The Buffer Zone: More Than 23,000 Acres in Okaloosa and Santa Rosa Counties Will Protect Military Bases, State Forest
By Isaac Sabetai, Northwest Florida Daily News, Fort Walton Beach
Mar. 29–Two non-profit environmental groups have agreed to buy more than 23,000 acres in Santa Rosa and Okaloosa counties that will serve as buffers between military bases and the Blackwater Water River State Forest.
The deal, which was announced Tuesday, was part of largest private land conservation sale in the Southeast United States, as the Nature Conservancy and the Conservation Fund will buy a total of 218,000 acres of forest from International Paper for about $300 million.
The vast majority of the land in Northwest Florida is in Santa Rosa County and is concentrated in two parcels:
¿ An 11,313-acre swath of property between Eglin Air Force Base and Blackwater River State Forest in Santa Rosa and Okaloosa known as Yellow River Ravines
¿ An 11,528-acre parcel known as the Gulf Coast Plain Ecosystem partnership that starts at the northeast corner of Whiting Field and stretches to the state forest.
“We wanted to create corridors and buffers between Eglin Air Force Base, Whiting Field and Blackwater River State Forest,” said Nature Conservancy CEO and President Steve Mc-Cormick. “That made those areas much more valuable.”
Santa Rosa County officials praised the land deal. County Commissioner Don Salter has been working with the Nature Conservancy to secure land to buffer Whiting Field against future development.
Salter said that when the sale goes through, Whiting will be the bestbuffered Navy aviation field in the United States.
“I think this is going to be an exciting issue in the future BRAC (Base Realignment and Closure) initiatives,” Salter said. “The more we can buffer not only Whiting Field but also Eglin, the better off we’ll be in future years when the (Department of Defense) comes back and continues to downgrade the size of military bases.”
The environmental groups also purchased another two parcels totaling 205 acres around Whiting and 5,533 acres in west Escambia County.
Keith Fountain, director of land acquisition for the Nature Conservancy’s Florida chapter, said the Yellow River Ravines land will be transferred to the Florida Division of Forestry within a year. The land has been a high-priority for the Florida Forever land acquisition program, which uses bonds to buy land for preservation.
The Conservation Fund will manage the Gulf Coast Plain Ecosystem Partnership parcel for the next few years and the Nature Conservancy will have the option to buy it later.
Ben Wolcott, operations administrator for Blackwater River State Forest, was happy that the forest will grow.
“The fact the land was acquired for public use and prevented from development is a great thing for local folks,” Wolcott said.
McCormick called forests in the Southeast among the richest and most diverse in the world, even comparing them to tropical rainforests. He said the rapid development in the South has resulted in many forests being turned into shopping malls and subdivisions.
“Given the growth in the South … it is our outlook that many of those areas we’re picking up would in the next 10-20 years be converted from fully functioning forests to developed landscapes,” McCormick said.
Forestland in Northwest Florida is home to the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker, the threatened eastern indigo snake, Florida back bear and other species.
John V. Faraci, Chairman and CEO of International Paper, called the deal an “outstanding example of cooperation between public, private and not-for-profit groups.”
The company has been looking to unload some its forest land. Faraci said the sale price was “fair market value.”
Fountain said an exact price for the Florida land had not been determined yet.
He did say the purchase would have many benefits, especially as development and military missions rub against each other.
“It will buffer and protect Eglin Air Force Base from encroachment and development,” Fountain said.
Salter said Santa Rosa County was negotiating with private landowners near Whiting Field to continue buffering the base from future development.
“I love it when a plan comes together, and it’s come together here,” Salter said. “We will continue to work to acquire additional military sensitive lands around our bases. I hope that in 20 years people will be saying those guys really knew what they were doing.” Daily News Staff Writer Dusty Ricketts contributed to this report.
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Copyright (c) 2006, Northwest Florida Daily News, Fort Walton Beach
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