"Hold in your mind the memory of

the land as it is when you take it.

With all your strength, with all

your mind, with all your heart,

preserve it for your children."

Chief Seattle, Suquamish Tribe, 1854

PRESERVATION CRITERIA

The Green Horizon Land Trust was created to preserve environmentally valuable or sensitive lands and open space areas in and around the Central Florida Ridge for the benefit of the general public, and to educate the public as to the importance of such lands and their preservation.

Lands Considered for Preservation

I. To qualify for consideration for conservation through purchase or donation by fee-simple ownership or conservation easement, a site must be able to be justified as having value in one or more of the following categories:

1. Land that contains endangered, threatened or rare species or natural communities in a relatively undisturbed natural condition.

2. Lands that contain, or have the potential to contain, ecosystems of educational or scientific value.

3. Wetlands, flood plains, sink holes, or other lands necessary for the protection of water quality.

4. Lands of wildlife significance.

5. Lands that have potential to be a part of community, regional, state or federal park or greenway systems.

6. Significant archeological or historical sites.

II. Land that meet one or more of the above criteria must meet all of the following criteria to qualify for conservation by Green Horizon Land Trust.

1. The land is likely to be developed in the future to a use that does not preserve its conservation value.

2. The land is of sufficient size that the conservation resources of the property are likely to remain intact, even if adjacent lands are developed.

3. The land can be properly managed by the Trust or by the property's title holder.

4. The land can be acquired with reasonable effort in relation to its value to the Trust.

5. The site does not present a serious threat of liability exposure such as the presence of hazardous materials.