Florida has voted to create the first new state park in seven years. It will be in Walton County in northwest Florida.
The Upper Shoal River Florida Forever project includes 2,483 acres and is pocketed with canopies of long-leaf pines, dense shrubs, and rare foliage like the red pitcher plant and the white-top pitcher.
Newly appointed Florida Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Alexis Lambert told DeSantis and Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson, Attorney General Ashley Moody, and Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis buying the land would help protect clean water and provide the final linkages for a wildlife habitat corridor.
DEP manages the state parks system. The Upper Shoal land will be the fifth state park in Walton County. It's a region of the state with sugar-white beaches, rare coastal dune lakes, and it's home to imperiled plants and animals. It's the state's first new park since Gilchrist Blue Springs State Park along the Santa Fe River was approved in 2017.
The Upper Shoal project comes in the wake of a public uproar over a now shelved DEP plan to commercialize state parks, including Walton’s Topsail Hill Top Preserve, with golf courses, tennis courts and resort-style lodging.
Plans call to spend $8.4 million to buy land in central Walton County for the state’s 176th state park. The park will connect to a landscape conservation buffer that surrounds Eglin Air Force Base.
The tract includes wooded flatlands, and a slope forest descending to streams that feed the Shoal River. "An Outstanding Florida Water" is a park designation that preserves habitats for the Florida black bear, gopher tortoise and eastern indigo snake.
Park planners said because of its unique landscape, the Upper Shoal provides an opportunity to create a resource-based outdoor recreation destination that offers camping, hiking, and biking along with the expansion of the designated Shoal River Paddling trail.
The Upper Shoal River Florida Forever project includes 2,483 acres and is pocketed with canopies of long-leaf pines, dense shrubs, and rare foliage like the red pitcher plant and the white-top pitcher.
Newly appointed Florida Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Alexis Lambert told DeSantis and Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson, Attorney General Ashley Moody, and Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis buying the land would help protect clean water and provide the final linkages for a wildlife habitat corridor.
DEP manages the state parks system. The Upper Shoal land will be the fifth state park in Walton County. It's a region of the state with sugar-white beaches, rare coastal dune lakes, and it's home to imperiled plants and animals. It's the state's first new park since Gilchrist Blue Springs State Park along the Santa Fe River was approved in 2017.
The Upper Shoal project comes in the wake of a public uproar over a now shelved DEP plan to commercialize state parks, including Walton’s Topsail Hill Top Preserve, with golf courses, tennis courts and resort-style lodging.
Plans call to spend $8.4 million to buy land in central Walton County for the state’s 176th state park. The park will connect to a landscape conservation buffer that surrounds Eglin Air Force Base.
The tract includes wooded flatlands, and a slope forest descending to streams that feed the Shoal River. "An Outstanding Florida Water" is a park designation that preserves habitats for the Florida black bear, gopher tortoise and eastern indigo snake.
Park planners said because of its unique landscape, the Upper Shoal provides an opportunity to create a resource-based outdoor recreation destination that offers camping, hiking, and biking along with the expansion of the designated Shoal River Paddling trail.
Last edited by a moderator:
