FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 12, 2003
CONTACT: Kathalyn Gaither, (850) 245-2112
Perdido Pitcher Plant Prairie Parcel
Acquired
-- 226 acres added to the 7,661-acre
Florida Forever project --
PENSACOLA -- Another piece of Florida was forever
preserved today as Governor Jeb Bush and the Florida Cabinet
unanimously approved the latest addition to the Perdido Pitcher
Plant Prairie. Today’s Florida Forever purchase offers
added protection to Perdido Bay while safeguarding Naval Air
Station Pensacola from the threat of encroachment.
“This significant purchase further merges our mission of
environmental protection with that of national defense,” said
Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Secretary David B.
Struhs. “Today’s acquisition preserves the environmental
integrity of Perdido Bay and enlarges the land buffer that
protects this important military installation from encroachment.”
In partnership with The Nature Conservancy, DEP has acquired
more than half of the 7,661-acre conservation project adjacent
to NAS Pensacola. While providing recreation, the purchase of an
additional 226 acres protects two and a half miles of Perdido
Bay from development and maintains the viability of naval
aviation training essential to NAS Pensacola.
Located west of Pensacola, Perdido Pitcher Plant Prairie
supports one of the largest stands of white-top pitcher plants
in Florida. The rare and carnivorous white-top pitcher plant is
unique to the Gulf Coast and found only between the Apalachicola
and Mississippi Rivers. Almost 100 other rare plants and animals
depend on the unusual wet prairie habitat, including the
alligator snapping turtle, sweet pitcher plant and Chapman’s
butterwort.
Today’s vote brings state ownership of the prairie to 4,070
acres. DEP’s Division of Recreation and Parks will manage the
property as part of the Tarkiln Bayou Preserve State Park.
In related news, Governor Jeb Bush and Florida Cabinet
members signed a landmark agreement today with the U.S.
Department of Defense and The Nature Conservancy firmly uniting
national defense with land conservation and environmental
protection under a new Congressional authority.
The Department of Defense is committing $1 million this year
to the proposed Northwest Florida Greenway. Stretching from the
Apalachicola National Forest to Eglin Air Force Base, the
greenway creates 100 miles of open space following the flight
path of military aircraft on training and testing exercises.
Around the state, Florida is acquiring land around military
bases through Florida Forever, the 10-year, $3 billion
land conservation program established by Governor Bush. The
State has invested $640 million to place nearly one-half million
acres in public ownership, protecting natural resources and
benefiting military operations.
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Press Office
