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COURSE INFO PROVIDER: SWSPCP Webinar
COURSE TITLE: A Broad Scale 2,500 Acre Wetland Habitat Restoration Project in South Florida

INSTRUCTORS Edward R. Weinberg

COURSE DESCRIPTION A Broad Scale 2,500 Acre Wetland Habitat Restoration Project in South Florida
Presented by Edward R. Weinberg
07/20/2023

ABSTRACT:
Avenir is a mixed-use development in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. The parent property was comprised of 4,763 +/- acres of highly altered lands, ditched and drained to support various agricultural uses for over 50 years. Over 50% of the property (2,400 +/- acres) was set aside for habitat restoration, wetland mitigation, and conservation. This webinar focuses on the approach, design, and implementation of the native habitat restoration and conservation elements of the project.

From a regional perspective, the Avenir habitat restoration project is uniquely situated in the broader landscape such that the benefits to the regional ecology are much greater than the sum of its parts. The parent property was the only remaining privately owned parcel in a regional continuum of publicly owned and managed conservation properties extending from Lake Okeechobee to the Atlantic Ocean. For over 40 years prior to the Avenir project, the parent property was the subject of multiple conservation acquisition efforts by local, state, and federal entities. This “missing link” in the regional ecology now functions as a wildlife corridor connection, an enhancement to water storage and water quality for the Northern Everglades system, and renewed habitat for a diverse assemblage of wildlife including several species listed as threatened or endangered. Of significant importance is the fact that this has been achieved without expenditure of public funds for acquisition, restoration, and long-term management.

We will describe the base conditions, habitat restoration techniques, successes, and learning experiences in this ongoing project. A combination of invasive species eradication and hydrologic restoration actions will be discussed along with the adaptive management approaches developed as the project has progressed.

BIO:
Ed Weinberg is the founder and President of EW Consultants, Inc., a natural resource environmental consulting firm based in Stuart, FL. After 10 years with a large engineering firm, he founded the firm in 1997, and has provided wetland and natural resource consulting services to private and public sector clients in South Florida throughout the 25+ year history of the firm. He earned a B.S. in Biology from St. Bonaventure University (1985) and an M.S. in Oceanography from Florida Institute of Technology (1987). Over the past 5-10 years, the firm has developed a growing practice in the field of native habitat restoration and maintenance in South Florida.
Over the course of more than 36 years working in South Florida, Ed has developed a broad range of experience in its unique freshwater and terrestrial natural systems. He has participated in a wide variety of resource assessments, environmental permitting, and habitat restoration projects ranging from several acres to over 5,000 acres. His experience includes delineation of wetlands, native habitats, and wildlife evaluation on well over 100,000 acres throughout Florida. Based on this experience, Ed has focused the firm’s efforts on meeting market demand for sustainable restoration of native ecosystems in South Florida.

Credit Points: 0.06

SYLLABUS/TOPICAL OUTLINE 1. Background and Regional Perspective - 5 min. 2. Invasive Species Eradication and Control - 10 min. 3. Hydrologic Restoration - 10 min. 4. Adaptive Management Techniques - 10 min. 5. Summary of Ongoing Efforts - 5 min 6. Photo Gallery - 5 min. 7. Q&A - 15 min.

COURSE CONTACT

Louis Mantini
9225 CR49, Live Oak, FL, FL 32060
lfm@srwmd.org
P: 13866974891
F:

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