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Public To Learn Of Changes To Preserve Management Plan

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By Mark  Schantz | The Suncoast News

Published: June 7, 2008

EAST LAKE - There are changes afoot for Pinellas County's Brooker Creek Preserve.

Updates to the 8,500-acre preserve's management plan will be presented at a town hall meeting starting 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 10, at the Brooker Creek Environmental Education Center auditorium, 3940 Keystone Road.

Staff from the county's environmental management and environmental lands divisions will present a summary of an extensive updated plan and collect public comment on it.

County commissioners will consider whether to adopt the revisions during a public hearing at the Pinellas County Courthouse, in Clearwater, at the end of August.

Highlights of the updated management plan, which will be completed in stages over several years, include:

•Establishing firebreaks to restore the park's natural burn regimes and provide for enhanced wildlife protection.

•Repairing damage from past land uses, where feasible.

•Expansion of preserve boundaries into Hillsborough and Pasco counties, as opportunities becomes available.

•Expanding the preserve's trails and creating a network of hiking trails that include boardwalks stretching from the Four Lake Hammock area to the Anclote River.

•Providing events and programs at the Brooker Creek Education Center to teach the public about natural Florida.

•Restoration of the preserve's natural hydrology so wetlands are maintained without causing flooding or dehydration of other wetland areas outside of its boundaries.

•Restoring sand hills to support diverse plant life and wildlife such as the gopher tortoise, short-tailed snake and Florida mice.

•Nurturing and replenishing Pine Flatwoods and natural plant communities that have been altered.

•Installing wildlife underpasses in portions of the preserve intersected by roadways, particularly along Keystone Road near Hillsborough County.

At the request of the city of Oldsmar, a hiking trail will be considered for an area at the southern boundary of the preserve. The city is on the preserves southern boundary.

A kayak landing area could be established in a northern portion of the preserve along the Anclote River, giving visitors access to the Brooker-Anclote Corridor hiking trail, according to the report.

Mark Schantz can be reached at 727-815-1075 or mschantz@suncoastnews.com.

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