Hillsborough County Florida Conservation and Environmental Lands Management Department
We manage more than 61,000 acres of environmentally sensitive wildlife habitat and corridors acquired through the Jan K. Platt Environmental Lands Acquisition and Protection Program (ELAPP).
Management responsibilities include:
Prescribed burning
Invasive species control
Wildlife inventory
Trail maintenance
Feral animal control
Habitat improvements for endangered and threatened species of plants and animals
ELAPP is a voluntary program established for the purpose of providing the process and funding for identifying, acquiring, preserving and protecting endangered, environmentally-sensitive and significant lands in Hillsborough County. It is a citizen-based program with volunteer committees involved in every key aspect of the program. ELAPP is not a regulatory program, but lands are identified for the program because of their environmental significance.
About HCConservation
Hillsborough County FL Conservation and Lands Management
We protect Hillsborough County's natural lands and wildlife through a system of conservation parks and nature preserves, including more than 63,000 acres of environmentally sensitive lands through ELAPP. We also provide unique outdoor recreational activities ranging from picnicking and camping to hiking and kayaking.
Tag Cloud
Upcoming Events
Nov 13 Ruskin Gym Ribbon Cutting—10a
Nov 13 Ruskin Youth Flag Football Banquet—6:30p
Nov 19 Westchase Youth Flag Football & Cheer Banquet—6:30p
Nov 21 Back to the Springs Skate Contest at NW Skate Park—12-4p
Dec 11 Apollo Beach’s Holiday In The Park & Winter Break Jam 6-9p
Dec 11 All Staff Training Day at All People’s—10a
Dec 16 Holiday Luncheon at All People’s—11a
Administration Alley
Holiday luncheon will be held at All People’s on December 16th at 11:00am — please turn
your $5 food donation in to your supervisor no later than December 4th.
We have a vacancy at Mango for a Recreation Program Specialist. For anyone interested
in laterally transferring, please contact Debbie Robinson by Tuesday, November 17th.
RECTRAC — Troubleshooting efforts are currently being conducted on RecTrac in re-
gards to all of the timeout errors that everyone has been experiencing.
CAPRA DUE DATE COUNTDOWN — T -minus- 49 Days!! (one step closer to Gold!)
Ruskin Recreation hosted our 3rd Annual Tomato Bowl and Punt-Pass and
Kick Contest Friday Night , Nov. 6th. Special thanks to Tasha Mingo for coor-
dinating the entire event. Thank you to Ruskin Team; Joy, Kevin, David, Jimmy,
Darlene, Alvaro and Greg for your dedication and hard work in making this
event a success. Pictures have been uploaded to G drive in Ruskin Region
Folder. TEAMWORK makes the DREAM work!! — Jackie Brown
The first ever Grind For Life skate contest held at a Hills-
borough County Skate Park was not only a huge success but a
memorable experience for the community. Last Saturday the
Brandon Skate Park hosted the final installment of the GFL
series and had over 80 contestants and 200 plus visitors for
the event. I want to personally thank several recreation em-
ployees who helped make this a smooth event: Carrie Albano-
notarized waivers, set-up/take down and supervised skaters.
Ross Caruso- set-up/take down and also came in the top ten
for the sponsored division street contest! Joey Pacheco- set-
up/take down Jack Reeder- came in on his own time to help
notarize waivers and promote the Apollo Best Trick Contest!
Also a big thank you to Dave Andrews, who came by to show
support for the team and last but not least Mary Clements and
the Friends of the County Parks who helped make this possi-
ble. I look forward to hosting other large scale contests at our
other skate parks next year. — Raleigh Barnes
On behalf of the Ruskin Region, Joy and I would like to thank
the following for assisting and supporting our 3rd Annual Trunk
or Treat, which was held on Friday, October 30
th
at Ruskin
Recreation Center: Ruskin Team (Kevin Clethen, Tasha Mingo,
Alvaro Villegas, Darlene Nelson, David Martinez, Jimmy
Knight), Jack Reeder, Mary Clements Fowler, Friends of the
County Parks, Special Events Team, George Leto, David
Ramirez, All 45 parent and teen volunteers, Gleaners Arbor,
and Ruskin community merchants for generous donations of gift
cards etc. We had 671 people attend and enjoy a spectacular
Trunk or Treat, dinner of hot dogs with all the trimmings and a
Movie after Dark on the big screen. We also were happy to
raise over $400.00 for our Friends of the Parks. Please see at-
tached pictures for a small snapshot of our event. If you would
like to see more pictures, we have uploaded on G drive in
Ruskin Folder. — Jackie Brown
Brandon garden peeps visited Aging Ser-
vices on our first Camp Day of the year.
The team had a chance to visit their gar-
den and learn about a variety of plants. I
must say, it was a very rewarding expe-
rience for our Camp participants and the
Seniors. We plan on doing more inter-
generational activities in the future.
—Brigitte Gonzalez
Dona and Vince, I am pleased [the
Westchase Tunes and Treats Senior So-
cial] was a success. My compliments to
you for the planning and your involvement.
Things like that are a success because of
the environment created by the Rec Cen-
ter and its leaders. You are warm, friendly
and professional so people want to be a
part of the facility and it’s good times. You
also have a reputation for doing things well
with the community in mind. Job well done
to you. — Mr. Rich Holder
Congrats (and
thank you) to
Team Westchase
for donating the
most canned-good
items last week!!
Rubin Padgett Ribbon
Cutting was a HUGE
Success!
It was a great day for
a Ribbon Cutting to
celebrate Ruskin’s
new gym!!