Really good to see some Florida Forever funds bearing fruit.  Development is the number one planet destroyer and, although not 100 per cent safe, chances are pretty good it won’t happen here.

Even though the DEP and the Florida Legislature are allowing our springs and rivers to dwindle away, this is a small bright spot in Florida’s environment.

Read the original article with photos here in the Pensacola News Journal.

Comments by OSFR historian Jim Tatum.
jim.tatum@oursantaferiver.org
– A river is like a life: once taken,
it cannot be brought back © Jim Tatum

Back in April, the state also agreed to acquire a parcel of the Wolfe Creek Forest totaling about 3,600 acres, or roughly 6 square miles.

Vernon Compton, a partnership director with the environmental group Longleaf Alliance, credited the state with its long-term effort in preserving its land.

Conservation in Navarre:Santa Rosa and environmentalists agree 500-acre conservation project would be win for Navarre

“I feel like the preservation program in the state of Florida is probably the best one in the entire country, and it’s been that way for decades,” Compton said.

Compton also spoke to the fact there are even more localized benefits to having this additional protected space.

“It’s sort of a mix of a lot of environmental benefits and then larger community benefits that include the military base buffering, providing more public access and recreational opportunities,” Compton said. “I think those are important, both in our area, and across our country.”

Julie Wraithmell, executive director for the statewide conservation group Audubon Florida, said this acquisition can specifically help avian life in Northwest Florida, as it’s a stopping point during migration season when animals are traveling long distances over the Gulf of Mexico.

“It’s kind of fun to think about the fact that protected areas that we have here are really contributing to the success of birds that are nesting in Canada, Maine, the upper Midwest, the Smokies and everything else,” Wraithmell said. “So, little investments here have big impacts.”

Wraithmell, along with others, said they felt all Floridians could get behind conservation, saying the state’s natural beauty is an integral part of its culture.

“People move to Florida for the nature and the beauty and the wildlife and eco-friendly quality of life. That’s what they stay here for,” said Dara Hartigan, president of the local environmental group Save Our Soundside. “If you take that away with polluted water and tainted water and things like that, then you’ve lost the quality of life in Florida.”

Hartigan said that protecting the environment is an issue everyone can rally behind, especially here in Northwest Florida.

“We have people from every party in (SOS) because everybody that lives here loves watersports or hunting or boating. That enjoyment of life doesn’t have a (political) party line,” Hartigan said.

Along with Wolfe Forest Creek, Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Cabinet approved environmental acquisitions for almost 20,000 acres across Florida on Tuesday. The $56 million investment included a total of seven properties in Santa Rosa, Franklin, DeSoto, Hardee, Okeechobee and Highlands counties.

Wraithmell characterized the acquisitions as an investment in Florida’s future.

“We all understand that Florida’s environment is the foundation of our economy,” Wraithmell said.