A CASE STUDY: MITIGATION OF FORESTED FRESHWATER WETLAND. FINAL REPORT

This report summarizes the results of wetlands mitigation and monitoring associated with the widening of Sand Lake Road (SR 528A) in southwest Orlando, Florida. In 1986 the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) obtained a dredge and fill permit from the Florida Department of Environmental Regulation (FDER) because the expansion encroached upon an adjacent forested wetland dominated by pond cypress (Taxodium ascendens). The permit required FDOT to create 0.85 ha of forested wetland and 0.48 ha of herbaceous marsh to compensate for the loss of 0.61 ha of forested wetlands and 0.65 ha of roadside ditches which were filled as the result of road widening. Mitigation was determined to occur within a drainage easement adjacent to the construction site. Construction and planting of the mitigation site was completed in January 1988. Monitoring tracked the wetland values of the created wetlands over a period of four years (1988-1991) following construction. Systematic sampling of the sites' hydrology, vegetation, and associated wildlife was performed. In zone A, 93% of the planted bald cypress were alive after four years. Zone B was a herbaceous marsh with bald cypress. Zone C was a herbaceous marsh without trees. Use of the mitigation site by fish, reptiles, amphibians, birds, and mammals was assessed and compared with literature data from other similar locations in Orange and Osceola Counties. Success of the mitigation effort was evaluated based on the specific conditions of the FDER permit. Recommendations were developed for an overall strategy of dealing with future wetland mitigation needs of FDOT based on the experience derived from the Sand Lake Road project. The major recommendation was for the establishment of a mitigation bank.

  • Corporate Authors:

    University of Central Florida, Orlando

    Division of Sponsored Research, 4000 Central Florida Boulevard
    Orlando, FL  United States  32816-0150

    Florida Department of Transportation

    Haydon Burns Building, 605 Suwanee Street
    Tallahassee, FL  United States  32301

    Federal Highway Administration

    1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
    Washington, DC  United States  20590
  • Authors:
    • Stout IV
    • Ward, T H
    • Hupalo, R B
  • Publication Date: 1994-2-14

Language

  • English

Media Info

  • Features: Appendices; Figures; References; Tables;
  • Pagination: 203 p.

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 00647361
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Report/Paper Numbers: State Job 99500-7414-119, Study No. 0451, WPI 0510451
  • Contract Numbers: C-3547
  • Files: TRIS, USDOT, STATEDOT
  • Created Date: May 12 1994 12:00AM