The Trailblazer

Staff Spotlight: Karen Warren Even if you go hiking, riding, bird watching or kayaking in our nature preserves all the time, you may not get a chance to talk to our staff too often. Just under 50 staff manage Hillsborough County's over 64,000 acres of nature preserves, so they're pretty spread out. We want to give you this opportunity to meet and learn  about the people who work hard to keep the County's nature preserves in good shape. Our staff do everything from mowing and fence construction to prescribed fire, invasive species removal, ecological restoration, guided programs and more! This month we asked Karen Warren, an Environmental Specialist I at Lower Green Swamp Preserve, to give us a little insight into her position and what conservation means to her. Here's what she had to share with us!  How did you get into this field?   I became acquainted with land management when I was in my late 20’s. At the time, I had owned a small grocery store/deli/ meat market. ...

  As you hike, you'll come to posts marked with the letters A through G (shown on the map). At each trail marker,  stop and listen to (or read)  the short informational clip provided.  You can download each marker separately using the links provided OR download the entire audio file and pause it between trail markers. You can also download the text to read along instead of listening. Remember to  bring a trail map, water, bug spray, and a snack  with you and tell someone where you're going.  Happy hiking!  Trail Map and Text Links: >>Camp Bayou Trail Map This is a geo-referenced trail map, meaning that if you download a mapping app like  Avenza  on your smartphone and open this PDF in the app, it will let you see your location on the map as you hike.  >>Full Hike - Text Only Audio Links: >>Full Hike Audio You only have to download one audio file, but you'll have to pause it between trail markers.  >>Intr...

  As you stroll down boardwalks and along shorelines in Hillsborough County, you’ll see some truly beautiful aquatic plants.  Some send up colorful, delicate flower stalks; some create dense floating mats; some can even grow in wet spots along trails or in puddles. One plant, known throughout the southeastern United States, does all of these things. Meet a land manager’s nemesis and the bane of boaters and fishermen across the world: The common water hyacinth.   Originally native to the Amazon river basin, this bright and distinctive flowering plant can now be found on every content except Antarctica. It can grow over a dozen feet a day (yes, feet!) and spreads itself both by cloning and by producing seeds which remain viable for decades. Taking over entire lakes and rivers in only a few months, water hyacinth crowds out other aquatic vegetation, reduces fish populations to near zero, and makes traveling by boat a nightmare. It causes flooding by damming streams and c...

  As you hike, you'll come to 5 numbered trail markers (shown on the map). At markers A, B, C, D, and E,  stop and listen to (or read)  the short informational clip provided.  You can download each marker separately using the links provided OR download the entire audio file and pause it between trail markers. You can also download the text to read along instead of listening. Remember to  bring a trail map, water, bug spray, and a snack  with you and tell someone where you're going.  Happy hiking!  >>Triple Creek Trail Map This is a geo-referenced trail map, meaning that if you download a mapping app like  Avenza  on your smartphone and open this PDF in the app, it will let you see your location on the map as you hike.  >>Full Hike - Text Only Audio Links: >>Marker A >>Marker B >>Marker C >>Marker D >>Marker E