The North Florida Land Trust has reached an agreement to buy nearly 250 acres of land for conservation in Jacksonville Beach, but the nonprofit has just one year to raise the required $350,000.
Small Group, LLC owns the 245 acres of small wet flatwood islands and saltmarsh just north of J. Turner Butler Blvd. — known as the Small Islands — and originally planned to sell the property for $3.9 million to a housing developer. After significant public outcry, the owner agreed to the deal with the land trust to leave the land undeveloped.
The North Florida Land Trust (NFLT) now has just one year to raise $350,000 to buy the property and pay for stewardship costs.
“We are now asking the community to help us raise the money we need to purchase these islands and keep them in their natural state,” said Jim McCarthy, president of NFLT. “The reality is that development of the property would be extremely challenging, and the owner ultimately felt that the property should be protected for its wildlife and recreational values.”
The nine small upland islands are surrounded by salt marshes and oyster beds that create a biodiverse ecosystem, which is home to rare species like the federally endangered West Indian manatee and the federally threatened wood stork.
Wetland habitats like this have been declining over the past 50 years, largely due to development, and they provide benefits to people, like flood protection.
According to the NFLT, conserving the islands — which are next to Jacksonville Beach’s Cradle Creek Preserve — will create about 1,200 acres of continuous protected land on the east side of the Intracoastal Waterway.
“Protecting habitats like these islands and marshlands provides hope for the future, but we can’t do it alone,” McCarthy said. “We need help from the public to make it possible.”
Donations for the Small Islands purchase can be made at NFLT.org.
Brendan Rivers can be reached at brivers@wjct.org, 904-358-6396 or on Twitter at @BrendanRivers.