Hillsborough County has purchased thousands of acres of wildlands through the taxpayer-funded Environmental Lands Acquisition and Protection Program, or ELAPP. The county is taking nominations through June 30 for more ELAPP purchases. Above, is a pine flatwoods area of Triple Creek Nature Preserve.
Photo from Hillsborough County

Rampant development is swallowing up native habitat in Hillsborough County; ELAPP helps preserve it for all.

Nomination deadline nearing for preserving valuable green spaces

By YVETTE C. HAMMETT

What used to be a deluge of nominations to the county to purchase and preserve sensitive lands has turned into more of a trickle these days. Still, Hillsborough County is reaching out to the public for ideas on which parcels are worthy of conservation.

As thousands of people move to the county each month, to fill its need, new housing construction is eating up much of the remaining vacant parcels. But there is also a need to protect sensitive habitat for wildlife and green space for both humans and beasts. And that is what the Jan K. Platt Environmental Lands Acquisition and Protection Program, or ELAPP, is all about.

From now through June 30, the county is accepting nominations for property to be considered for purchase under ELAPP. The program protects and preserves endangered, environmentally sensitive, and significant lands in Hillsborough County, most of which eventually open for passive public uses such as hiking or birding.

Anyone can nominate a parcel, whether as a resident, a community association, a government agency or a land owner. Land is only purchased from willing sellers. The county keeps a running list of lands nominated, then works with land owners as money becomes available to purchase and restore or maintain them. The Board of County Commissioners approves the final nominations for purchase.

A sandhill crane protects her chicks at Rhodine Scrub Nature Preserve.

“Some considerations,” said Ross Dickerson, who oversees the ELAPP lands, “is whether a parcel is comprised mostly of native flora and fauna, helps protect water quality, has unique geological features, is used by a federally listed species or connects wildlife or habitat corridors.”

Dickerson said the county keeps an ongoing list of nominated lands from which to choose each year. “As of Oct. 1, 2018, the program has acquired, contracted, or participated in the preservation of about 61,811 acres (55 sites) at a cost of approximately $262.8 million,” he said.

“ELAPP has been very successful in receiving joint acquisition funding, which has provided over $87.1 million (or approximately 33.1 percent) toward the purchase price of these properties. Approximately 34.8 percent of the acquired land is considered wetland, and 65.2 percent is upland. In numerous cases, the county has partnered with the Southwest Florida Water Management District to purchase large parcels.

Florida’s native wildflowers explode after a controlled burn at Triple Creek Nature Preserve.

All sites nominated go through the nomination process, with the Site Assessment Team weighing in first. The team looks at sites, using the nomination form and aerials, then makes recommendations on sites to move forward.

The team determines which sites will go forward for a full assessment. If a site makes it to that point, the county contacts the land owner and requests permission to do an internal environmental assessment.

“Some sites fall off there, while others are reviewed and a report is written before final ranking,” Dickerson said.

At that point, some sites fall off the list because the property owner is not interested in being in the program. If access is granted, a team of environmental professionals visits the site and evaluates the environmental qualities, listed on the nomination form. A report is then drafted for final ranking.

Money collected through a special voter-approved tax pays for the land. In 2008, 79 percent of the county’s voters who cast ballots approved the ELAPP Referendum to issue up to $200 million in bonds. In 2009, $56 million in bond proceeds were issued and, of that, approximately $250,000 remain, Dickerson said. The annual tax collected is used to pay back those bonds.

Rapids at FishHawk Nature Preserve

Properties obtained with that money vary greatly. “Some have seen little impact from humans, and some are being returned to their natural habitats through restoration,” Dickerson said. “At Triple Creek Nature Preserve, you will see newly restored grasslands, riverine forests, and mesic flatwoods. The Cockroach Bay Preserve has an array of restored habitat, including palustrine marshes, braided title creeks, coastal hammocks and salt terns.

“To see mostly undisturbed habitats,” he said, “visit Blackwater Creek Preserve in Plant City or Cockroach Creek Greenway in Sundance. They contain pine flatwoods, open grasslands and ephemeral marshes. There are also limestone rapids at Blackwater Creek and Curiosity Creek at Cockroach Creek Greenway, which gets its name because it flows away from Tampa Bay.”

To nominate a parcel, submit it to Environmental Lands Acquisition and Protection Program, Conservation & Environmental Lands Management Department, Bell Creek Administrative Office, 10490 McMullen Road, Riverview, FL 33569.

For more information, call 813-672-7876.