The Trailblazer

If you join the Trail CATS on a Saturday workday, walk around an event like the Prescribed Fire Fest, or pop in to Bell Creek’s office for a moment there’s a good chance you’ll run into James Robe. As a Trailblazer subscriber, you already know James - he’s likely written some of your favorite pieces. In the two years James has been with our department he’s added an immense amount of value to some of our biggest programs, so let’s take a moment to better meet an old friend.  Before joining us, James was in the Florida Conservation Corps, through Americorps. He was an “ANT,” not the insect but an “AmeriCorps Nonnative plant Terminator.” Pretty nifty job title, right? “ANT members are basically full-time spray techs; you spend most of your time   surveying for and treating invasive exotic plants. It was a crash course in identifying plants, as well as understanding the landscape. I spent several hundred hours just surveying state land, planning herbicide treatments, and twice as ...

We love many things in the Hillsborough County Conservation and Environmental Lands Management Department (CELM); our parks and preserves, the smell of a longleaf pine, the sound of hiking boots hitting the dirt, salt air in our hair as we kayak, catching a glimpse of a “lifer” bird; but one thing we love the most are or Valentines Volunteers ! Volunteers with CELM wear many hats, and some may only do a few hours a month while others spend months as Camp Hosts. There’s a perfect niche for every volunteer in our department. We’d like to take some time to celebrate some of the work done by our various volunteers in 2024. Trail CATS Years ago, CELM started hosting volunteer workdays on Saturdays in the Nature Preserves. Every second Saturday of the month, CELM scheduled a trail workday on a site that needed a little extra attention. It was a great way for hikers and their families to come out and do some work on the trails they love to use. Then, several of our regular attendees ...

Winter photos taken on the “Felda Ridge Trail” at Cockroach Creek Greenway  Nature Preserve; January, 2025. Photos by James Robe. Earlier this January, I paid a visit to Environmental Lands Management Coordinator, Mary Barnwell, at her office in Cockroach Bay Nature Preserve, while on my way to visit the “Felda Ridge Trail” at Cockroach Creek Greenway Nature Preserve—one of our lesser-known locations on the Hillsborough County Hiking Spree. I was a bit nervous to ask how the properties she managed had fared during 2024’s hurricanes, Helene and Milton. I was pleasantly surprised to hear positive news. While she did have a list of human structures damaged—office building, missing pole barn, wrecked shed, issues with the well—She was animated by changes brought on by the storm, as well as the resilience of certain areas. Summer photos of Cockroach Bay Nature Preserve, a sister preserve to Cockroach Creek Greenway ; June of 2023. Photos by James Robe. Completed in 2012, the Cockro...

Nominations are now open for the Theodore Roosevelt Forever Conservation Award, which honors individuals or groups who exemplify dedication to preserving Hillsborough County's natural resources. Nominations are reviewed by the Conservation Award Sub-Committee and a recommendation is presented to the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC). The award is presented annually at a BOCC meeting that coincides with National Arbor Day. Selection criteria for the award: 1. The nominee must be living and either: currently live and/or work in Hillsborough County OR have lived and/or worked in Hillsborough County during the time of their outstanding achievements 2. The nominee must be someone who shows persistence and dedication to long-term conservation of the County's natural resources, demonstrates integrity in performance toward conservation goals, and displays attributes of true conservation stewardship. 3. The nominee must be involved in the community in which they live, lived, or worke...