James Call

Democrat Capitol Reporter

The rolling terrain features sand hills, marshes, hardwoods and the rare Godfrey's blazing star

State Acquisition and Restoration Council staff members will be spending the summer in the vicinity of hell — that’s Tate’s Hell State Forest. They will be surveying more than 17,000 acres of rolling sand hills, hardwoods, and marshes to see if the swath of wild north Florida is worthy of being included on the Florida Forever priority list as conservation land.

The property is called the Bluffs of St. Teresa and stretches 10 miles east from Carrabelle to about four miles south of Sopchoppy. The Bluffs looks like a truncated Louisiana when outlined on a map and takes in much of the land between Tate’s Hell and Bald Point State Park, where Ochlockonee Bay meets the Gulf of Mexico.

“There’s nothing like this for sale anywhere near the Gulf,” said Dean Saunders, a realtor representing The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints' interests in selling the tract of Franklin County land. “It’s very, very unique. Seventeen miles of water frontage; the Gulf, the river, the bay. How do you put a price on that?”

Well, they did. And if the state likes the price then some locals will be left with mixed feelings. Conservation land is tax exempt, depriving local governments of property tax money.

“We’re all environmentalists here. There’s no doubt about that,” said Franklin County Commissioner Joseph Parrish. “But there’s a concern when you take another 17,000 acres off the tax rolls.”

Parrish said more than 88-percent of Franklin County is already owned by government. Seven of the county’s top 10 landowners are either local, state or federal entities. Much of Franklin County is managed as either state or national forests or to protect Apalachicola Bay.

Saunders said the asking price for the property is $62 million. It’s been on the market for a year. Last month, he made a pitch to the state. He submitted an application to ARC for the tract to be purchased as a Florida Forever property and set aside for recreation, conservation and protection of natural resources.

“It’s a beautiful piece of land — rolling hills, bay front, Gulf front. It’s something. We thought if they would like to, perhaps, the people of Florida should have the opportunity to buy the land,” said Saunders.

This summer, ARC staff will descend on the terraced landscape and walk among the 12-foot sand hills, marshes and hardwoods looking for rare plants and animals and identifying plant communities. It's part of the evaluation of properties for inclusion in a state land-buying program.

A rare plant, the Godfrey’s blazing star, a rare mussel, the bald eagle and several other rare birds are known to live on the property

Since the early 1990s, Florida has set aside more than 2.5 million acres for preservation and protection. That’s six percent of the state’s total acreage and the 14th highest among the states, according to the National Wilderness Institute.

Parrish said local residents understand and accept why much of the county’s property is tax exempt but explains the situation makes it hard for the county to raise money and pay its bills.

Staff’s assessment of the property is scheduled for the October ARC meeting in Tallahassee.

“Maybe there’s a way we can work it out so some of the land is homesteaded,” said Parrish.

Reporter James Call can be reached at jcall@tallahassee.com. Follow on Twitter @CallTallahassee.