Winter Haven focusing on land conservation for growing population

POLK COUNTY, Fla. — Winter Haven is taking steps toward preserving Florida’s natural beauty and waterways. City leaders recently purchased more than 100 acres that will be dedicated to conservation.

City officials say green space can bring peace to people.

Winter Haven Natural Resources Manager Dustin Everitt prides himself on working to keep the city’s lakes in the best condition.

“Our principal natural resources are our lakes,” Everitt said of the purchase of 152 acres in the northwest part of the city.

Everitt says this is a plus in helping maintain the waterways.

“This particular property has extensive wetlands on it,” he said. “And provides really good value not only in water quality benefits but for fish and wildlife habitat.”

Everitt said the new property is one of the largest the city has zoned for conservation. And it’ll be part of four existing nature parks once they begin work on the property.

“The planning is ongoing to develop a nature park in that are with some outdoor education,” he said.

Lake Conine Nature Park is the city’s newest property zoned for conservation, which includes walking trails. City leaders say the newly-purchased property will be a similar concept to Lake Conine Nature Park.

Birdsong said purchasing this property is important.

“There’s no land being grown, it’s already here, so every opportunity that we have, we’re going to make the purchase,” he said.

Birdsong added that the county currently has a little more than 500 acres under conservation. The water on the property will also be monitored and included in the city’s annual lake report, which will have a breakdown of the water quality of each property.

He said the properties not only serve a recreational purpose, but they also help to protect and preserve the ecosystem. “We sit on a major Aquaphor, that’s being depleted and so we’ve got to try to continue to replenish it so buying acreage helps to do that.”

Everitt said the purchase will also play a role in stopping overdevelopment.

“The land that we have in this area, once it’s built upon and developed and the natural habitat destroyed, it’s really hard to come back from that,” he said.