#Florida #WildlifeCorridor linking #StateParks would thwart #development

#LoxaLucie Headwaters Initiative aims to buy #HobeSound land for conservation.

by Timothy O'Hara, Jan. 2, 2026

"At a time when development pressure is pushing north into rural Martin County, conservation groups want to protect a wildlife corridor between two state parks in Hobe Sound.

"The Loxa-Lucie Headwaters Initiative was founded to protect the ecologically important corridor between #AtlanticRidgePreserve State Park and #JonathanDickinson State Park and connect the #LoxahatcheeRiver and #SaintLucie rivers. That would create a preserve for #NativePlants and #wildlife species that would span about 70,000 acres.

"The public owns #Hapatiokee and #PalMar regional parks, but there are thousands of acres of privately owned land in natural conditions that are ripe for development, said Guardians of Martin County Executive Director Greg Braun, whose group is part of the initiative.

" 'If they can connect the 2,100-mile Appalachian Trail from Maine to Georgia, we should be able to connect Jonathan Dickinson State Park to Atlantic Ridge Preserve State Park,' Braun told TCPalm."

Learn more:
https://www.tcpalm.com/story/news/local/indian-river-lagoon/2026/01/02/florida-wildlife-corridor-state-parks-martin-county-jonathan-dickinson-atlantic-ridge-hobe-sound/87397089007/

Archived version:
https://archive.ph/nARjr

#SolarPunkSunday #WildlifeConservation #Florida #Nature #Wildlife #UrbanSprawl #InvasivePlants #NativeSpecies #ProtectingWildlife

Florida wildlife corridor linking state parks would thwart development

"If they can connect the 2,100-mile Appalachian Trail from Maine to Georgia, we should be able to connect" two Florida state parks to stop development.

Treasure Coast