Permitted by SWFWMD (December 2016)
Permitted by USACOE (July 2017)
The Crooked River Mitigation Bank (CRMB) is 323.10 acre mitigation bank. CRMB requires the restoration and enhancement of 145.93 acres of forested marsh and 83.23 acres of freshwater marsh, restoration of 18.21 acres of wet pine flatwoods, establishment of 34.57 acres of forested wetlands and 36.71 acres of freshwater marsh, restoration of 4.24 acres of adjacent upland buffer pine flatwoods, and preservation of all 323.10 acres within the CRMB boundary. As part of the enhancement work, the existing citrus grove will be excavated and replaced with five freshwater marshes that include deep water ponds. Invasive exotic species will be targeted for treatment throughout the FGCMB boundary. The perpetual management plan will include a prescribed fire management plan.
The CRMB is located in the Green Swamp area and is surrounded by the 6,500 acre Hilochee Wildlife Management Area. It also contains the headwaters of the Withlacoochee River. Thus in addition to improving wetlands in the Withlacoochee watershed, one of the objectives of the CRMB is to increase habitat for a number of wildlife species, including the Everglades snail kite and the federally endangered wood stork, while completing a wildlife corridor between two portions of the Hilochee Wildlife Management Area.
