Nature Conservancy Sells Important Puzzle Piece, Top Conservation Connector Near Tallahassee

State buys Wood Sink site in the St. Marks basin to protect wildlife habitat, water and provide recreation.

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, FL — December 12, 2008 — A high-priority conservation parcel of more than a thousand acres, located just 15 miles east of the Florida Capitol, was transferred to the state today by The Nature Conservancy. The 1,057-acre parcel called Wood Sink connects existing conservation lands north and south of U.S. Highway 27 and adds to a conservation corridor extending from just south of Interstate 10 and the headwaters of the St. Marks River to the Gulf of Mexico. The area provides Tallahassee with its potable water supply—the tract includes a karst feature directly connected to the Floridan Aquifer.

The land will be managed as an addition to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s (FWC) L. Kirk Edwards Wildlife and Environmental Area. The Nature Conservancy bought the tract in March 2007 from the St. Joe Company and held it until state funds became available, selling it to the state today at below appraised value. The site is part of the Upper St. Marks River Corridor—an "A" ranked Florida Forever project consisting of 13,376 acres along 14 miles of the upper reaches of the St. Marks River. It is important to the water quality of not only the river but Apalachee Bay and the estuary at St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge.

“We look forward to restoring and managing the Wood Sink tract for conservation of the upper St. Marks River systems, associated wetlands and resources, including habitat for imperiled species such as the wood stork, gopher tortoise and Sherman’s fox squirrel,” said Gary Cochran, FWC’s conservation acquisition and planning director. “FWC recognizes The Nature Conservancy’s long-standing commitment to acquiring land for conservation and is grateful to them for working to acquire the Wood Sink parcel from St. Joe during a time when Florida Forever Funds were committed to other important projects.”

“Wood Sink is such an important piece to the puzzle and adds so much value to the adjoining conservation pieces,” said Callie DeHaven, the Conservancy senior field representative on the project. The Conservancy recently helped the state acquire 2,615 acres nearby in the Upper St. Marks south of U.S. 27 from St. Joe and acquired the 611-acre Fanlew Tract, which connects to the Aucilla Wildlife Management Area.

In addition to being home to important species such as Florida black bears, river otters, bobcats and numerous species of Neo-tropical migrant birds during annual migrations, Cochran said Wood Sink will provide significant opportunity for public outdoor recreation.

Wood Sink is recognized as a priority target of Tallahassee’s Blueprint 2000. Executive Director Jim Davis was pleased with its protection. “This acquisition epitomizes what can be accomplished when government agencies, nonprofit organizations and private parties collaborate in the pursuit of a common goal: the protection of the headwaters of the St. Marks River,” he said at the time of the Conservancy’s purchase.

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. With funding from the Florida Forever program and our generous donors the Conservancy has helped protect more than 1.2 million acres in Florida since 1961. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.