PRESS
RELEASE: June 24, 2015
GOVERNOR AND CABINET APPROVE FLORIDA FOREVER
ACQUISITION
~Board of Trustees agree to acquire 1,502 acres
of conservation land in Levy County
TALLAHASSEE,
Fla. – Governor
Rick Scott and the Cabinet members have approved a purchase of 1,502 acres
within the Caber Coastal Connection Florida Forever project. The Cabinet agreed
to pay $2.5 million for the parcel. This property will be managed by the Florida
Department of Environmental Protection’s Division of Recreation and Parks to
protect and restore the natural functions of the land, water and wetlands.
“Adding this property, which is
contiguous with the Lower Suwannee River Wildlife Refuge and Cedar Key Scrub
State Reserve, will provide numerous ecological benefits,” said DEP Secretary
Jon Steverson. “The addition of this property will provide a wildlife corridor
through the area, enhance efforts to protect water quality and restore wetland
systems, and expand recreational activities.”
The property features a mosaic of basin
swamps, dome swamps, basin marshes, hydric hammocks, mesic and wet flatwoods,
tidal marshes, xeric hammocks and pine plantations. Conserving this acreage will help
protect the water quality and estuarine resources in the area, benefitting the
local fishing industry’s clam, oyster, blue crab and scallop harvests.
The project
totals over 4,200 acres and is ranked number 5 in the Florida Forever Climate
Change Lands projects category of the 2014 Priority List, which was approved by
the Board of Trustees on June 17, 2014.
The property will be managed as a part
of the Cedar Key Scrub State Reserve and the Cedar Key Scrub Wildlife
Management Area.
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