A GREAT INVESTMENT IN FLORIDA'S ENVIROMENTAL FUTURE

Kudos to Governor Bush and the Florida Cabinet Tuesday for their approval of a deal to purchase the Overstreet Ranch, a 5,098 acre parcel of land north of Lakeland which borders the Green Swamp and other existing conservation lands. The nearly $54 million purchase price, to be shared by the state, Polk County, and Southwest Florida Water Management District, is a great investment to protect and allow Floridians to enjoy an important area of enviromentally sensitive land for years to come.

The land will become a state park, and the Lakeland Ledger story has Polk County Commissioner Sam Johnson commenting that state officials are hoping to expidite the opening.

The ranch is owned by 83-year old Charlie Mack Overstreet and his son Mark. They had previously donated 500 acres to the state, and the elder Overstreet's brother had made a similar deal with the state to purchase sensitive lands in Osceola County. This is a family which clearly wants to make conservation their lasting legacy, noting that Mark Overstreet had mentioned that he and his father had declined on several occasions to sell the land for residential development in favour of keeping it in a natrual state.

Besides being on two tributaries of the Withlacoochee River, making it important to the region's water supply, the Overstreet Ranch includes a rare 1,000 acre longleaf pine forest, and plenty of wildlife and birdlife diversity which visitors to the new state park will be able to enjoy.