Florida Panhandle’s Blackwater River State Forest Gains 1,000 Acres

Nature Conservancy transfers former Rayonier tracts to help state make forest connections

Altamonte Springs, FL — December 23, 2008 — The Nature Conservancy transferred more than 1,000 acres of critical conservation lands in and around Blackwater River State Forest to the Florida Division of Forestry.

Blackwater River State Forest, nearly 190,000 acres in Santa Rosa and Okaloosa counties, is considered one of the most beautiful and healthiest longleaf pine and wiregrass forests remaining in the state. This is largely due to its regular maintenance with fire through high-level stewardship by the Florida Division of Forestry.

The Nature Conservancy was able to purchase these new additions to the Blackwater River State Forest in June thanks to the partnership efforts between the Conservancy and Rayonier. Rayonier set aside 14 key parcels from a public land auction to sell instead to The Nature Conservancy. Auction sale of the tracts could have allowed more intense use or residential development that would have fragmented the state forest.

“The Blackwater River State Forest represents one of the most significant environmental landscape linkages in the southeastern United States and is home to numerous threatened or endangered plant and animal species,” said Jim Karels, director of the Florida Division of Forestry. “The acquisition of these parcels will significantly improve our ability to utilize prescribed fire, provide additional responsible public access and positively impact the overall management of the forest.

“This was a unique opportunity to fill several voids within the forest simultaneously,” Karels said. “We highly value our relationship with The Nature Conservancy and forward thinking landowners such as Rayonier in our endeavor to help protect Florida’s most unique natural resources.”

The Conservancy/Rayonier tracts are part of a larger conservation area that spans from the Gulf of Mexico through the Conecuh National Forest in Alabama. Such large connected areas play an important role in protecting water quality and offer habitat for wide-ranging species, such as the Florida black bear, and for migratory bird species on their annual trek between South and North America.

Conservation lands, like Blackwater River State Forest, enhance the economy in various ways. They provide ecotourism and recreational opportunities such as hunting, fishing, swimming, canoeing, hiking, birding, camping and horseback riding.

The region also benefits from clean air and water that conservation lands provide, known as ecosystem services.

“This forested landscape is like a large quilt that’s handed down from generation to generation. By adding patches on this quilt we tell future generations what’s important to us,” said Callie DeHaven. “These new patches of green added to Blackwater River State Forest tell future Floridians that clean air, clean water and wild places matter.”

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 18 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 117 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.