The Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Acquisition and Restoration Council, ARC, is about to decide which properties the state should focus on acquiring and setting aside for conservation next year. The group meets to vote on Florida Forever projects at 9 a.m. Fri. in Tallahassee.
ARC members will consider a variety of proposals Friday. Some seek to conserve new, currently unprotected areas of land. Other proposals before the council seek to adjust existing project boundaries, usually by adding in new parcels of land.
One of the new project proposals is for Hi-Oaks Ranch, a privately-owned swath of nearly 670 acres of land in east Seminole County, just over the Orange County line. The property lies within the unincorporated Chuluota area and abuts the Econlockhatchee River, an Outstanding Florida Water designated for special protection by the state…