FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Aug. 8, 2017
State Acquires Important Conservation Land in St. Joseph Bay State Buffer Preserve
~Newly acquired land will be managed by DEP's
Florida Coastal Office~
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Florida Department
of Environmental Protection closed on an inholding located in the St. Joseph
Bay State Buffer Preserve in Gulf County for $121,500. This key inholding is
adjacent to the existing buffer preserve office/education center and is bordered
by other state-owned lands to the north and south.
St.
Joseph Bay State Buffer Preserve provides an essential buffer to St. Joseph Bay and helps protect the bay's water quality, natural productivity and critical
habitats. The preserve protects a natural coastal landscape with one of the highest concentrations of rare
plants in the Southeast U.S. and contains 21 known archaeological and historical
sites.
“The natural resource management of the buffer and aquatic preserves are very important to the health of the bay," said Dylan Shoemaker, St. Joseph Bay State Buffer Preserve manager. "Acquiring this land
allows for more efficient natural resource protection of the area.”
Lynda White, president of the
Friends of St. Joseph Bay Preserves, said: “Our organization is
thrilled that the Florida Department of Environmental Protection was able to
purchase this property, as it is one more piece of property that will protect St. Joseph Bay, a very important component of conservation. The bay ecosystem is fragile and we need to do everything possible to protect it; this acquisition 'puts the icing on the cake.'”
The property will be managed by the
Florida Coastal Office. Recreational activities available at the
preserve include fishing, diving and snorkeling, scalloping, beach-going,
birding and boating.
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