Gateway Opens to Northwest Florida Greenway

-- Environmental, economic and national security interests merge --

TALLAHASSEE -- Environmental protection, economic opportunity and national security interests were brought together by Governor Jeb Bush at today’s Cabinet meeting. The Department of Defense, The Nature Conservancy, Okaloosa County officials and other Cabinet members joined the Governor to sign an agreement that establishes a 100-mile corridor to preserve the same routes used by Florida black bears over land, and military flights above.

“The Florida Panhandle is on the map for both its national biological significance and its national security significance,” said Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Secretary David B. Struhs. “These unlikely partners will make for a happy marriage of interests, namely keeping this Greenway green. Governor Bush has proven to be a highly effective matchmaker in bringing these interests together for mutual benefit.”

The Northwest Florida Greenway partnership will seek to conserve tracts of largely undeveloped land that link the Apalachicola National Forest with Eglin Air Force Base. Just before signing the agreement with the Department of Defense, Governor Bush and the Florida Cabinet approved acquisition of the 7,579-acre Box R Ranch as a “gateway” to the greenway from the sandy white beaches of the Gulf Coast.

The Box R Ranch acquisition preserves one of the last remaining undeveloped, natural coastal areas in Florida, while protecting low altitude military flight approaches from the Gulf of Mexico. In partnership with The Nature Conservancy, DEP has acquired the 7,597 acre Box R Ranch parcel located at the southernmost tip of the Greenway, two miles west of Apalachicola.

Containing nearly 6,000 feet of frontage along the Intracoastal Waterway and the Apalachicola River, the Box R Ranch parcel is biologically diverse, providing habitat for many threatened and endangered plant and animal species, including the Florida black bear and bald eagle.

“This Florida Forever acquisition received a lot of local support,” said Eva Armstrong, director of DEP’s Division of State Lands. “Our partnership with The Nature Conservancy helped secure an important piece of land for conservation in northwest Florida.”

Located in Franklin County, the area supports a variety of ecologically sensitive natural communities, including estuarine tidal marshes and floodplain swamps, and protects the quality of water critical to oyster harvesting, a major source of income and revenue for the local economy. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will manage the property as part of the Wildlife Management Area system.

The 10-year, $3 billion Florida Forever program established by Governor Bush conserves environmentally sensitive land, restores water resources and preserves important cultural and historical resources.