Stretching from shoreline restorations at the Port of Tampa to pristine aquatic preserves north of the Manatee River, a 20-mile corridor of preserved lands borders Tampa Bay's eastern shore. "It's not completely linked, but it's pretty close," says Brandt Henningsen, chief environmental scientist for the Southwest Florida Water Management District. "There are some breaks but it's an amazing accomplishment and a true legacy. A hundred or two hundred years from now, people will look at this land and realize how wise we were to set it aside while it was still available."
Spoil islands, built when the shipping channel was dredged in the 1970s, were actually redesigned to accommodate more silty material than originally anticipated, recalls Bill Fehring, who served as the port's first environmental director. Building dikes to hold the softer material while it dried out accidentally created nearly perfect habitat for birds that need isolated sandy areas to nest successfully. The spoil islands are still being used today; the port works with Florida Audubon Society to ensure that ongoing dredging does not impact nesting birds. Ironically, bird populations increase exponentially when dredging occurs nearby. "They get used to the activity and having the dredged material delivered is like having meals on wheels for some species of birds," says Phillip Steadman, the port's environmental director.
Although Mosaic, the world's largest producer of phosphate, continues to manufacture fertilizer near the mouth of the Alafia River, much of the 1500 acres it owns is actively managed as nature preserve. Offshore, the Richard T. Paul Alafia Bank Bird Sanctuary is leased to Audubon and recognized as one of the largest bird colonies in the state. North of the river, land adjacent to a gypsum stack built in the 1930s has been recontoured to create a vegetated shoreline. Inland, creeks that drain large portions of Progress Village and south Brandon have been softened to provide habitat and slow stormwater before it enters the bay. South of the river, the Fiddler's Cove Coastal Education Center has hosted more than 2000 school children in a day-long program that has received multiple awards at the state and national level. (Learn more about the Alafia Banks in the Winter 2006 issue of Bay Soundings.)
Nearly all of the nature preserves on Tampa Bay's eastern shore are the result of partnerships but few parcels bring together various groups with diverse interests more than the Schultz Preserve, originally destined to be a port facility. "Audubon staff had always opposed the construction but we saw an opportunity to work with the Tampa Port Authority when the property went up for sale," said Ann Paul, coordinator of Audubon of Florida's Coastal Islands Sanctuaries. "The port bought the southern half with the channel, ELAPP and the district bought the northern half, and SWIM restored it as part of one of the most complex ecosystem restorations ever done in Tampa Bay." Altogether, 17 organizations participated in the restoration ranging from Tampa Electric Company and Tampa Bay Watch to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the St. Petersburg Solid Waste Department. The preserve also was the site of the largest volunteer marsh planting in the history of the bay with 14,000 marsh plants in 35 minutes. (Learn more about the Schultz Preserve in the Winter 2005 issue of Bay Soundings.)
Wolf Branch Creek, purchased with ELAPP funds in 1993, is a stunning example of how degraded lands can be restored to become an ecological gem. A forest of impenetrable Brazilian pepper and Australian pines was transformed to open marshlands linked by a gently sloping string of wetlands that connect Wolf Branch Creek to Tampa Bay. Along with critical low-salinity habitat needed by most recreationally valuable fish, Wolf Branch includes salt barrens, one of the rarest habitats in Tampa Bay. (Read more about Wolf Branch Creek in the Fall 2003 issue of Bay Soundings.)
Saving Cockroach Bay was the impetus for the first citizen-approved referendum to purchase land for nature preserves. Over the years, additional purchases expanded the preserve to encompass more than 1,000 acres plus an additional 4,800 acres of submerged lands. Mangroves thrive on shorelines sculpted as part of ambitious restoration efforts but seagrasses growing in the shallow bay have been heavily scarred by boat propellers. Although several groups have called for slow-speed zones through the preserve, they have been mired in controversy and have not been approved by the multiple governments involved. (Bay Soundings has published a number of stories on Cockroach Bay including a BackBay Adventure through the preserve via kayak in Summer 2010, highlights from a student field trip in Spring 2004 and an article on proposals to limit damage to seagrasses in Summer 2009.)
Once slated for development as a power plant, the purchase of 2389 acres just north of the Manatee County line highlights how effectively ELAPP and the water management district have worked through the years. The site was identified, assessed and reviewed by a series of committees before it was nominated for acquisition in 1987. Nearly 15 years later, TECO wanted to sell the land quickly and local governments were ready. Restoration on some parts of the property is underway including removal of invasive plants; plans to improve tidal flushing to abandoned burrow pits are being drawn now. The rock ponds on the southwestern segment already are being used by wildlife and Audubon recently designated the area as a globally important bird area.
Just south of the Manatee County line and bustling Port Manatee, a 2,000-acre parcel was snapped from the hands of developers who went bankrupt before they could build waterfront condominiums and an exclusive golf course community. Finger-fill canals have been reconstructed into meandering tidal channels punctuated by small islands. Hundreds of acres of uplands have been cleared of invasive Brazilian pepper and Australian pine trees, and replanted with native slash pine, oak trees and wax myrtle. The preserve also contains more than 20,000 acres of state-owned submerged lands, which are easily accessible by canoe or kayak. (Bay Soundings wrote an in-depth story on Terra Ceia in our Summer 2002 edition and a story on Mariposa Key at the western tip of the preserve in Summer 2010.)
Other stories on properties on the eastern shore of Tampa Bay include: