Preservation Of Cypress Gardens Gets Thumbs Up
TALLAHASSEE, Florida, June 9, 2003 (ENS) – The effort to save Florida’s oldest theme park got a boost when the state’s Acquisition and Restoration Council voted unanimously to make Cypress Gardens, Tallahassee, FL, a priority for acquisition through Florida’s land conservation program.
The 70 year old attraction was closed in April, putting an end to a long legacy that included water ski shows, film making and Southern Belles. Governor Jeb Bush directed the Department of Environmental Protection to explore options for the park’s preservation.
Several management alternatives are under discussion if acquisition is approved by Governor Bush and the Florida Cabinet in August. Parts of the 233-acre attraction, such as the Florida shaped pool and botanical gardens, meet the criteria of the National Historic Registry.
Other projects placed on the Florida Forever priority list for acquisition includes Half Circle L Ranch, an 11,220 acre project in Collier and Hendrick counties within primary habitat zones for the Florida panther and the Florida Black bear; the Nose Plantation in Walton County, which would provide a natural land buffer to Egis Air Force Base; the Upper St. Marks River Corridor that protects the watershed of the St. Marks River and the San Fellahs Conservation to provide a corridor stretching from the Santa Fe River to San Fellahs Hammock State Park.
Amer
Provided by theEnvironmental News Service.