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Contact Us | Calendar | How Do I? News | Media | | June 29, 2011 

Watershed Management: Watershed Planning 

Clearwater Harbor / St. Joseph Sound Watershed

Pinellas County has partnered with US EPA 

Region 4, the Southwest Florida Water 

Management District (SWFWMD), and the 

cities of Dunedin, Clearwater, Tarpon Springs, 

and Largo, to develop a Comprehensive 

Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP) to 

protect the natural resources of Clearwater 

Harbor and St. Joseph Sound. These waters 

occur along the county’s western coastline and 

provide haven to 14,700 acres of seagrass; an 

acreage equal to 60% of the total seagrass 

acreage found in Tampa Bay. Potential federal 

funding sources identified include the Gulf of 

Mexico Program and the United States Fish 

and Wildlife Service. 

The project area will include the 111 km2 open 

water region bounded east and west by the 

coastal mainland shoreline and the barrier 

island chain, respectively. The area extends 21 

miles from SR 688 (Indian Rocks Bridge) 

northward to the Anclote River. The entire 

project will follow a National Estuary Program 

approach and will incorporate other 

management plans (e.g., State Aquatic 

Preserves, Audubon, etc.) developed in the 

project area. The plan will also address the 

protection of Threatened and Endangered Species as applicable to the project 

area. 

PC HOME PUBLIC RECORDS ONLINE SERVICES BUSINESS GOVERNMENT RESIDENTS VISIT

Pinellas County, Florida News - Watershed Planning - Clearwater Harbor / St. Joseph Sound Watershed Page 1 of 2

http://www.pinellascounty.org/environment/watershed/watershed-clearwater-harbor.htm 6/29/2011
Project Update:

Stakeholder involvement throughout the project has provided a mechanism to 

distribute information to the public about the economic and natural resource 

value of the project area as Gulf resources as well as on-going project 

programs. The final implementation of structural and non-structural 

management options identified in the Plan will provide the necessary level of 

protection to preserve the existing seagrass, mangrove/marsh, and openwater habitat along this resource rich lagoon and open-water system. 

A draft CCMP is expected to be completed by December, 2011. 

Publications:

Change In Land Uses Over Time - Through the Years (2.8M) 

Change In Land Uses Over Time - Vertical Maps

Historic Tidal Circulation Changes and Recent Solutions (2.8M) 

Pinellas County Pre-history and Early History (1.0M) 

St. Joseph Sound/Clearwater Harbor Area History 1880-present (5.4M) 

Water Quality Status and Trends (1.3M) 

Overview Of Recent Anclote River Studies (1.1M) 

Pinellas County Waterbodies and the TMDL Program (0.9M) 

Status of the Seagrass Resource (2.3M) 

St. Joseph Sound/Clearwater Harbor in the Pinellas County Aquatic 

Preserve (2.2M) 

Recreational Aspects Of The Area

Stevenson Creek Watershed Plan and Project Implementation 1999-2007

(1.7M) 

Audubon of Florida's Gulf Coast Ecosystem / Florida Coastal Islands 

Sanctuaries Program (1.3M) 

Cedar Creek Restoration Plan (4.1M) 

Trawl Data in Clearwater Harbor

(Poster) Trends in Temporal Seagrass Distribution in St. Joseph Sound & 

Clearwater Harbor

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Pinellas County, Florida News - Watershed Planning - Clearwater Harbor / St. Joseph Sound Watershed Page 2 of 2

http://www.pinellascounty.org/environment/watershed/watershed-clearwater-harbor.htm 6/29/2011