State will buy 60 acres in Keys
Citizen Staff
TALLAHASSEE — The state
of Florida will purchase almost 60 more acres of environmentally
sensitive land in the Keys, including 6 acres of waterfront property,
the Governor and Cabinet decided Tuesday.
The acquisition is part
of the state's Florida Forever program.
"Acquiring land in the
Florida Keys preserves wildlife habitat found nowhere else and protects
water quality," Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Colleen
M. Castille said in a press release. "As one of the most unique regions
of Florida and home to the only barrier coral reef in the continental
United States, the Keys are a priority area for conservation."
The news was welcomed by
conservationists in the Keys.
"Protecting special
natural areas like the forests and wetlands of the Florida Keys is what
the Florida Forever Program is all about," said Chris Bergh, director of
The Nature Conservancy's Florida Keys program.
The purchases approved
Tuesday include parts of two Keys projects under the Florida Forever
program. Most of the land, 51.46 acres, will be added to the Florida
Keys Ecosystem project, which stretches from Key Largo to Sugarloaf Key.
The natural areas support more than 60 rare and endangered plant and
animal species, including the Lower Keys marsh rabbit, white-crowned
pigeon and tree cactus.
The rest of the land, 6.3
acres, will be added to the Coupon Bight/Key Deer project in the Lower
Keys. The project protects water quality and rich coral reefs within the
Coupon Bight Aquatic Preserve, and conserves undeveloped land on Big
Pine and No Name Keys.
Bergh said the Keys are
fortunate to be the focus of state land-buying efforts.
"I hope Keys land owners
in the Florida Forever project areas will seriously consider purchase
offers while the state is in a position to make them," Bergh said. "The
more natural land the state can buy, the less the acquisition cost will
fall to Monroe County taxpayers." |
