partners committed $2,072,500 to purchase and restore Lemon Creek Wildflower Preserve!
In addition to their monetary funding, SWFWMD provided overall project leadership for the project. Lemon Bay Conservancy volunteers committed more than 5,000 volunteer hours. And, very importantly, Lemon Bay Conservancy will be responsible for the ongoing expenses associated with managing, maintaining and improving the preserve.
Project Goals
Why is the project important? Leslie Craig, Southeast Region Supervisor of the NOAA Restoration Center, commented on why NOAA selected our project for funding: “The Coastal Ecosystem Resiliency Grants Program was created to help develop healthy and sustainable coastal ecosystems. This project was selected because it will restore a mosaic of coastal habitats, reestablish tidal connectivity, remove exotic species, and enhance a Preserve that can provide recreational opportunities for many to enjoy. We look forward to partnering with the Lemon Bay Conservancy to achieve all of the outcomes envisioned from the project.”
We have six major habitat restoration goals outlined in the accompanying chart.
Introduction to Project Phases
We can think of the project as having seven project phases, as depicted in the “Restoration Project Elements” graphic.
Please click on any of the phases below to see details on that phase.
