The Trailblazer

  If you’re a frequent visitor at Camp Bayou Nature Preserve in Ruskin, you may notice a big change on your next trip.  What was once an overgrown, vine-filled tangle of impenetrable vegetation along 24th street is now an open pine canopy full of dappled sunlight! Part of the hardwood reduction project area This didn’t happen by accident- Hillsborough County's Conservation and Environmental Lands Management Department recently completed a hardwood reduction project at Camp Bayou. Using heavy equipment, a contract crew removed most of the oaks and underbrush from a 10-acre area, leaving pine trees and only a few oaks behind to grow. This change may seem drastic, but it’s for the greater good of the wildlife and native plants that call Camp Bayou home. Historically, this project area was composed of pine flatwoods, scrubby flatwoods, and scrub, which are habitat types that benefit from frequent fires. These habitat types are extremely important to some of Florida’s threatened ...

Join us in celebrating an exciting holiday this April 10th: Florida Gopher Tortoise Day!  This beautiful creature is the only tortoise native to the southeastern United States and is one of  Florida's most beloved wildlife species. Although you may see gopher tortoises fairly often while hiking in Hillsborough County’s Conservation Parks and Nature Preserves , these burrow-dwelling reptiles are listed as threatened by the state of Florida and are protected by state law. The population of gopher tortoises in many states has decreased dramatically over the past century due to human activity and development. Gopher tortoises prefer open, dry habitat such as scrub and pine flatwoods. Unfortunately, high and dry areas like these are among the first chosen for development, and much of the gopher tortoise’s natural habitat has been lost. Nature preserves and parks, like those in Hillsborough County, are among the only safe places left for gopher tortoises to live. They can also be fo...

Sign up for Hillsborough County's new Prescribed Fire Notification System Hillsborough County is making it easier for you to know when a prescribed burn might be affecting your neighborhood. Sign up today to receive prescribed burn email notifications whenever Hillsborough County’s prescribed burn teams are conducting a burn.   Prescribed fire is a vital tool we use to manage Hillsborough County’s 80,000 plus acres of conservation land. It is a safe way to apply a nature process, ensure ecosystem health, and reduce wildfire risk. Despite all the great things prescribed fire can do to protect our communities and help nature flourish, the smoke from a prescribed burn can also be a nuisance if you are sensitive to it, and that is why we want to give everyone the power to prepare.    Although prescribed burns are carefully planned, unfortunately they cannot be scheduled. Our burn managers write a prescription based on the exact weather conditions they need to safely and...

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