MOVING LAND TO CONSERVATION
Working with federal and state agencies, water management districts, and conservation groups, JOE has placed more than 170,000 acres into permanent conservation since 1997. That is more than 250 square miles. In recent years, JOE's land conservation efforts have expanded state parks and forests, protected critical watersheds, provided uninterrupted wildlife corridors, and protected entire ecosystems.
Crooked River. This 13,000-acre tract on St. James Island was added to Tate's Hell State Forest in 2003. JOE's transfer helped protect the Crooked River and the hardwood and bottomland forest along the river, providing critical habitat for the Florida black bear and other species.
Everglades. In 1999, JOE transferred 53,000 acres of South Florida sugarcane land to the state of Florida as part of the Everglades restoration effort.
Sweetwater Ravines. In transferring over 7,000 acres to Torreya State Park in Liberty County, JOE helped protect Eastern North America's greatest concentration of rare and endemic species.
Tate's Hell State Forest. JOE helped expand Tate's Hell State Forest by 16,000 acres, creating a 10-mile continuous border between Tate's Hell and Apalachicola National Forest and protecting important East Bay frontage within the Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve. The site also contains active red-cockaded woodpecker colonies.
MANAGING AND RESTORING THE LAND
Through its land management and restoration efforts, JOE is protecting ecologically sensitive areas and preserving habitat for threatened and endangered species.
Mitigation Banks and Conservation Areas. Working with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other agencies, JOE is restoring the ecological functions of wetlands and vegetative communities at the Devil's Swamp and Breakfast Point mitigation banks. JOE's methods and knowledge base improve daily.
Controlled Burns. JOE's systematic program of controlled burns helps reduce the threat of wildfire and creates a healthier forest, producing forage that is more nutrient rich and palatable to wildlife.
Firewise Communities. JOE's RiverCamps on Crooked Creek and SummerCamp Beach were the first two communities in Northwest Florida to receive the national Firewise Community USA designation. The designation recognizes communities that take a comprehensive approach to reducing the risk of wildfire. Proper landscaping, community planning, home construction and design, forest management, education programs, and emergency action plans combine to provide protection. JOE has partnered with the Florida Division of Forestry to establish a countywide Community Wildfire Protection Plan in Bay County, the first in the state.
Longleaf Pine Forests. Longleaf pine forests once covered more than 60 million acres from Virginia to Texas. Today, less than 3 percent of the longleaf pine forests remain. JOE actively manages approximately 1,200 acres of old-growth longleaf pine in Gulf County as a habitat for red-cockaded woodpeckers, gopher tortoises and other wildlife. JOE also leads the way in developing innovative techniques to restore the region's pine flatwoods ecosystem.