Florida Buys Easements on Green Swamp

TALLAHASSEE, Florida, May 12, 2004 (ENS) - Governor Jeb Bush and his cabinet Tuesday voted to approve the purchase of 3,500 acres of Green Swamp, an Area of Critical State Concern.

The land will be preserved through conservation easements, allowing property owners to continue to use their acreage while protecting it from development.

“Protecting this land provides important environmental safeguards for Central Florida’s water supply,” said Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Colleen Castille. “Setting aside land using conservations easements benefits valuable natural resources, Florida’s taxpayers and property owners.”

Extending throughout Lake and Polk counties, the Green Swamp Florida Forever project protects more than 279,000 acres of cypress swamp, pine forest and pasture.

With the highest groundwater elevation in the peninsula, Green Swamp is critical to maintaining the flow of water from the Floridan Aquifer, which gives rise to four major rivers in the region - the Withlacoochee, Oklawaha, Hillsborough and Peace Rivers.

Two Florida state parks, a state forest and a wildlife management area are located within the Green Swamp conservation area for recreation. Once a railroad track, the Van Fleet Trail State Park provides a 29-mile trail for cyclists, hikers and equestrians. Lake Louisa State Park covers more than 4,000 acres and contains one of 13 lakes in a chain connected by the Palatlakaha River.

Declared one of the "10 Coolest Places You've Never Been in North America" by the World Wildlife Fund, the 157,000 acre Withlacoochee State Forest is the third largest state forest in Florida. Also in Green Swamp, the 16,000 acre Hiolochee Wildlife Management Area allows hunting and fishing.

The governor and cabinet also approved the acquisition of more than 3,700 acres in the Kissimmee River Basin, a diverse habitat of palmetto prairies, pine flatwoods and cypress swamps.

The acquisition in Osceola County is the first in the Big Bend Swamp/Holopaw Ranch Florida Forever project. When complete, the conservation project will preserve more than 64,000 acres, creating a passageway of natural lands between the Bull Creek and Three Lakes Wildlife Management Areas.

Inhabited by more than 30 rare and endangered species, the conservation area protects habitat for wildlife such as the burrowing owl, sandhill crane, Florida scrub jay and gopher tortoise.