Cockroach Bay Habitat Restoration, Florida

Mineral extraction, agricultural activities and rapid urban growth have all contributed to the loss of approximately 80% of the seagrasses and 45% of the intertidal wetlands historically present in Tampa Bay. Cockroach Bay, located along the southeastern portion of Tampa Bay, is a smaller but unfortunate example of this historical abuse and ecological decline. Water and sediment sampling of Cockroach Bay has revealed pollutant loadings that appear to originate from the predominantly upstream agricultural watershed. A 16-member alliance made up of representatives of federal, state and local government agencies and private entities led by the South West Florida Water Management District's Surface Water Improvement and Management Program has developed a cooperative, interdisciplinary approach to solve the pollution problems on this site. The approach is comprised of three strategies, each proposing a specific habitat and/or pollution control feature: brackish and freshwater wetlands, uplands and stormwater treatment. The restoration project has three main goals: 1) To provide habitat mosaics (differing habitat types) typical of estuarine/coastal areas; 2) to improve water quality via stormwater treatment of agricultural runoff; and 3) to restore sheetflow across the Florida peninsula into the Cockroach/Tampa Bay Estuary.

The project will be conducted in two phases. The first phase will involve developing approximately 200-acres of habitat mosaics through the modification of three mining pits and adjacent agricultural lands and the construction of specialized stormwater treatment ponds. Volunteer activities have already led to the clearing of large portions of the tract that have been invaded by exotic plants. Phase two will involve restoring approximately 300 acres of upland and freshwater transitional and high marsh habitats. The total project will result in the restructuring and replanting of 500 acres of a 651-acre site with habitat mosaics typical of coastal wetlands and uplands and will innovatively use wetlands to filter nonpoint source pollution.