Florida rejects land gift from Mosaic

Staff Tampa Bay Business Journal

In a surprise move, the state of Florida will reject a land gift from phosphate mining company Mosaic.

The 4,100-acre Peaceful Horse Ranch in Desoto County is along the Peace River and includes diverse wildlife like bald eagles, sandhill cranes and osprey, the Tampa Bay Times said. The land had been valued at $14 million and the state legislature targeted it for Florida?s land-buying program.

Mosaic offered to donate the land to the state and pay $2 million for upkeep, the Times said. But the secretary of the state Department of Environmental Protection said the land ?was not appropriate to take on as a state park.? The DEP said it has ?high standards? for its state parks and the Peaceful Horse Ranch land did not meet the criteria, the Times said.

However, the Sierra Club, which had sued Mosaic over its mining plans in an area bordering Hardee and Polk counties, said it believes the DEP has been hampered by state budget cuts.

Source: http://feeds.bizjournals.com/~r/vertical_24/~3/p81219QEoBQ/florida-rejects-land-gift-from-mosaic.html

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