Non-profit trying to preserve 14-acres of Tarpon Springs land endangered species call home

TARPON SPRINGS, Fla. - Fourteen acres of untouched land in Tarpon Springs is Tex Carter’s paradise.

"This site is actually home to endangered species, gopher tortoises, several different varieties of plants that are listed [as] threatened or endangered," Carter said.

Carter and the West Klosterman Preservation Group are trying to make sure those gopher tortoises and other species are able to continue to call West Klosterman Preserve home.

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"Everybody knows that Pinellas County is growing and people are coming to the county, because they like Florida," Carter, the president of the Preservation Group, said. "What do they like about Florida? They like the climate. They like the ambiance. They like the environmental side of it. They don't necessarily like the concrete and glass that's out there. What we want to do here is save these 14 acres, along with the 76 acres of the Mariner Point Management Area, to preserve part of the part of Florida that people come here for. Once it’s bulldozed, it’s gone."

Pinellas County Schools owns the property and put it on the market a few years ago.

"Several years ago, the school board was told by the legislature that in order to get their funding, they needed to also liquidate all of the properties that they owned that they weren't using. And so, they put this property up for sale immediately," Carter said.

The non-profit asked the school system if it could fundraise the money to buy the property rather than have Pinellas County Schools sell it to the open market.

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"The school board originally were a little bit skeptical, but they have come to become our best friends," Carter said.

School leaders agreed and Carter and the non-profit have inched towards the $3 million price tag since 2020.

"The money that we're raising to buy the property actually goes in back to the school board to go into educational facilities, and they're committed to doing that," Carter said.

The Pinellas County commissioners pledged to pay half of the cost last year. The Preservation Group and the county have an agreement in place in which each side will provide $1.5 million to buy the property. The school system is in support of the grant agreement, a Pinellas County Schools spokesperson said.

A county spokesperson said it’s in support of the goal of a public-private partnership once the fundraising is done. The Preservation Group raised about $1,200 at an event this weekend and have about $850,000 to go. Ribbons along the fence outside the preserve represent people who have donated.

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"This property really has a very strong environmental role, both in terms of water treatment, water filtration, habitat for the critters that live there and then habitat for the plants and trees, and then a great attraction for the people that live around it," Carter said.

The preservation has until Sept. 15 to raise the rest of the $1.5 million. They’ll then turn the property over to the county to operate as a preserve. Carter said the county will start to look at ways to create low impact areas of access for the community that don’t endanger the wildlife there.

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