FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December
11, 2002
Governor,
Cabinet Protect Critical Wildlife Habitat
-- Another
important piece is added to Florida Forever’s Bombing
Range Ridge project --
POLK COUNTY - Governor
Jeb Bush and Florida Cabinet members confirmed the
importance of Florida Forever’s Bombing Range Ridge
project today with the approval of an additional 4,845
acres within the Polk County project. Recognized as a
critical wildlife habitat, water recharge area, and
historical site, almost one quarter of the 42,000-acre
parcel is now protected by the state.
“This project presents
yet another example of merging national defense needs with
the need to protect the environment,” said Department of
Environmental Protection Secretary David B. Struhs. “While
the adjacent Avon Park Air Force Range is an active
military facility, many threatened and endangered plant
and animals species rely on the surrounding habitat of
Bombing Range Ridge for their survival. Several water
resources are also within the project, including the
Kissimmee River, making this purchase even more momentous.”
More than 9,000 acres of
publicly owned land now connects the Avon Park Air Force
Range with Lake Kissimmee State Park, Three Lakes Wildlife
Management Area and South Florida Water Management
District lands.
The Bombing Range Ridge
project consists of flatwoods, freshwater marshes, swamps,
and hammocks providing natural resource-based recreation
and vital habitat for threatened or endangered animals
such as the red-cockaded woodpecker, snail kite, Florida
scrub jay, and grasshopper sparrow. The scrub ridge is a
water recharge area for the Kissimmee River, Lake Rosalie,
Tiger Lake, and Lake Walk-in-Water, along with several
creeks and marshes. Elevations on the ridge range from 40
feet along the Kissimmee River to 146 feet above mean sea
level at its crest.
The property will be
managed by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer
Services’ Division of Forestry in coordination with the
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
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Press Office
