Northwest Pinellas Coastal Watershed Management and Resource Protection Plan

Pinellas County is seeking federal and Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) funding in fiscal year 2008 to develop a Comprehensive Watershed Management Plan to protect the natural resources of Clearwater Harbor and St. Joseph Sound.  These waters occur along the county’s western coastline and provide haven to 14,700 acres of seagrass; an acreage equal to 60% of the total seagrass acreage found in Tampa Bay.  Potential federal funding sources identified include the Gulf of Mexico Program and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. 

The funding proposal represents the first 2-yr phase of a 4-yr project to complete a characterization and Comprehensive Management Plan for Clearwater Harbor/St. Joseph Sound.  The first phase will be a 2-year characterization of the watershed and the development of watershed goals and objectives.  The project area will include the 111 km2 open water region bounded east and west by the coastal mainland shoreline and the barrier island chain, respectively.  The area extends 21 miles from SR 688 (Indian Rocks Bridge) northward to the Anclote River.  The goals and objectives developed in Phase 1 will provide a starting point for Phase 2, another 2-year project to develop a Comprehensive Watershed Management Plan for the Clearwater Harbor/St. Joseph Sound system.  The entire project will follow a National Estuary Program approach and will incorporate other management plans (e.g., State Aquatic Preserves, Audubon, etc.) developed in the project area.  The plan will also address the protection of Threatened and Endangered Species as applicable to the project area.   

Stakeholder involvement throughout the project will provide a mechanism to distribute information to the public about the economic and natural resource value of the project area as Gulf resources as well as on-going project programs.  The final implementation of structural and non-structural management options identified in the Plan will provide the necessary level of protection to preserve the existing seagrass, mangrove/marsh, and open-water habitat along this resource rich lagoon and open-water system.

A workshop was held on March 30th, 2007 and here are the highlights of the meeting.