This blog is dedicated to the environmental well-being of our Florida coastal habitat.

This blog is
dedicated to the environmental well-being of coastal habitat.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Kayak Trip - Little Manatee River

Kayak with the SE Littoral Socety July 25 on the Little Manatee River 9am-1pm. The charge is $30 for members and $35 for non-members. Call John at at (941)966-7308 for reservations. (Members who own a kayak and life vests are welcome to go on this trip for a $5 donation to ALS.)

The Little Manatee River begins in a swampy area near Fort Lonesome and flows almost 40 miles before emptying into Tampa Bay. The river has been designated an Outstanding Florida Water and is part of the Cockroach Bay Aquatic Preserve.

What is an Outstanding Florida Water?

"An Outstanding Florida Water, (OFW), is a water designated worthy of special protection because of its natural attributes. This special designation is applied to certain waters, and is intended to protect existing good water quality.

Most OFWs are areas managed by the state or federal government as parks, including wildlife refuges, preserves, marine sanctuaries, estuarine research reserves, certain waters within state or national forests, scenic and wild rivers, or aquatic preserves. Generally, the waters within these managed areas are OFWs because the managing agency has requested this special protection." -- Florida Environmental Protection Agency