Anclote Islands Management Area

Background

The Anclote Islands Management Area is located in both the city of Tarpon Springs and in unincorporated Pinellas County. The Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners acquired the property from the mid-1990s to 2004. The property, which is closed to the public, is managed by Parks & Conservation Resources.

While the areas surrounding the Anclote River have undergone dramatic urban development over time, historic aerial photographs show that there has been relatively little change to the Anclote Islands Management Area’s parcels.

The construction of U.S. 19 and an entrance road to the Anclote Bend Subdivision disturbed upland sandhills.

Characteristics

Located within the Pinellas-Anclote River Basin, the hydrology, or water flow and water quality, in this area is determined by the Anclote River and tides. The parcels comprising this management area stretch west from Salt Lake nearly to the mouth of the Anclote River, which empties into the Gulf of Mexico. Elevations range up to several feet above sea level, with many portions of the management area permanently under water.

The main soil types are mucks and fine sands that support tidal swamp and tidal marsh communities. The tidal swamps consist primarily of red and black mangroves, but also support buttonbush, glasswort, cordgrass, needlerush and sea purslane. The tidal marshes are dominated by black rushes, but also contain bulrushes, cordgrass and saltwort. These communities provide habitat for a wide variety of saltwater fishes and wading birds. Because this management area has not been heavily disturbed, non-native species are not as predominant a problem as in some other natural areas.

Management

The County assumed management of this area in 1998 with additional acquisitions made in 2001. Officials have made occasional patrols and conducted initial inventories of vegetation and wildlife species. Little hands-on management has been required because of the good, natural condition of the parcels. The mangrove swamps and salt marshes are intact, many with no non-native vegetation encroachment.

Management activities have focused on posting the boundary and controlling non-native vegetation, primarily Brazilian pepper on some island fringes and Australian pines on the three small westernmost islands.

Value

While The Anclote Island Management Area has special significance to local residents and provides economic and environmental benefits to its neighbors, this natural space provides valuable services to all residents and visitors to the region.

By protecting native biodiversity, it provides a habitat for countless organisms ranging from microbes to mammals. For example, numerous species that thrive in brackish water, including snook, blue crabs, and mullet, are found in the area. This area also makes important contributions to the region’s water flow by safeguarding the Anclote River’s naturally meandering flow pattern.

For additional information:

Parks & Conservation Resources
12520 Ulmerton Road
Largo, FL 33774

Phone: (727) 582-2100
Fax: (727) 582-2550
Web: www.pinellascounty.org/environment