North Florida Land Trust has released a statement on The Conservation Fund’s recent announcement that it will acquire property on Trail Ridge from Twin Pines Minerals, LLC that ends a six-year effort to protect the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge from a potential deep earth mining site. Trail Ridge is on the eastern side of North America’s largest blackwater swamp, and a mining site at that location would have threatened the water table of the Okefenokee and could have severely impacted the St. Mary’s River watershed.
TCF’s acquisition follows the State of Florida’s protection of more than 78,000 acres, of which 76,000 lie within the Ocala to Osceola, or O2O, Wildlife Corridor. The Governor and his Cabinet approved the acquisition of a conservation easement on the properties: the more than 61,000 Weyerhaeuser tract and the more than 14,000 Bailey tract.
NFLT President and CEO Allison DeFoor said, “This is truly big, and is the American Way. If it is that important, and it is, then pay for it. Then the long-term path is secure. This is a Big Win, for the landowners, the people of Georgia, and the people of North Florida. Truly historic and coupled with the Weyerhauser/Bailey conservation easements in Florida two weeks ago, we have all locked down a big swath of a wildlife corridor bigger than state boundaries. We particularly salute our colleagues at The Conservation Fund. Good shootin’, friends.”
More details from TCF can be found here – https://www.conservationfund.org/our-impact/press-room/the-conservation-fund-halts-okefenokee-mining-threat/
About North Florida Land Trust
North Florida Land Trust is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to preserving and enhancing the quality of life by protecting North Florida’s irreplaceable natural environment. Founded in 1999, NFLT has preserved tens of thousands of acres of land through the donation or purchase of land, as well as conservation easements. NFLT is primarily funded by private and corporate contributions and works closely with willing landowners and public agencies at all levels of government, not-for-profit partners, and foundations.
