By Kyle LoJacono
In a few years, the land that once raised cattle may serve as a nature park and the critical link between two of Pasco County’s largest wetlands.
The area includes 384 acres of land between US 41 and the Suncoast Parkway just north of SR 52 in Land O’ Lakes. The area is part of the Morsani Ranch and will help connect Starkey Wilderness and Cross Bar nature preserves.
“The purchase was OK’d by the board on April 19,” said Pasco Commissioner Pat Mulieri. “A major portion of the land includes a wildlife corridor and provides open space, protects environmentally sensitive land and owning this allows us to eventually utilize it for activities such as bird-watching.”
The land comes with an $800,000 price tag, or about $2,083 per acre, paid for by Penny for Pasco money. County assistant administrator Michele Baker said 45 percent of the funds generated from the penny program goes to Pasco’s government, and 25 percent of that is used for environment purposes.
“This land was identified in our updated regional environmental strategy in 2000 as one of the critical linkages between preserves,” Baker said. “The strategy recommends connecting these areas to protect the environment in the county. It is one of seven critical linkages we want to eventually buy and make into preserves.”
The Morsani purchase is just the beginning of the process to link Starkey’s 18,000 acres to Cross Bar’s 12,500. The county will still need to buy about 30 miles of land to complete the connection.
“This is the longest of the critical linkages in the county and we’ve got a long way to go,” Baker said. “It is a first step and we’re very lucky to have people like the Morsanis who allowed us to buy the land.”
The Morsanis live in Lutz and nominated their land for the purchase. They have raised cattle and grown hay on the land for many years, but felt selling it for environmental purposes was the right thing to do.
While there are no set plans for the land at this point, Baker said a nature park with boardwalks and other elements to allow people to see the wetland is not out of the question.
“We have to make sure anything we do doesn’t interfere with the connection of the preserves themselves, but there shouldn’t be any problem putting in facilities to allow people to see the natural beauty,” Baker said. “If we fast forward several years, I bet bird-watching could be a popular activity where the ranch is now.”
Other critical linkages in central Pasco would connect Cross Bar with the Connerton Preserve, as well as Connerton with Starkey. The shortest linkage is between Connerton and the Cypress Creek Flood Detention Area in Wesley Chapel. Another would link Starkey with the Brooker Creek Preserve in northern Hillsborough County.
In east Pasco, there is a critical linkage identified between the Green Swamp Wildlife Management Area and the Upper Hillsborough Park, and the last helps connect portions of the Cypress Creek.
For more information on environmental efforts in Pasco, visit the county’s Environmental Lands Acquisition and Management Program’s section of portal.pascocountyfl.net.
Bike trail temporarily closed
The Pasco County Parks and Recreation Department has closed Starkey Wilderness Park’s bike trail until May 6 due to repairs being made by Tampa Bay Water. The trail is set to reopen the next day. For more information, call (813) 929-2760.
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