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 May-June 2012                                                                                                               
 

Tampa Bay Estuary Program

  

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Photo of Holly Greening

Back In Class

 

TBEP executive director Holly Greening was recently invited to speak at the University of Central Florida Women's Research Center as part of their "Successful Women in Science" Seminar Series. Holly presented a program on "Ecosystem-Based Management in an Urban Estuary" to both undergraduate and graduate students in the biological and social science and engineering departments. Her lecture was very well attended and Holly reports that the students asked great questions.

 


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And Yet Another
Award -- and a 
Fond Farewell
 
 
This one we gave to our colleague, Richard Boler, who recently retired after 32 years of service to the citizens of Hillsborough County at the Environmental Protection Commission. Richard led EPC's highly respected water quality monitoring program and was a longtime member and former Co-Chair of our Technical Advisory Committee. 
 
TBEP Executive Director Holly Greening and Program Scientist Ed Sherwood presented Richard with a "Champion of the Bay" award at his retirement luncheon. We wish Richard and his wife Sidney many happy days of sailing on Tampa Bay with the wind at their backs!  

Presentation of award to Richard Boler
Richard Boler, center, flanked by TBEP Director Holly Greening and Scientist Ed Sherwood.

 

Free Boater's Guide to Clearwater Bay Now Available    

 

The Boater's Guide to Clearwater Harbor and St. Joseph's Sound has been updated and reprinted. Get your free copy now by emailing [email protected].

The guide is a fold-out pamphlet on water-resistant paper that includes a detailed map, photographs, navigational tools,  and information about habitats and wildlife.

It includes important phone numbers, fishing tips, and color-coded maps depicting natural resources boaters should be aware of while on the water.

 

The map shows seagrass beds and water depths in Clearwater Harbor and St. Joseph's Sound, and also distinguishes the natural and man-made islands and notes those islands that are designated as "bird sanctuaries." It was produced by Audubon of Florida with assistance from Onshore-Offshore Publishing.

 

The guide also can be  downloaded on our website.

 American oystercatcher on shore

American oystercatchers are among the shorebirds that nest on islands in Clearwater Harbor.
Photo by Peter Massas

Teachers: Register Now for Summer Workshop

    

High school teachers and informal educators are invited to sign up for a one-day summer workshop utilizing a teaching guide developed in conjunction with our "Tampa Bay: Living Legacy" documentary film.

 

The workshop will be held Thursday, August 2, from 9:00 a.m.- 4:00 p.m. at Weedon Island Preserve in St. Petersburg.

 

Participating teachers will receive a $35 stipend, along with a CD of the teaching guide, a DVD of the film, maps and many other classroom resources. cover of teaching guide CD  

 

Click here for more info and to register.

  

Ethical Angler Wallet Card Updated 
fishermen poling skiff
An updated version of our popular Ethical Angler Wallet Card, featuring harvest regulations for the 12 most popular fish species caught in Tampa Bay, is now available to download on our website.

The wallet card will be reprinted and distributed  through local bait and tackle shops and other venues this fall, once the state decides whether to reopen snook season. All harvest of snook has been banned on Florida's Gulf Coast since  winter freezes in 2010 killed tens of thousands of this popular sport fish.
 
In This Issue
Free Boater's Guide to Clearwater Harbor Available
TBEP High School Teachers Summer Workshop
Ethical Angler Wallet Card Updated
Old Tampa Bay Modeling Underway
Be Floridian Program Moves Into High Gear
"Give A Day" Program Honored With Award
TBEP Receives 20th Anniversary Commendation
Old Tampa Bay Modeling Underway              

Four initial restoration strategies for improving water quality in Old Tampa Bay will be evaluated by the research team leading this comprehensive, multi-year project.

 

The four scenarios selected for in-depth assessment are:

  • Removing the inflow from the Lake Tarpon Outfall Canal to restore the historic hydrology of the watershed;
  • Redirecting discharges from municipal wastewater treatment plants to reuse or other beneficial uses;
  • Creating a series of small bridges or culverts in the Courtney Campbell Causeway to improve flushing, and:
  • Reducing stormwater loads to Old Tampa Bay by 25% through a combination of various structural and non-structural actions, such as Low Impact Development, fertilizer ordinances and retrofitting of stormwater ponds.   

The strategies will be evaluated using a complex integrated computer model of Old Tampa Bay, now in development, that can simulate how the area will respond under various scenarios, or combinations of scenarios. The goal is to identify which  

Lake Tarpon Outfall Canal with view of structure
The Lake Tarpon Outfall Canal was originally built to alleviate flooding from Lake Tarpon and the surrounding watershed. Photo from the Southwest Florida Water Management District.

management actions would provide the greatest ecological benefit at the most reasonable cost.

 

Old Tampa Bay, the area north of the Gandy Bridge between Tampa and Pinellas County, has been plagued in recent years by sluggish seagrass recovery, poor water quality, localized circulation and muck accumulation, and recurring summer algae blooms. A comprehensive effort to identify causes and solutions began last fall, and will continue through mid-2014. This first phase will include recommendations for preferred management actions that local, state and federal agencies can implement as funding and opportunities become available.

