OPINION: Quad Parcels project is a wonderful gift
Fourteen months ago Sarasota County's Board of County Commissioners gave our community a special gift, one benefiting both people and nature. That gift was the permanent protection of the 33 acres that buffer the environmentally sensitive Celery Fields, a nationally and internationally recognized birding haven that is vital to our water quality and flood protection.
By gifting a conservation agreement to Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast on the northeast, southeast and southwest parcels and contracting with Sarasota Audubon Society to manage the sites, the Sarasota County commissioners recognized the importance of open space for our environment, water quality and overall way of life.
We are grateful to them for their foresight in creating this unique public-private partnership.
We are also grateful to you – the residents of our community – for your attention to the Quad Parcels and your recognition of the potential negative impact of industrial development near the Celery Fields. During a time of heightened political animosity, residents from all backgrounds came together to protect this land. Thank you for standing together – and for making your voices heard.
We are thankful for the shared partnership between Sarasota Audubon Society and Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast. For more than 15 years we have partnered to protect Snowy Plovers on Siesta Key. Now our partnership continues to blossom as we work to design and fundraise for the new habitats and public access that we'll create on the Quad Parcels at the Celery Fields.
Our project team is in place, and it includes the owners’ representative (Steve Suau of Progressive Water Resources), the site plan engineering firm (Kimley-Horn) and the construction manager (Willis Smith Construction). We are honored to work together to give future generations the greatest gift of all: a forever place of beauty.
The design will be revealed in February, and we hope that it will make the Quad Parcels a special place by diversifying the Celery Fields’ habitats and creating a destination that all will enjoy.
Thank you for your enthusiasm and support for this project, and we wish all of you the happiest of holidays!
Jeanne Dubi is president of Sarasota Audubon Society. Christine Johnson is president of Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Quad Parcels nature project is a gift to Sarasota County
