Polk County Land Management Plans
Polk County, Natural Resources Division

Pandion developed land management plans for two conservation areas in Polk County, Florida: Lake Lowery Marsh and Lake Bonnet Marsh. Both properties are located within the Green Swamp Area of Critical State Concern.

The Lake Bonnet Marsh Management Plan was developed to ensure that the property will be managed in accordance with the Florida Communities Trust (FCT) Grant Award Agreement and in furtherance of the purpose of the grant application. The site is a mixture of fallow pasture land and freshwater marsh. The plan’s goals are to restore the upland portions of the site, which have been considerably altered by agricultural activities, and preserve/protect the marsh and adjacent lake, which is in good condition.

The Lake Lowery Marsh site is predominantly freshwater marsh and improved pasture land with smaller inclusions of flatwoods and forested wetlands. The plan’s goals are to preserve/9protect the marsh and lake and to restore the upland portions of the site, if determined to be economically feasible.

For both plans, Pandion developed preliminary site information, and located and mapped natural communities and sensitive areas. We documented rare species, invasive species, fire history and fuels management needs, existing hydrology conditions and hydrologic restoration needs. We created a comprehensive GIS map for each site, and used landscape analysis to evaluate the effects of neighboring lands and potential future land uses on the conservation areas. The plans also included monitoring recommendations.

Key Personnel
Crissy Sutter, MS
Fay Baird, MS
Susan Marynowski, MS
Karen Hill

Period of Performance
2004

Location
Central Florida