Lower Green Swamp Preserve

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Lower Green Swamp Preserve, formerly the Cone Ranch, is an area of protected lands in northeastern Hillsborough County, Florida near Tampa. It includes about 13,000 acres of former cattle ranchland and farmlands that are now being restored to a more a natural state.[1] Canals built for flood relief are also being blocked.[1] Species in the area include white-tailed deer, Sherman's fox squirrels, bald eagles and an occasional bobcat.[1] Feral hogs are also present.[1]

The property was purchased by the West Coast Regional Water Supply Authority in 1988 for groundwater pumping, a plan that was later blocked by changes in federal rules. A proposed sports complex plan in the 2000s met with public criticism and proposals to turn it into private were also defeated. The land was eventually sold to Florida's land preservation program in 2010.[1] In January 2014, a portion of the land was opened for public use.[1]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e f Former Cone Ranch, now a Hillsborough preserve, will open to the public by Bill Varian January 4, 2014 Tampa Bay Times

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