June 9, 2022 By Katie Roundtree

The Northern Palm Beach County Improvement District (The District) manages hundreds of acres of upland preserve throughout the area.   Many of these areas are within Abacoa, also called the Abacoa Greenway.  The Greenway is designated for the preservation, restoration, and enhancement of environmental systems.  The District also manages hundreds of acres of dry detention areas within the area.  These areas are for the temporary retention of water during storm events.  In many cases, the dry detention areas are contiguous and serve as a critical corridor for wildlife connecting the many upland preserve areas throughout the District.  The Greenway and dry detention areas share stormwater management, wildlife, and ecosystem functions.

Since the Greenway and dry detention areas are generally interconnected, they are home to hundreds of state-protected gopher tortoises.  Many of our management strategies and objectives are driven by the conservation of our gopher tortoise populations.  In Florida, the gopher tortoise and its burrows, including 25 feet beyond the burrow, are protected under Florida law, Chapter 68A-27.  Therefore, any land clearing near a gopher tortoise or its burrow is illegal unless the landowner obtains a special permit.  To avoid any harm or destruction to gopher tortoises or their burrows, residents should leave the Greenway and dry detention habitats unaltered and in a natural state.

Residents’ land clearing or removal of vegetation is prohibited throughout the Greenway and dry detention areas.  Dumping debris, trash, landscape vegetation, or any other refuse is also prohibited in District owned tracts.  Illegal disposal of vegetative debris, garbage, and waste violates the Code of the Town of Jupiter, FL, and other municipalities the District serves.   The District strongly encourages residents and homeowners to remove any debris illegally disposed onto District property to avoid future violations.  The District works closely with the municipalities and can pursue code violations with them if needed.  Please be advised that if a landscape contractor has committed the violation as part of a homeowner’s contracted landscape maintenance activities, the homeowner could ultimately be held responsible.  Illegal dumping in dry detention areas could ultimately affect the capabilities of the designed stormwater system and could result in flooding roads or homes. In addition, it could create harmful conditions for wildlife within the area.  (Information and pictures submitted by Lucas Schaffer, Environmental Tech, NPBCID)