Ekker Preserve is 85 acres of restored uplands and wetlands located near the community of Gibsonton. The project improves water quality flowing into Bullfrog Creek and eventually, Tampa Bay. A former tropical fish nursery once dominated by nonnative plants and mosquitoes, the preserve provides habitat for a number of plant and animal species. This cooperative project with Hillsborough County removed 23 acres of Brazilian pepper and replaced it with freshwater wetland habitat, low-salinity tidal creeks, marshes and uplands.
Wetland habitat is restored in this 2010 construction photo. Ekker Preserve’s restoration improves water quality and provides native habitat for a variety of plant and animal species.