DEP Closes Deal On Eglin Conservation Buffer

November 1, 2013

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has closed on a deal that will conserve nearly 21,000 acres in Northwest Florida and help provide a buffer to Eglin Air Force Base.

The deal, which was approved by Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Cabinet in August, has the DEP paying $10.2 million for land known as the Seven Runs Creek project in Walton County.

The purchase, which also involved The Trust for Public Land, is designed to provide environmental benefits such as protecting rare species. But it also will help prevent development from encroaching on Eglin.

The U.S. Department of Defense and Eglin will contribute a combined $2.3 million. Landowner M.C. Davis discounted the cost of the property by $7 million.

by The News Service of Florida

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Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News