Chapter 11 — Species of Special Concern 



to strengthen enforcement of manatee protection rules 

 in Kings Bay, has a direct line of vision to the Bay's 

 main spring, used most intensively by manatees and 

 divers. 



Recent acquisition efforts by the State in the 

 Crystal River region have focused on a 25-mile stretch 

 of coast from Crystal River south to Weeki Wachee 

 Springs. The northern two-thirds of this area includes 

 natural warm-water refuges at the heads of the Crys- 

 tal, Homosassa, and Chassahowitzka Rivers and forms 

 the core of the region's winter manatee habitat. These 

 rivers and the network of creeks between them also 

 are used by smaller numbers of manatees in other 

 seasons. 



Since 1984, five adjacent land acquisition projects 

 in this area have been added to the State's Conserva- 

 tion and Recreation Lands priority acquisition list 

 (Stoney-Lane, Crystal River, St. Martins River, 

 Homosassa Springs, and Homosassa Reserve). 

 Together, they include nearly 23,000 acres. More 

 than 10,000 acres had been acquired as of the end of 

 1991. 



Among the areas acquired to date is a 150-acre site 

 around the large warm-water spring at the head of the 

 Homosassa River. Discharge from the spring run 

 provides the region's second most important winter 

 refuge for manatees. Land around the spring has been 

 designated as a state park and the upper part of the 

 spring run is used as a site for rehabilitating injured 

 manatees and offering the public a chance to view 

 manatees in a natural environment. In addition, a 

 previously listed State project in the southern third of 

 the 25-mile sfretch (Chassahowitzka Swamp) was 

 expanded in 1988 to 23,000 acres. More than 18,500 

 acres of that project have been purchased. 



The State's six regional projects surround the 

 30,000-acre Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Re- 

 fuge. If all six projects are completed. Federal and 

 State protection would cover more than 75,000 acres 

 of contiguous undeveloped creeks, rivers, wetlands, 

 and uplands. In combination with the Lower Su- 

 wannee National Wildlife Reftige and existing State 

 Reserves and Preserves in the four-county area, an 

 outstanding protected area system would be estab- 



lished containing much of the region's important 

 manatee feeding and resting habitat. 



Acquisitions in the Blue Spring Area: After Kings 

 Bay, Blue Spring is Florida's second most important 

 natural warm-water refuge for manatees. Waters 

 north and south of the spring along a 25-mile stretch 

 of the St. Johns River include important non-winter 

 habitat for a significant number of the Blue Spring 

 manatees. While Blue Spring itself is protected within 

 a state park and portions of the surrounding region 

 important to manatees also are protected (e.g., in the 

 Hontoon Island State Park and Lake Woodruff Nation- 

 al Wildlife Refuge), many of the most important 

 surrounding areas used for travel, feeding, resting, 

 and mating are outside the bounds of protected areas. 



In 1988, the Marine Mammal Commission com- 

 pleted a second report on manatee habitat protection 

 needs. The 1988 report addresses manatees on the 

 east coast of Florida, including the St. Johns River 

 (see Appendix B, Marine Mammal Commission 

 1988). In part, the report recommends a focused 

 acquisition effort along the upper St. Johns River near 

 Blue Spring to consolidate the regional network of 

 protected areas and better protect important manatee 

 habitats. 



In 1990, the State's Land Acquisition Advisory 

 Council and Board of Trustees acted on two acquisi- 

 tion projects important to Blue Spring manatees. It 

 revised an 8,290-acre project along the St. Johns 

 River by adding 3,700-acres. The modified project 

 (Wekiva-Ocala Connector) includes about 10 miles of 

 undeveloped shoreline along the St. Johns River and 

 Hontoon Dead River north and south of Blue Spring. 

 The Board and Council also added a new 37,000 acre 

 project (Lake George) along the St. Johns River, Lake 

 Dexter, and Lake George north of the Lake Woodruff 

 National Wildlife Refuge. More than 19,000 acres of 

 the Lake George project have been acquired. 



If the two projects are completed, a continuous 

 wildlife corridor of Federal and State lands would be 

 established along most of the St. Johns River north 

 and south of Blue Spring from Lake George to the 

 Wekiva River. The 25-mile corridor would provide 



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