The Groves in Big Cypress

The Seminole Tribe of Florida awarded WGI a three-year contract supporting the Tribe’s Capital Improvement Plan which includes $320M of infrastructure improvements. One of WGI’s projects under the contract is to support the development of an 890-acre area of agricultural lands in Hendry County called The Groves. The area includes undisturbed cypress domes, excavated water conveyance canals and irrigation furrows, fallow citrus groves, and other low-lying areas. One of the initial steps was to perform a wetland delineation. Given the large area and the need for geospatial data, WGI first flew the area with drones equipped with mobile LiDAR. Given the large acreage of agricultural lands and the short project schedule, this was key to assessing wetlands and other natural resources on time. Then our environmental professionals conducted field verification on the ground to identify areas exhibiting wetland characteristics and connectivity. Using GPS and topological data collected by WGI biologists and professional surveyors, we delineated wetlands and non-wetland boundaries per federal and State guidelines including the USACE 1987 Wetland Delineation Manual and the USACE Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain Regional Supplement. We also characterized vegetation communities using the Florida Land Use, Cover and Forms Classification System.

Given past use of agrichemicals on the property, WGI also conducted a contamination assessment and developed a soil management strategy for arsenic.