2012 FDOT Mitigation Plan - Southwest Florida Water Management ...

4. Schedule for work implementation, including any and all phases. Refer to Attachment B and following draft
schedule:
Site Evaluation, Hydrologic Modeling, Restoration Design & Permitting – 2005 - 2010
Construction & Planting – 2011 - 2012
Maintenance & Monitoring – 2012 – 2015 (minimum)
5. Success criteria and associated monitoring plan. Refer to Attachment B.
6. Long term maintenance plan. Refer to Attachment B.
7. Detailed explanation of how this work serves to offset the impacts of the specified DOT project(s). Refer to
previous discussion.
Attachment A – Existing Site & Proposed Work
At 4,933 acres, the Balm Boyette Scrub Preserve represents one of the largest contiguous tracts of public lands
in Hillsborough County. There is a great diversity of wildlife, vegetation and habitat communities on the property,
and the tract contains some of the largest undeveloped xeric habitat remaining in the County. The County has an
extensive land management plan that provides details of the various habitat and management activities. The
phosphate mining area within the eastern third of the property represents the largest area of displaced habitat on
the tract, and it has been the desire and goal of Hillsborough County to restore and enhance some wetland
habitat, and associated hydrologic flow patterns to improve the remaining Stallion Hammock. These same goals
have been proposed in the SWFWMD’s SWIM habitat restoration plan since the mid-1990’s. The following
information summarizes the existing and proposed habitat conditions associated with the area.
Forested/Shrub Wetland Enhancement (11 acres) – Upon review of the 1968 aerial taken during the mining
operations, mine pits, spoil ribbons, and a drainage ditch replaced the eastern tributary. Reclamation resulted in
a wetland slough contoured from a pit that connects to Stallion Hammock. However, the contributing basin flow
through the wetland was short-circuited with the construction of a large north-south ditch that connects to mine
pits located north and south of the wetland (Figure F). As a result, this wetland tributary slough has minimal
hydroperiods, resulting in substantial coverage of opportunistic transitional species such as elderberry
(Sambucus canadensis), wax myrtle (Myrica cerifera), salt-bush (Baccharis halimifolia) and blackberry (Rubus
spp.). Hydrologic flow patterns and an increase in the wetland hydroperiod will be achieved by constructing a
block at the ditch outfall of the wetland, and diverting the contributing water flow from the northern pit to another
revised culvert outfall located several hundred feet upstream.
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