| Not only is the
restoration of Little Pine Island occurring at no cost to
Florida taxpayers, the sale of mitigation credits returns a
significant sum to the Florida Department of Environmental
Protection. Every credit sold includes a "7 % use fee." All
the "use fees" return to the Charlotte Harbor Buffer Preserve
to be used in the acquisition and restoration of yet more
wetland habitats.
As part of
the partnership between Mariner Properties and the State of
Florida, the Little Pine Island Preservation Trust Fund was
created. Estimated to exceed $1 million, the interest-earning
fund will pay for the annual costs of maintenance and
monitoring of Little Pine Island's habitats. The fund will be
managed locally by the Little Pine Island Trustees and not
used for any other projects.
Only a
large-scale restoration like the Little Pine Island Wetland
Restoration & Mitigation Bank can support a wide variety
of plant and animal species in natural abundance - marshes and
forests, families of otters and eagles, and flocks of ibis and
spoonbills.
This
vision is already becoming reality, promising that our
children and grandchildren will enjoy the natural legacy of
Little Pine Island - today and far into the future - as part
of their natural Florida heritage. |
|
The Great
Horned Owl is a top predator on Little Pine Island.
Until 1995, exotic trees crowded the island woodlands so
densely that these birds could not fly to hunt. Their
return signals a healing in the island's original food
chain. | |