 

Click here to learn more about the project.  

kalika and flock
Flamingo Wrangler Kalika is bringing the Be Floridian flock to events around Tampa Bay.
Think Pink! 2012
Be Floridian Campaign Takes Flight


The popular "Be Floridian" fertilizer education campaign is taking wing this year, expanding from its original home base in Pinellas County across the bay to Tampa and Manatee County, and even down to Sarasota County.

The campaign supports local ordinances in those communities that call on residents to skip the 
fertilizer in the summertime to prevent rains from washing nitrogen into the nearest lake, river or bay, ruining the reason we love living here.

Print ads, digital ads, billboards and even bus wraps will carry the Be Floridian message to all four of our partner communities. A revamped and expanded website offers real-time Social Media updates, listings of partner companies and ordinance-compliant  fertilizers, and a Homeowners Toolkit designed to help residents of deed-restricted communities work proactively with their HOAs to create sustainable landscapes.

The campaign also is providing educational materials to retail outlets that sell fertilizers: Look for our stand-up cardboard flamingos, rack cards and tear-off sheets at big box stores and independent garden centers alike.

Finally, the Be Floridian flock of plastic pink yard flamingos -- our campaign ambassadors -- will be escorted to community events throughout the watershed this Spring by our new Flamingo Wrangler, Kalika Novoa. Look for Kalika and her flock at local markets, retail stores and community festivals through June. They even made an appearance at Tropicana Field for a Rays game in April!

Some Tampa city buses are sporting this colorful message.

Future of Region Award 2012
Members of TBEP's staff and Community Advisory Committee (front row) with their Future of the Region award at the awards banquet
'Give A Day' Program Honored With
2012 Future of the Region Award 

   

"Give A Day For The Bay," the volunteer workday program sponsored by the Tampa Bay Estuary Program, was presented a Future of the Region Award at the 20th annual banquet of the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council on March 23 at the Renaissance Vinoy in St. Petersburg. 

 

The program won second place in the Community Service category. Give A Day workdays are held six times annually at various parks and preserves throughout the Tampa Bay watershed. Removal of invasive plants is a primary focus of the workdays, along with native plant installation, to restore important coastal and upland habitats throughout the bay watershed.

 

The program, which began 10 years ago, recruits volunteers of all ages who work hard and are rewarded with lunch and the knowledge that they have played a part in helping to preserve the diversity and integrity of the bay's natural ecosystems.  

 

During the six Give A Days of the 2011-12 program, a total of 214 volunteers worked 856 hours restoring 72 acres and removing nearly 7 tons of invasives -- including Brazilian pepper, skunk vine and air potato. Native plants installed included beach sunflower, coral bean, marsh grass and sea oats.

 

Program coordinator Colleen Gray attributes the program's success to "the volunteers and a great team spirit we have working on improving the Tampa Bay parks and recreation areas. Half of the volunteers are 'repeat offenders' who show up with a smile and a strong work ethic, while showing the new volunteers the ropes."

 

To see short video slideshows of the various Give A Days, check out  

 

The TBEP channel on You Tube 

 

Give A Day For the Bay: Walsingham and Sawgrass Parks 
Give A Day For the Bay:
 Walsingham and Sawgrass Parks
March-April 2012 

     

Commendation
TBEP executive director Holly Greening was joined by EPC Director Rick Garrity, right and Hillsborough County Stormwater Director David Glicksberg, left, in accepting a special commendation from Hillsborough County Commissioners.
Speaking of Awards ...

The Tampa Bay Estuary Program was awarded a Commendation by the Hillsborough County Commission on March 21 in recognition of our 20th anniversary and the success of our community partnership. Part of the commendation reads:

 

"The program has made significant progress in improving Tampa Bay during the last two decades, including the recovery of more than 6,000 acres of life-sustaining sea grasses; the restoration of more than 5,000 acres of coastal habitats, and improvement of water quality and clarity to levels not seen since the 1950s."

 

Designated by Congress as an Estuary Of National Significance under the National Estuary Program in 1990, the Tampa Bay Estuary Program is one of only 28 programs in the United States and four in Florida.

We thank Commissioner Victor Crist for proposing this special commendation and for his support of our efforts as Hillsborough County's representative to our Policy Board. 

  

  TBEP IN THE COMMUNITY 

Maintaining Your Florida Yard Workshop

Instructor Brian Schatz demonstrates proper pruning techniques.
Landscape designer Brian Schatz demonstrates proper pruning techniques at the workshop.

Nearly 50 Tampa Bay residents participated in the "Maintaining Your Florida Yard" workshop held March 24 at Weedon Island Preserve. Local lawn and garden experts taught attendees how to create and maintain a Florida-Friendly yard through proper plant selection and installation, fertilizing and lawn care, pruning techniques and use of water-conserving micro-irrigation. The workshop was sponsored by Tampa Bay Estuary Program, Pinellas County Extension Service and the partners of the Be Floridian fertilizer education campaign. Each participant left with an armful of resources, as well as a few native plants to use in their landscape. 

About the Tampa Bay Estuary Program

 

 The Tampa Bay Estuary Program is an intergovernmental partnership dedicated to restoring and protecting Tampa Bay, Florida's largest open-water estuary. TBEP is one of 28 "Estuaries of National Significance" designated by Congress.

 

Our partners include Hillsborough, Manatee and Pinellas counties; the cities of Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater; the Southwest Florida Water Management District; the Florida Department of Environmental Protection; and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.