Florida NRCS Hosts Wetland Site Showing

(above from left) Florida NRCS State Conservationist Niles Glasgow, NRCS National Wetlands Reserve Program Manager Tony Puga, Director, NRCS Easement Programs Division Robin Heard, Florida NRCS State Resource Conservationist Greg Hendricks, NRCS Assistant State Conservationist Ken Murray, Florida  Florida NRCS Wetlands Reserve Program Specialist Ron Howard, USFWS Fish and Wildlife Biologist Heath Rauschenberger,  USFWS Fish and Wildlife Biologist Jay Herrington  (NRCS photo -- click to enlarge) Florida wetland (NRCS photo -- click to enlarge)

National headquarters and Florida NRCS officials along with two U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service biologists recently looked at potential and existing Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) easements in Central Florida.

The visitors got a firsthand look at some of the different types of wetlands in Florida and some of the unique problems associated with restoration of these wetlands in a State faced with rapid development and skyrocketing land values.

After two days observing WRP sites Tony Puga, NRCS National WRP Manager said that he was pleased with what Florida NRCS was doing with the program.  “Florida NRCS is using the WRP Program as it was intended to be used.  By that, I mean that they are restoring wetlands and maximizing wildlife habitat at the same time.”

In FY 2006, a total of 5,133 upland and wetland easement acres were acquired through WRP in Florida. Over 3,000 of these are wetland acres protected by easements.   Wetlands Reserve Program conservation easements require surveys before deeds can be transferred and unfortunately, in this rapidly developing State, easement survey work takes a back seat to development.  NRCS engineers overseeing the restoration of these properties report having a difficult time finding survey crews to this type of work.

With over 20 percent of the estuarine wetlands in the lower 48 States located in Florida, the State is second only to Alaska.  However, Florida lost more than 260,000 acres of freshwater, emergent wetlands during 1985-1996 — a rate that more than doubled compared to the 1970-1980 period.  Wetlands, particularly freshwater emergent wetlands, are essential for waterfowl and other wildlife, yet losses continue.  In fact, since Florida became a State, total wetland area has decreased by approximately 44 percent.  The Wetlands Reserve Program is one way that NRCS and its partners are helping reverse that trend.
Your contact is Bob Stobaugh, NRCS public affairs specialist, at 352-338-9565.