ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – The state of Florida is now the official owner of Fish Island and the city of St. Augustine will manage the property. “This is a significant day for the St. Augustine community who worked for more than a decade to save Fish Island from development,” said Jim McCarthy, president of NFLT. Fish Island is a healthy maritime hammock forest and preservation will help avoid water quality impacts to the Matanzas River. “Considering all the efforts and ‘stars that had to align’ it is somewhat of a miracle that Fish Island will be preserved for future generations,” Freeman said. The Matanzas Riverkeeper and the community group Save Fish Island will soon be hosting a volunteer event to clean up the property.

Ron DeSantis and Cabinet members agreed Thursday to buy and conserve more than 900 acres of land across the state at a combined cost of just over $11 million. The land, which will be acquired with Florida Forever conservation funds, includes 717 acres within the Wakulla Springs Protection Zone in Wakulla County, 129 acres in Charlotte County and the 57-acre Fish Island in St. Johns County. Fish Island, the most expensive of the proposals at $6.5 million, is one of the last remaining undeveloped waterfront properties in St. Augustine. "We are so pleased that the Cabinet has agreed to move forward to purchase this property with Florida Forever funds and even more pleased that Fish Island will be preserved, McCarthy said. Without his leadership to fund Florida Forever in 2018, this project would not have been possible.

Ron DeSantis and Cabinet members next week will consider spending just over $11 million of Florida Forever conservation funds to acquire more than 900 acres in three parts of the state. The pieces of land targeted for conservation are 717 acres within the Wakulla Springs Protection Zone in Wakulla County, 129 acres in Charlotte County and the 57-acre Fish Island in St. Johns County. The land in Wakulla County, south of Tallahassee, would require $4.2 million from the state. The property connects the Apalachicola National Forest with the Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park. Department of Environmental Protection officials said they are seeking $2.54 million from the Federal Forest Legacy to reduce the cost.

The 57-acre property is on the Intracoastal Waterway immediately adjacent to the State Road 312 bridge onto Anastasia Island. The Land Trust said Fish Island is a healthy maritime hammock forest and preserving it will help avoid water quality impacts to the Matanzas River. North Florida Land Trust is urging the community to show support for the protection of Fish Island, an environmentally sensitive and historically significant land, prior to the cabinet's July 23 meeting in Tallahassee. Recently the St. Augustine commissioners voted unanimously to approve management of Fish Island if the state agrees to buy the property. The NFLTs posted information on its campaign to preserve Fish Island on its website.