History

Bullfrog Creek WEA was established in 1998 with funds received through the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's Mitigation Park Program. The Mitigation Park Program was established in 1998 as an off-site alternative to on-site protection for rare species impacted by development. When developers eliminated habitat for an endangered or threatened species, they paid fees that were used to buy and manage high quality habitat elsewhere.

The Mitigation Park Program has since been discontinued, but the 14 mitigation tracts acquired through the program continue to be actively managed by the FWC in accordance with their original purpose for acquisition. These Gopher Tortoise Mitigation Parks, now established by the FWC as Wildlife and Environmental Areas, provide conservation of important fish and wildlife habitat while allowing for public outdoor recreation within a management regime that is primarily focused on restoration and management of gopher tortoise habitat.