In another win for Florida preservation projects, the state recorded its first conservation easement of a special grassland and Stetson University helped give it the final push.
Under the National Resources Conservation Service, the 581-acre property, located in Western Columbia County and within the Santa Fe and Suwannee River watersheds, is now considered a Grassland of Special Environmental Significance.
The finalization of the project was announced last Wednesday by Stetson University, in partnership with the Alachua Conservation Trust and the North Florida Land Trust.
With sandy soil that recharges rainwater seeping through the sand and into the aquifer, the property has been kept and maintained by its owners for more than 50 years for quail hunting. Because of the careful preservation and prescribed, controlled fires, more than 243 native plant species have been recorded.
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Fresh Take Florida
A small group of protesters gathers outside the Suwannee River Water Management District building on Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021, in Live Oak, Fla.
Critics promised immediately to appeal the decision affecting Ginnie Springs by the seven-member governing board of the Suwannee River Water Management District.
In the face of stark local environmental opposition, a state water board on Tuesday unanimously approved “with protest” pumping about 1 million gallons daily for Nestle s bottled water business from one of the treasured natural springs along the Santa Fe River in north-central Florida.
Critics promised immediately to appeal the decision affecting Ginnie Springs by the seven-member governing board of the Suwannee River Water Management District. It was a blow to environmentalists, who said further pumping of the crystal blue waters would put at risk the health of an already taxed river and its surrounding ecosystem.
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