Bell Creek Nature Preserve: A Closer Look

As I drive through the heart of Riverview, I find myself immersed in a bustling suburban neighborhood. Crowds of students flood the sidewalks as the regular Florida morning traffic picks up. The area has a peaceful character; it doesn't feel as cramped as Tampa, but the surging population of one hundred thousand people makes its presence known. Space is at a premium, even here in Riverview, which so stubbornly identifies itself as a place between others that we call it a "census-designated place" rather than a city.

Spotted Bee Balm (Monarda punctata) lines the gravel drive leading into Bell Creek Nature Preserve.

I turn into a gravel driveway, passing a sign reading “Bell Creek Nature Preserve.” The 2-acre facility on site, responsible for managing many Nature Preserves in Hillsborough County, is surprisingly small. I think about the environmental techs who perpetually pull into the back, stepping out of trucks covered in soot and drenched with sweat after putting out a summer fire. Had I not worked there, I would never have guessed the significance of the place, but today I walk around the fence and onto the public trail. The sandy path leads me away from the roar of traffic.

Only short portions of the trail are so sandy, but those that are represent important habitat. The sign pictured lower right allows you to access a self-guided audio tour, and its placement marks the presence of a partially hidden gopher tortoise burrow.

It can be difficult to place Bell Creek Nature Preserve in 2023. Sensitive Pea (Chamaecrista fasciculata) plants bloom vibrantly, defying the tall grasses that strain upwards; yellow sulphur butterflies dance carefully across the trail. I feel relief, no longer aware of the news, the names, or where on the map I went. It's a sensation I've heard described a thousand times.

Native magnolia (Magnolia virginiana) blossoms along the trail at Bell Creek Nature Preserve. 

Perhaps to some readers, it is self-evident that such a place should be purchased by the public and managed as a nature preserve. However, the fact remains that it stands surrounded by land that was decidedly not. 

Bell Creek has had a chain of ownership. The land was acquired through public funds as per the initiatives of the Jan K. Platt Environmental Lands Acquisition and Protection Program (ELAPP). It was purchased from various individuals and corporations, including Congressman Sam Gibbon's estate; MacRiley Homes; and Murlin and Myra Hansen. These facts are perhaps interesting in their own right, but do they answer the question: what material purpose does it serve?

Some open bodies of water still remain in Bell Creek Nature Preserve.

To answer this, we must delve into the land’s history: Before Riverview became an unincorporated, census-designated place, it was a battlefield. The United States’ unilateral breach of the Treaty of Moultrie Creek opened the floodgates, and volunteer soldiers swarmed into Florida; in the aftermath of this “Second Seminole War,” Congress enacted the 1842 “Armed Occupation Act.” Benjamin Alexander Putnam was appointed state surveyor and tasked with dividing the land into parcels to be distributed. The original survey map, marked by Mr. Putnam, designated the land on which I stand as Plot “27.”

A scan of the original 1852 land survey. The bulk of Bell Creek Nature Preserve falls inside of the highlighted region.

It is hard to say exactly what “27” looked like in 1852. We know that great quantities of wagons rolled through open scrub, carefully weaving between creek crossings. To the Americans, it must have seemed infinite: an unfathomably wide stretch of sand, grass, and pine, pockmarked with swamps, riparian floodplains, and struck nearly annually by intense, blazing wildfires.

The Burgert Brothers' chronical of Tampa Bay shows us what Florida might have looked like before modern development.

Today, Bell Creek Nature Preserve retains some of those characteristics. As I journey further down the trail, an open expanse unfolds before me and the faint smell of smoke lingers in the air. To my left, a field of blackened earth shows signs of renewal as new wiregrass sprouts from the scorched terrain - evidence of a prescribed fire.

Sensitive pea plants bloom as young long leaf pines and wiregrass regenerate from a recent prescribed fire. 

Florida is the lightning capital of the United States and extraordinarily prone to wildfires. Indigenous people practiced prescribed burning as a way to reduce fuel buildup and foster a healthy, bountiful environment. By the 1900s, the construction of roads and the proliferation of Western fire control techniques restricted the natural cycle of burning, leading to a dangerous buildup of fuels.

A 1998 edition of 'The Southeast Missourian' quotes Florida residents comparing the state's uncontrolled wildfires to the biblical book of Revelations. 

