With a two-year restoration project now complete, Hillsborough County is home to the largest ecosystem restoration in Tampa Bay.

  • Rock Ponds Ecosystem project aimed to create safe haven for native Floridian flora and fauna
  • More than a million native plant species planted, from pine trees to marshes
  • Scientists say the native plants will attract native wildlife

“This project is 1,043 acres of a mosaic of habitats of cascading fresh water wetlands, fresh water and salt water lagoons,” said Randy Smith, program manager for Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD).

The Rock Ponds Ecosystem Restoration project cost about $11 million. The project, which aims to create a safe haven for native Floridian flora and fauna, used a combination of money from tax payers, the state and grants.

“All kinds of fish, different crabs, different invertebrate species,” Smith said. “And those are all food for the bird species we see flying around here.”

The project planted more than a million native plant species, from pine trees to marshes. District scientists said the native plants will attract native wildlife.

“What you do is you build it right and the species will fill behind it,” Smith said. “You create a mosaic of habitats and it didn’t take long for the fish to move in and the crabs and different species of birds to come in and thrive.”

The Rock Pond’s restoration is good for the environment – and good for the economy.

“It keeps the reason people keep moving down to Florida,” Smith said. “If we develop everything then we lose that natural beauty that makes Florida so attractive.”