Sweetwater Creek Watershed Mgmt. Plan 2007 Update--Part 2

EXISTING NATURAL SYSTEMS CONDITIONS
Approximately 24% (3,211 acres) of the watershed remains undeveloped, and opportunity to
acquire public lands is slight. Further, existing undeveloped uplands and wetlands have been
disturbed and encroached upon, diminishing their ecological value for conservation purposes in
the absence of an aggressive restoration effort.
Conservation Development
Conservation development is a concept proposed for urban watersheds that focuses on
residential development designs that utilize conservation strategies such as inter-connected
networks of permanent open space. The method allows residential developments that maximize
open space conservation without reducing overall building density. The same method could be
applied to commercial and industrial developments as area re-development occurs. This
approach will allow new development to utilize space clustering land uses for human utilization,
passive recreational use, and wildlife habitat conservation. The Conservation Development
concept is consistent with Hillsborough County Natural Resources Regulation, serving as an
avenue to identify areas that may serve as wildlife corridors and/or areas that should be
protected and preserved as core habitats or environmentally sensitive lands.
Basically, development with wildlife preservation considered within the overall site plan will allow
for innovative and creative land use and design for new urban communities. Additionally, the
FWC is committed to working with land use planners, developers, and homeowners to assist
them with development designs that offer homes for both humans and wildlife. Clustering,
designing corridor trails away from critical wildlife areas, and designing wildlife crossings all
contribute to increased wildlife habitat.
Criteria for significant wildlife habitat minimum widths and sizes are contained in Appendix B of
the Hillsborough County Natural Resources Regulation. Existing studies have established a
definitive link between habitat area size and species diversity (Miller and Schaeffer, 1998). The
Hillsborough County Natural Resources Regulation sets a 75-acre minimum based on wildlife
research review that concluded that species diversity rapidly declines below 60 acres, while
another study determined 50 to 74 acres as the optimum minimum habitat. Although wildlife
corridors do not have to follow these criteria for size and width, reserving 75 acres or more of
significant wildlife habitat should be taken into consideration as core habitat or as the basis for a
wildlife corridor.
Although wildlife corridors can help conserve habitat dependent species affected by
encroaching urbanization, it is important to consider that the total amount of available habitat is
the critical factor and that no amount of corridors connecting isolated habitat areas will replace
extensive loss of habitat. Wildlife corridors allow for the linkage and preservation of isolated
wildlife habitats in the competition for space with humans.
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Sweetwater Creek Watershed Management Plan