Through a century-long struggle to control a national reputation for devastatingly large fires, the Florida Forest Service, along with partner organizations like the Hillsborough County Conservation and Environmental Lands Management Department, honed effective prescribed fire and modern mitigation techniques. Wildland firefighters trained in Florida now assist in protecting vulnerable lands across the nation. Continued local operations, with many originating in Bell Creek Nature Preserve, play an essential role in safeguarding homes and maintaining a healthy environment.

Hillsborough County Employees Carolina and Patrick using controlled fire to reduce fuel buildup.

The meadow to the right offers a testament to their labor. Florida's natural ecosystem has evolved with fire, and the thriving bunching grass and flowers bear witness to this fact. A steady breeze washes over me as I scan the sweeping grassland, looking for signs of resident tortoises and rabbits.

Natural wildflower meadows depend on bunching grasses to add support, especially for the fall-blooming blazing stars which will soon grace the location.

Location “27” certainly resembled this modern scrub. Eighty-five years after Mr. Putnam drafted his survey, airplanes photographed the same land, and we got our first real picture of Bell Creek's past.

An aerial plate of "27" from 1938. White expanses of sand can be seen surrounding a river of lakes and ponds. The green region represents the modern extent of Bell Creek Nature Preserve.

Numerous lakes, ponds, and creek oxbows pockmark the landscape, each surrounded by light, beach-like sandy soil. We can see the transition from sand into open Florida scrub, with loose congregations of shrubs and trees.

Today, Florida scrub, along with its associated habitats, ranks among the state's most endangered landscapes. I have to fight my surprise as a zebra swallowtail butterfly (Eurytides marcellus) dashes repeatedly in front of my feet, checking each and every paw paw shrub I pass for the perfect leaf to lay an egg on. Millennia of people before me probably examined each plant she alighted on, curious to see if any fruit was present. Animals and plants like these are existentially dependent on quality natural habitats.

Several other butterfly species rely on habitat in Bell Creek, such as the viceroy and monarch butterflies, whose respective host plants (willow and milkweed) rely on wetlands like that pictured above.

The paw paw (Asimina reticulata) are pollinated by beetles, which themselves are incapable of adapting to the urban interface. No quantity of butterfly host plants in neighborhood gardens could entirely compensate for the interdependencies of nature, and without greenways and careful management to complement such endeavors, the well-meaning efforts of millions to stall pollinator and bird population decline would ultimately fail.

An incomplete suburban street runs through the heart of Bell Creek, a testament to its close call with development.

Over time, "27" exchanged numerous owners and was further fragmented into disparate holdings. At one point, a significant portion was earmarked for development. A suburban road emerged, and three model homes followed suit. But the recession's grip tightened, bringing construction to an abrupt halt. The land was subsequently acquired by ELAPP, and "27" found a renewed purpose as the backbone of Bell Creek Nature Preserve. Now, that once-constructed street weaves its way into the preserve's trail system, slowly being reclaimed by encroaching white sands.

Satellite survey of “27.” The same plot surveyed in 1852 now makes up the bulk of Bell Creek Nature Preserve in 2023.

Satellite images paint a vivid picture of Bell Creek Nature Preserve in 2023. A remarkable 171 years ago, "27" was a mere drop in the ocean – just another plot on a map for allocation. Fast forward 85 years, and it flourished as one of the many sanctuaries along creeks, lakes, and rivers. Today, it stands as a rare remnant of natural lands in Riverview.

Native maypop passion-vine (Passiflora incarnata), host to three butterfly species, blooms next to the trail.

As for the question I posited: What material purpose does it serve? “27” no longer belongs to any one person. It belongs collectively to you, the residents of Hillsborough County. I encourage you to come by and visit your Bell Creek Nature Preserve--it's free of any charge--and answer that question for yourself.

Native gopher tortoises (Gopherus polyphemus) are a frequent sight at Bell Creek Nature Preserve. Remember to keep a respectful distance, and don't step to close to their nest, as they bury their eggs in the sand.

Bell Creek Nature Preserve proudly stands as a highlight for the 2023-2024 Hiking Spree! Embrace the opportunity to encounter our native gopher tortoises, wander the spectral remnants of the would-be suburban street, and admire the resplendent pine flatwoods and autumn wildflowers during our organized, guided hikes. More details await you here. Additionally, we have a self guided audio tour available via QR codes mounted along the trail, no downloads required.