FROM THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA:
Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Cabinet next week are expected to consider three proposed deals that would help conserve more than 14,000 acres of land. The largest deal, with a proposed cost of $16.1 million, would involve the state buying 11,027 acres in Leon and Jefferson counties from Natural Bridge Timberlands, LLC.
The deal, if approved, would be the largest acquisition of its kind for the state in more than a decade. Scott and the Cabinet had been expected to vote on the proposal Oct. 4, but a meeting was canceled as Hurricane Matthew moved toward the state.
Scott and the Cabinet, who will meet next Tuesday in the Capitol, also are expected to consider spending $2.916 million for a 1,619-acre “conservation easement” near the western shore of Lake Hatchineha in Polk County, according to an agenda for the meeting. The purchase would be made from Lake Hatchineha Ranch, LLC.
In deals involving conservation easements, land is protected from development, but agricultural activities typically may continue. Also next week, Scott and the Cabinet are expected to considering paying $3.25 million for a 1,410-acre conservation easement northwest of the town of Okeechobee. The purchase would be made from Pelaez and Sons, Inc., according to the agenda.