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Loxahatchee River Watershed

Loxahatchee River Watershed. Overview. 1 st river in Florida designated as a National Wild & Scenic River It is connected to the Lake Worth Creek Aquatic Preserve

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Loxahatchee River Watershed

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  1. Loxahatchee River Watershed

  2. Overview • 1st river in Florida designated as a National Wild & Scenic River • It is connected to the Lake Worth Creek Aquatic Preserve • Located in northern Palm Beach & southern Martin counties; over 200 square miles that includes the communities of Jupiter Inlet Colony, Juno Beach and Jupiter Island • Includes large tracts of undisturbed land such as the Atlantic Coral Reef Ridge & Pal-mar, and protected parcels like the Jonathan Dickinson State Park

  3. Habitat types found within the watershed include pine land, sand pine scrub, xeric oak sand, hardwood hammocks, cypress swamps, mangrove swamps, tidal flats, sea grass beds, oyster beds, and coastal dunes • The river supports many endangered & potentially endangered species such as manatee and the four- petal pawpaw • Wildlife present here are, otters, West Indian manatees, alligators, bobcats, turtles, wood stork, osprey, raccoon, snook & grey snapper Four- Petal Pawpaw

  4. Issues Concerning the River • Urban development is threatening these diverse habitats • Over the last 50 years, flood control, major road construction & dredging have taken their toll on the river • Some negative effects of the development:*severed greenway connections, habitat loss & displaced wildlife, disrupted cultural & historical sites resulted in insufficient land to produce hydrologic connections& sustain wildlife

  5. Altered hydroperiod:*drainage canals & barriers in developed areas reduce water storage in some natural areas causong flooding in others & degrading the water quality • Contamination of ground water:*all of the drinking water in the watershed comes from groundwater-over pumping causes salt water intrusion & leaking fuel storage tanks can pose a potential contamination threat • Spreading of invasive exotic plants: *native species that provide habitat, shelter & food to native wildlife are being crowded out by invasive exotic plants

  6. Over the next 20 years, population is expected to increase from 5.6 million to 7.3 million • Public water supply and domestic self-supply demands will require 317 million gallons per day • It is important to preserver the Loxahatchee River Watershed because it provides about 35% of Martin county communities drinking water; in addition, it is the home of many animals, and if disrupted, can throw off this ecosystem, and potentially cause harm to humans

  7. Green- 1st Trophic Level Orange- 2nd Trophic Level Blue- 3rd Trophic Level Red- 4th Trophic Level

  8. References • Designed by: Michelle Denise Ferguson • https://my.sfwmd.gov/portal/page?_pageid=2814,19613313,2814_19613619&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL • http://www.dep.state.fl.us/gwt/guide/regions/south/trails/loxahatchee.htm • http://www.dep.state.fl.us/COASTAL/sites/loxahatchee/info.htm • http://www.lrhs.org/htmlPages/river.htm • https://my.sfwmd.gov/pls/portal/docs/PAGE/PG_GRP_SFWMD_WATERSUPPLY/SUBTABS%20-%20UPPER%20EAST%20COAST%20-%20DOCUMENTS/TAB1610177/UEC_CHAP4.PDF • https://my.sfwmd.gov/pls/portal/docs/PAGE/PG_GRP_SFWMD_WATERSHED/PORTLET%20-%20COASTAL%20ECOSYSTEMS/TAB1806037/LOX_BROCHURE.PDF

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