ST. AUGUSTINE, Florida (6 Apr 2001) -- The Trust for Public Land (TPL) will purchase 23 acres known as the Vaill property on Moultrie Creek in St. Johns County to protect an environmentally sensitive and archeologically significant site threatened by residential development. "There's not a whole lot of property like this left anywhere in the county," said Marc Jacalone, St. Johns County Commissioner. "We're happy to have this in public ownership, and very pleased that it will be available to people in this heavily developed part of the county." The Trust for Public Land, working with St. Johns County, closed on the property on April 4. TPL will hold the property while the county, with TPL's help, seeks state grant funds from the Florida Communities Trust to leverage county dollars. "We are counting on getting that state funding to offset what we've got invested in this property," Jacalone said. The site is strategically located on a geologically unique 25-foot bluff at the confluence of Moultrie Creek and the Intracoastal Waterway. The property provides panoramic views of the surrounding water bodies and will provide a much-needed canoe and kayak launch site. Vegetative communities include large mature Live Oaks, Southern Magnolia, Cabbage Palm, and Long Leaf and Slash Pines, all indigenous to north Florida. At least two thirds of the site is located within an archaeological zone listed by the Florida Division of Historical Resources. The site contains shell middens, historic foundations, historic drainage facilities, aboriginal ceramics, European ceramics, glass, and a coquina foundation. | | "The bluffs overlooking Moultrie Creek and the Matanzas River at Vaill Point are an extraordinary resource," said Roger Van Ghent, a member of the county Land Acquisition Management Plan board. "Nowhere else in this county, and in very few places in Florida, do we find a high elevation of oak hammock combined with scenic views of salt marsh, an estuarine tributary, and a tidal river. Looking down from Vaill Point one can imagine what the Indians saw when they camped there." Surrounding properties are all single-family residential developments, and the parcel was actively being marketed for sale to residential developers before TPL and the county stepped in. Founded in 1972, the Trust for Public Land specializes in conservation real estate, applying its expertise in negotiations, public finance, and law to protect land for public use and enjoyment. Operating in Florida since 1975, TPL has partnered with private landowners, communities, and government agencies to protect more than 220 special places throughout state. The Wall Street Journal's Smart Money magazine recently named TPL the nation's most efficient large conservation charity, based on the percentage of funds dedicated to programs. © CDNN - CYBER DIVER NEWS NETWORK |
