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Florida may pass on 6,000 acres
Environmentalists worry about a shortage of preservation funds.
Associated Press
Published March 9, 2008
TALLAHASSEE - An Indiana developer has more than 6,000 acres in Marion County that he's willing to sell to the state for preservation. But the state is short on money, so homes and a golf course could wind up on the land instead.
Environmental groups want the state to buy the property and save it from development, but Florida Forever, a state program that spends $300-million a year purchasing and preserving land, is nearly out of money. Environmental groups say that unless more money is found, the Marion County property and others could be lost to development.
"If the state could come up with a fair-market price, we'd be interested in selling it," said Marion County landowner and developer Steve Henke.
His company began buying land five years ago with plans to develop it. As conservation land, however, the land near Ocala would connect with an adjacent state park. The land is appraised at $10.4-million.
Florida Forever will likely get $300-million again. But there probably won't be any additional money this year, said Sen. Burt Saunders, R-Naples, who chairs the Senate Committee on Environmental Protection and Conservation.
That worries some environmental groups because the program is set to end in 2010 and has already decided how it will spend all but $4-million over the next two years.
Since 1990, Florida Forever and its predecessor, Preservation 2000, have combined to acquire and protect nearly 1.8-million acres in Florida.
[Last modified March 8, 2008, 22:01:18]
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