None The Nature Conservancy in Florida Press Releases Search All Press Releases Jill Austin Phone: (407) 682-3664, ext. 129 E-mail: jaustin@tnc.org

The Nature Conservancy Helps Keep Natural Areas a Part of Every Floridian’s Future

The Conservancy helped protect more than 14,000 acres last year.

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, FL—February 3, 2005—The Nature Conservancy helped protect 14,556 acres in Florida in 2004 through a variety of acquisitions, often made on behalf of governmental agencies. The Conservancy partners with the state in the highly successful Florida Forever program to acquire conservation land and with several counties through similar conservation land buying programs overwhelmingly approved by voters.

The largest parcel protected was the Blackwater Conecuh Connector in the western Panhandle at 4,623 acres, purchased from International Paper for the state through the Florida Forever program. Located in the middle of the Blackwater River State Forest, the purchase prevented development encroachment into the public forest, will help with proper management, and is critical to improving the wildlife corridor to Eglin Air Force Base.

Another highlight was two parcels totaling almost 1,600 acres added to Torreya State Park in the Apalachicola River basin. The Crooked Creek/Short Creek parcels contain beautiful ravines, steephead streams and upland pine and hardwood forests.

“The Nature Conservancy works in communities across Florida to protect the lands and waters that sustain us all,” said Florida Director Vicki Tschinkel. “Given our state’s current rate of growth, I’m sure every piece of land that we help preserve now will benefit future generations even more than we can currently imagine.”

The Conservancy, the world’s largest environmental nonprofit organization, has five staffed preserves in Florida and approximately 150 employees working statewide on conservation issues. Since its inception in 1961, the Conservancy has helped protect more than 1.1 million acres in Florida.

Learn more about The Nature Conservancy and its programs at nature.org/florida.

The Nature Conservancy is a leading international, nonprofit organization that preserves plants, animals and natural communities representing the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive. The Conservancy has helped protect more than 1.1 million acres in Florida since 1961.