DEP, WMD Partner in Land Acquisition Creating 16,000-Acre Conservation Corridor

PALATKA -- The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) joined with St. Johns River Water Management District (WMD) in the purchase of 8,465 acres of environmentally significant land in St. Johns County, creating a 16,000-acre conservation corridor.

“This acquisition encompasses the true purpose of the Florida Forever program,” said DEP Secretary David B. Struhs. “There are many positives coming from this one acquisition - partnering with the St. Johns River Water Management District, protecting the last remaining, undisturbed marsh front area within the Guana-Tolomato-Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve, and almost tripling the size of one of the most tranquil and peaceful state parks on the Atlantic coast.”

The property, called the Matanzas Marsh, is located north of Faver-Dykes State Park and the Pellicer Creek Conservation Area and south of Moses Creek Conservation Area. It is located between U.S. 1 to the west and the Intracoastal Waterway on the east.

The corridor consists of lands between the state-owned Faver-Dykes State Park, the Princess Place Preserve and the WMD-owned Pellicer Creek Conservation Area. The acquisition also protects four tributaries that contribute to the Matanzas River and a tributary that flows into Pellicer Creek Aquatic Preserve.

The WMD Board voted unanimously to buy the land from Rayonier for $39.9 million, using Florida Department of Transportation mitigation funds and their own land acquisition funds. The WMD will pay for 25 percent of the acquisition, or $10 million, and DEP will pay the remaining $29.9 million.

“This purchase is part of a larger grouping of conservation lands in Flagler and St. Johns counties, which is vital for water resource protection,” said Governing Board Member Ann Moore of Bunnell, who represents the WMD’s Northern Coastal Basin. “The acquisition protects water quality in the only areas consistently open for shellfish harvesting in St. Johns County, Class II waters of the Matanzas River and its tributaries, and the Outstanding Florida Waters within Faver-Dykes State Park and Pellicer Creek.”

The tract lies within the boundaries of the Northeast Florida Blueway Florida Forever Project and encompasses 6,618 acres of uplands, 1,825 acres of wetlands and 22 acres of sovereign wetlands. In addition, the property contains 17 types of natural communities and 70 or more species listed by the Florida Natural Areas Inventory. Two eagle nest sites and a regionally significant wood stork rookery are located on the property.

As part of the purchase agreement, Rayonier will retain the right to remove merchantable pine trees on 639 acres for another three years.

The property will be managed by the Division of Forestry and DEP’s Division of Recreation and Parks.

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