complete agenda - Florida Department of Environmental Protection

ITEM 8:
REQUEST: Consideration of a 994-acre reduction to the Lake Hatchineha Watershed
Florida Forever project boundary.
LOCATION: Osceola and Polk Counties
DSL Staff Remarks:
The Office of Environmental Services (OES) has conducted a review of the Lake Hatchineha
Florida Forever project boundary for the purpose of removing any remaining acreage that has
been disturbed by development or is no longer desirable for state acquisition.
Staff have found three removal sites with 1,307 individual parcels containing residential
development, commercial buildings or infrastructure. The total acreage being proposed for
removal is 994 acres with a tax assessed just value of $158,208,631.
Project History: This project was formed in 2002 as a fee-simple project, sponsored by The
Nature Conservancy. A year later, the project was moved to the B list, where negotiations were
considered at an impasse.
The purpose of this project is to preserve a rare continuum of natural communities from the high
scrub on the edge of the Central Ridge to marsh, floodplain, lakeshore and blackwater streams
in the lowland areas. The project creates a natural connection between two watersheds, giving
protection to surface waters and groundwater recharge areas. The primary goal of this project
is to assist in completing the land acquisition projects of the South Florida Water Management
District (i.e., Upper Lakes Basin Watershed and Kissimmee Chain-of-Lakes), the Division of
Recreation and Parks (i.e., Catfish Creek State Preserve), and those of The Nature
Conservancy (i.e., Disney Wilderness Preserve).
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), designated managers of this
project, has reviewed the proposed amendment and does not object to the removal of these
developed or disturbed sites from the project boundary. The Division of Historical Resources
has no objection to removing the proposed sites, but indicates there is an archeological site
located in Site 1 that is considered not significant. The Nature Conservancy, as the project
sponsor, has no objection. The Florida Natural Areas Inventory (FNAI) has also reviewed the
removal sites and provided a detailed analysis (see attached).
According to FNAI’s GIS analysis, the removal of the proposed 994 developed acres will leave
5,525 acres remaining to be acquired (0 percent complete).
DSL STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Approve the changes to the project boundary.
ARC RECOMMENDATION:
( ) APPROVE
( ) APPROVE WITH MODIFICATIONS: ____________________________________
( ) DEFER
( ) WITHDRAW
( ) NOT APPROVE
( ) OTHER: __________________________________________________________