Red Bug Slough to officially reopen

As the sun sets, its light streams through curtains of Spanish moss that sway from the reaching, stretching branches of live oak trees. The golden hue draws out the subtle green of native Florida brush, while the quiet flap of a white heron’s wings guide eyes toward the serene flow of the waterway, dotted with aquatic plants.

The sounds of urban life can be heard — at a distance — in the Red Bug Slough.

Since May 2013, the slough, a 72-acre preserve west of Beneva Road and south of Proctor Road in the middle of a grid of homes, has undergone a restoration.

The project aimed to revitalize the slough’s most valuable assets: wetlands that naturally treat water before it flows into Phillippi Creek.

In celebration of finishing the wetland restoration, which cost $700,000 and was funded by $350,000 in county penny sales taxes and a $350,000 grant from Southwest Florida Water Management District, Sarasota County is throwing a grand reopening at 9 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 8, at the Beneva Road entrance.
“It’s really an attractive feature — a big greenspace in the middle of suburbia,” said Jeff Weber, the preservation’s manager for Sarasota County.

Three areas of the preserve were targeted for restoration: the canal to the south and two wetland areas in the middle and north of the park.

Exotic and invasive species, such as the air potato plant, were removed from the wetlands and replaced with native species such as duck potato, pickerelweed and native ferns. These native plants both provide nutrients and habitat for the aquatic and land animals, said Kathy Meaux, an environmental scientist for the county who worked on the restoration.

The middle wetland’s border with the slough also received some additional planting in an area that extends into the water channel, said Meaux.

“People are really remarking they’re seeing more fish and wildlife and birds in that area,” she said.

The slough and the wetlands provide a natural cycled filtering system for stormwater runoff from nearby neighborhoods. Excess water in the slough flows into the wetlands, where the still-water environment allows sediment to settle. Native plants take up excess nutrients and toxins left over from the runoff and return nutrients back into the water. The wetlands hold the water a while, Weber said, before it eventually drains back to the slough and moves on to Phillippi Creek, which then empties into Sarasota Bay.

“We want to improve water quality in the bay,” Meaux said.

The northern restoration also received two new bridges over parts of the water channels to allow easier access for those visiting the preserve.

Def•i•ni•tion
Slough • Also spelled slew or slue, it is a swamp or backwater region with areas of deep mud.
– Merriam Webster Online

IF YOU GO
What: Red Bug Slough Preserve grand reopening
When: 9 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 8
Where: Entrance at 5200 Beneva Road