Press Office

CALENDAR ANNOUNCEMENT:	December 2, 2010
CONTACT:	DEP Press Office, (850) 245-2112

State Park to Hold Momentous Gate Opening Event

~Partners gather for manatee milestone at Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park~

HOMOSASSA - The Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) Florida State Parks will host a special event at Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park tomorrow, December 3, 2010 at 10:00 a.m. The event will commemorate the opening of the gate underneath the bridge stretching across the spring run that separates captive manatees under rehabilitative care in the spring bowl and wild manatees in the spring run. This will be the first time the gate will be open since the fence was constructed eight years before the acquisition of the state park in 1989.

Event participants include representatives from DEP’s Florida State Parks, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Save the Manatee Club and other partners.

Event is open to the public. Regular park admission applies.

For more information, visit www.FloridaStateParks.org/homosassasprings/events.cfm.

This event will take place:

Friday, December 3, 2010
10:00 a.m. Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park
4150 South Suncoast Boulevard
Homosassa, Florida

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