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Miami-Dade County has announced the acquisition of the 20-acre Camp Choee property from the Girl Scouts Council of Tropical Florida located at 11300 SW 158 St.
The purchase was authorized by a resolution sponsored by Miami-Dade County District 9 Commissioner Kionne L. McGhee, approved by the Miami-Dade County Board of County Commissioners, and executed by the Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces (Parks) and Regulatory and Economic Resources (RER) Departments.
Miami-Dade County Parks will manage six of the 20 acres as public park land, dedicated to conservation, stewardship, and recreation opportunities. RER’s Division of Environmental Resources Management (DERM) will manage the remaining 14 acres, a protected natural area, which will be a designated Natural Forest Community containing pine rockland habitat. The site will retain the name Camp Choee, honoring the Girl Scout’s legacy.
“As a former Girl Scout, I am very proud of this acquisition which allows the county to restore a truly unique pine rockland habitat to a high functioning forest that preserves the existing and diverse community of native and endangered species that call Miami-Dade home,” said Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. “It also preserves six acres of the Girl Scouts’ property, supporting their long tradition of nature-based recreation and education programs for the community.”
“Miami-Dade County Parks is excited to partner with the Girl Scouts on the acquisition of Camp Choee,” said Miami-Dade County Parks director Maria I. Nardi. “Encompassing one of the largest intact pine rockland habitats in the county, this adds 20.2 acres of new public lands and bolsters our efforts to provide environmental conservation education and recreational opportunities to Miami-Dade County residents.
“This is how the Parks Department is working to build a resilient and sustainable parks system for this and future generations,” Nardi added.
“Camp Choee is important because it is 14 acres of designated Natural Forest Community, including pine rockland habitat and wildlife,” said Miami-Dade County RER director Lourdes Gomez. “RER-DERM is committed to conserving, maintaining, monitoring, and protecting this land for this generation, and generations to come. Preserving Miami-Dade County’s natural resources is vital to the health and well-being of all its residents, visitors, and its ecosystem.”
Camp Choee has a rich and important ecological, recreational and civic purpose, dating as far back as 1897 when the United States of America, through then President Grover Cleveland, granted the wife and surviving children of Dr. Henry Perrine the title to more than 20,000 acres of land in southeast Florida. This was in recognition of Dr. Perrine’s work as a pioneer botanist in the introduction and cultivation of 200 species and varieties of useful tropical plants.
The Girl Scouts purchased the entire 20.2-acre site between 1955 and 1956, and over time added camp facilities throughout the acreage including cabins, multi-purpose recreational buildings, a pool, a bath house, and an administrative office building. The land purchased by the Girl Scouts also included a globally endangered pine rockland community that still exists at Camp Choee. Over the years, the site has served as a camp, and center of community activities for several generations of Miami-Dade County residents.
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