Achievement comes near end of nonprofit’s 20th anniversary year
In early October, the Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast, whose mission over the past 20 years has been to protecting Southwest Florida’s land and water, is celebrated a milestone in hitting the 20,000-acre mark in terms of property it has preserved, the nonprofit has announced.
The land trust’s efforts to protect 58 suburban Manatee County acres from development put it over the milestone marker, resulting in “a grand total of 20,004 acres protected” as its 20th anniversary year was coming to an end, a news release explains.
“Saving land is a race against time,” the release points out, but together with its “dedicated and growing conservation community,” the Conservation Foundation “is quickening the pace of land conservation here in Southwest Florida.”
“Everything we have accomplished over the past 20 years was made possible with the support of our conservation community,” said Christine P. Johnson, president of the Foundation, in the release. “As we celebrate this incredible accomplishment, we know our work is far from complete, and we look toward the future with excitement and enthusiasm,” she added. “We are grateful to all those who helped us reach this monumental milestone.”
Founded in 2003, the Conservation Foundation is the region’s only accredited land trust, the release notes. “Prioritizing projects that are significant to water quality and quantity, protecting native species, connecting wildlife corridors, and providing unique public access,” the Foundation serves five Southwest Florida counties that encompass three National Estuaries — Tampa Bay, Sarasota Bay, and Charlotte Harbor — “and four significant rivers — Manatee, Myakka, Peace, and Caloosahatchee,” the release points out.
From its beginning, the Conservation Foundation “has worked to permanently protect Southwest Florida’s critical remaining natural areas, strengthening our region’s resiliency to storms and floods,” the release continues. Further, through its youth and community education programs, it connects thousands of youngsters and grown-ups to nature each year, the release adds.
Its collaboration with private landowners, other not-for-profit organizations, local governments, and various agencies and organizations has enabled the Conservation Foundation to find “creative solutions to help solve our region’s land-based challenges, forever protecting the land and water our community needs to thrive,” the release says.
Conserving land protects it “from further human disruption,” the release continues, while restoring the land returns it to its native state “so that it is better able to naturally clean our water, provide food and shelter for wildlife, and increase our community’s resiliency in the face of an ever-changing climate.”
In addition to thanking its conservation community, the release says, the Conservation Foundation offers special thanks to the Bishop-Parker Foundation, the William G. and Marie Selby Foundation, the Partnership for Gulf Coast Land Conservation, and the Bill and Mary Muirhead Fund of the Community Foundation of Sarasota County for their leadership gifts that helped to protect the 58-acre property that drove the Foundation over the 20,000-acre mark.
Other recent Conservation Foundation initiatives have resulted in the conservation of 656 acres at Longino Ranch in eastern Sarasota County; 64 acres at Crooked River Ranch, located along the Manatee River in Manatee County; and 20 acres located within Charlotte Harbor Preserve State Park in Port Charlotte, which the Foundation recently sold to the state as an addition to that park.
The organization also is partnering with the Sarasota Audubon Society and Sarasota County to re-wild the 33-acre Quads parcels standing next to the Celery Fields Regional Stormwater Project, and it has an ongoing partnership with the City of Sarasota to restore and enhance the Bobby Jones Nature Park for the benefit of both wildlife and the community, the release also points out.
Landowners interested in learning how land conservation might work for them are encouraged to contact the Conservation Foundation by calling the office at 941-918-2100 or completing the online inquiry form at conservationfoundation.com/savemyland.
To support Conservation Foundation’s mission to protect Southwest Florida’s land and water for the benefit of people and nature, visit conservationfoundation.com/donate.