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Sprawl hits pause button

More than a privileged few will have a river's view - and solace among the trees - after a young, private land trust accepts a 58-acre gift just west of Bell Shoals Road.

By LETITIA STEIN
Published February 20, 2005

RIVERVIEW - Nature still owns the nearly 60 acres beside a golf driving range on Boyette Road.

Past a putt-putt course, a dirt road leads into land largely untouched for more than 100 years. Roof lines of neighboring subdivisions disappear into a dense canopy of trees. Bell Creek gurgles under a wood bridge on its way to the Alafia River.

Here in southeast Hillsborough County lies a path less traveled. Developers might have earned top dollar to build houses along the Alafia River at the end of the property. Now they won't get the chance.

Wildlife has a permanent home at the Myron and Helen Gibbons Nature Preserve. In April, a trail through the preserve will open to the community. The conservation effort is a success for the Tampa Bay Conservancy, a nonprofit land trust carving a niche in the environmental scene.

The land trust aims fill the gap between grass-roots environmental groups, which focus on influencing policy, and government conservation efforts that can involve extended reviews and paperwork.

"This property would have been developed if we hadn't been around," said William Lorenzen, the volunteer executive director of the 4-year-old Tampa Bay Conservancy, one of a handful of private land trusts in west-central Florida. "We are trying to fill the conservation gap."

About 40 years ago, Myron Gibbons, an avid outdoorsman, purchased property on both sides of the Alafia River. His children recently began looking for a way to preserve the land in the memory of their father, who died in 1989, and their mother, Helen, who is still alive. Local government agencies weren't eager to acquire the property, and the family was wary of entering a time-consuming and sometimes political process when the county acquires land.

Last year, the family sold about 70 acres on the north side of the river for development. The Gibbonses approached Audubon of Florida about preserving the 58 acres to the south. The organization had helped the family preserve land in Pasco County.

But Audubon no longer is taking in land. The organization to protect birds has decided to focus on educating people and influencing policy and is moving away from being a land trust.

"It was getting hard to give it away," said Gary Gibbons, one of the Gibbons children.

Then Audubon connected the Gibbons family with a fledgling land trust called the Tampa Bay Conservancy, which local environmentalists had created for projects like this.

The Tampa Bay Conservancy was looking for a major project to launch its group, which has about 45 members. The volunteers that run the organization's board include former managers of the county's conservation program and the Southwest Florida Water Management District. Many are leaders of other local environmental groups.

The land trust, a registered nonprofit, does not have deep pockets. It uses volunteers and solicits private donations and grants. In the past two years, the group has received $55,000 from the Elizabeth Ordway Dunn Foundation, which focuses on Florida environmental issues.

As a private land trust, the Tampa Bay Conservancy offers an alternative to the government programs that dominate local conservation efforts. For the county to preserve land, the property must be nominated and then evaluated, which can take a year. Once accepted, projects are prioritized for funding.

With the Gibbonses, Tampa Bay Conservancy could complete an environmental evaluation and accept the land donation in about six months. An attorney working pro bono helped the organization negotiate details, like who should pay for the necessary surveys. The conservancy owns the land but has agreed not to develop it.

The conservancy helped the Gibbons family achieve its goal of preserving the property.

"It was a good fit for both of us because they were looking for a project," said Gibbons, explaining that his family was glad to help keep alive a piece of Old Florida. "Someday, people's grandkids can go back there and see what it used to be for us."

The Tampa Bay Conservancy hopes the success of this effort will raise its local profile. Leaders are discussing the next projects in Hillsborough and Pasco counties. But the group has a long way to go to compete with land trusts in other states with longer track records.

Nationally, more than 1,500 private, nonprofit land trusts exist. Yet only about two dozen operate in Florida, according to the national Land Trust Alliance. Instead, Florida's governments historically have led conservation efforts.

Hillsborough County has preserved 40,000 acres with its Environmental Lands Acquisition and Protection and Program. The 18-year-old program has spent $140-million on conservation, including grants from the state and partnerships with the city of Tampa.

But government can only do so much. The county program involves an extended review open to public scrutiny. Some landowners aren't interested in the scrutiny or the red tape.

"For whatever reason, people might not want to work with a government agency," said Peter Fowler, the county's manager of conservation services, who is eager to work with private land trusts like the Tampa Bay Conservancy. "This provides answers."

In fact, environmentalists increasingly see a bigger role for land trusts in Florida.

"There is a role for the private, not-for-profit as a land trust to help and augment the work of the local government," said Charles Roe, Southeast program director for the Land Trust Alliance, a national umbrella group. "There are a lot of special places within communities that are much beloved but might be under the radar of most national groups."

Letitia Stein can be reached at 661-2443 or lstein@sptimes.com

It's a private, nonprofit land trust for Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco and Manatee counties. In early April, it will open the Myron and Helen Gibbons Nature Preserve. Find information about the conservancy at www.tampabayconservancy.org Volunteers are needed to clear a trail through the preserve. To volunteer, contact executive director William Lorenzen at info@tampabayconservancy.org or 924-8252.

[Last modified February 19, 2005, 08:08:05]