County Commissioner Dennis C. Moss and the Miami-Dade County Environmentally Endangered Lands (EEL) Program recently joined the TD Bank Forrest Program and the Nature Conservancy at Morning Star Baptist Church to dedicate the Goulds Pineland Preserve.
The 43-acre preserve is comprised of native Miami Rock Ridge Pinelands that once encompassed some 185,000 acres across Miami-Dade County. Today only a fraction of this diverse ecosystem exists beyond Everglades National Park.
On June 30, the Miami-Dade County Commission approved a resolution sponsored by Commissioner Moss approving the purchase of approximately 3.47 acres of Gould’s pineland within the EEL Program Miami Rock Ridge Pinelands acquisition site. The acquisition of the two parcels complete a contiguous section of the Goulds Pineland Project adding to the adjacent conservation land already held by the EEL program.
Two portions of the Goulds Pineland Project existed on acreage owned by Morning Star Baptist Church and has been on the EEL Priority “A” Acquisition list since 1991.
“Special thanks to Morning Star Baptist Church under the leadership of Pastor Timothy Shellman,” Commissioner Moss said. “It was your willingness to work with me and work with the EEL program that made this project whole.”
Commissioner Moss recognized the good work and support of TD Bank and the Nature Conservancy.
“TD Bank has a real affinity for doing things that are good for the environment,” Commissioner Moss said. “Through the generous support of TD Bank in collaboration with The Nature Conservancy in Florida, Goulds Pineland Preserve will be fully protected and continually managed by Miami-Dade County’s Environmentally Endangered Lands Program.”
