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'''Nokuse Plantation''' is a nature preserve in the [[Florida Panhandle]]. Located in [[Walton County, Florida]], at close to {{convert|54000|acres|km2}}, it is the largest privately owned nature preserve in the southeast United States. |
'''Nokuse Plantation''' is a private nature preserve in the [[Florida Panhandle|northwest Florida]]. Located in [[Walton County, Florida]], at close to {{convert|54000|acres|km2}}, it is the largest privately owned nature preserve in the southeast United States. It was founded in 2000 and funded by timber and oil commodities trader, M.C. Davis and his wife, Stella Davis, who became deeply interested in ecology.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/florida/newsroom/florida-conservancy-honors-mc-and-stella-davis.xml|title=The Nature Conservancy Honors M.C. and Stella Davis|date=March 9, 2015|publisher=Nature.org|accessdate=July 31, 2015}}</ref> Its name, Nokuse, is the Native American word for black bear in the Muskogee language, an [[Umbrella_species|umbrella species]] on the preserve. Its purpose is to "restore and preserve viable ecosystems" and "support native plants and animals, from common species to rare, endemic species" while partnering with businesses in the private sector.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nokuse.org/restore/|title=About Us|publisher=Nokuse.org|accessdate=July 31, 2015}}.</ref> |
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|date=June 17, 2015|work=NPR.org|accessdate=5 July 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/can-world-really-set-aside-half-planet-wildlife-180952379/?no-ist|title=Can the World Really Set Aside Half of the Planet for Wildlife?|author=Tony Hiss|work=Smithsonian|date = September 2014|accessdate=5 July 2015}}</ref> |
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Davis focused on buying land for Nokuse in the "Northwest Florida Greenway area" because of the availability of large tracts of land and because the Florida Panhandle was one of six designated biological, hyperdiverse, "hotspots" in the United States. <ref>{{cite web|title=Getting Back into the Woods at Nokuse Plantation|author=Bruce Ritchie|url=http://www.landscope.org/article/FL/nokuse/1/|publisher=LandScope America|accessdate=July 31, 2015}}</ref> Davis spent an estimated $90 million purchasing land for Nokuse. The majority of property was purchased from timber companies and is being restored to "Piney woods" with 8 million seedlings planted thus far. <ref>{{cite web|title=Why did this businessman buy 53,000 acres in Florida?|author=Melissa Breyer|date=June 18, 2015|publisher=Treehugger.com|url=http://www.treehugger.com/conservation/why-did-businessman-buy-54000-acres-florida.html|accessdate=July 31, 2015}}</ref> Longleaf pine forests once covered about 40 million acres across the South but all of those original trees were cut down by the 1930s. <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.npr.org/2015/06/17/415226300/gambler-turned-conservationist-devotes-fortune-to-florida-nature-preserve?|title=Gambler-Turned-Conservationist Devotes Fortune To Florida Nature Preserve| author= Melissa Block|date=June 17, 2015|work=NPR.org|accessdate=July 31, 2015}}</ref> |
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Nokuse includes a 28,000-square foot, $12 million nature discovery center named for the evolutionary biologist, [[E.O. Wilson]]. <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/can-world-really-set-aside-half-planet-wildlife-180952379/?no-ist|title=Can the World Really Set Aside Half of the Planet for Wildlife?|author=Tony Hiss|work=Smithsonian|date = September 2014|accessdate=July 31, 2015}}</ref> Davis has stated that he's leaving nearly all of his millions to this environmental education center and to the conservation trust. <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.npr.org/2015/06/17/415226300/gambler-turned-conservationist-devotes-fortune-to-florida-nature-preserve?|title=Gambler-Turned-Conservationist Devotes Fortune To Florida Nature Preserve| author= Melissa Block|date=June 17, 2015|work=NPR.org|accessdate=July 31, 2015}}</ref> |
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Nokuse and M.C. Davis were featured in late 2008 in ''Wildlands Philanthropy: The Great American Tradition.''<ref>{{cite book|title=Wildlands Philanthropy, The Great American Tradition|author=Tom Butler and Antonio Vizcaíno|chapter=Nokuse Plantation: The Once and Future Forest|date=2008|publisher=Earth Aware Editions}}</ref> |
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==References== |
==References== |
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Revision as of 14:37, 31 July 2015
Nokuse Plantation is a private nature preserve in the northwest Florida. Located in Walton County, Florida, at close to 54,000 acres (220 km2), it is the largest privately owned nature preserve in the southeast United States. It was founded in 2000 and funded by timber and oil commodities trader, M.C. Davis and his wife, Stella Davis, who became deeply interested in ecology.[1] Its name, Nokuse, is the Native American word for black bear in the Muskogee language, an umbrella species on the preserve. Its purpose is to "restore and preserve viable ecosystems" and "support native plants and animals, from common species to rare, endemic species" while partnering with businesses in the private sector.[2]
Davis focused on buying land for Nokuse in the "Northwest Florida Greenway area" because of the availability of large tracts of land and because the Florida Panhandle was one of six designated biological, hyperdiverse, "hotspots" in the United States. [3] Davis spent an estimated $90 million purchasing land for Nokuse. The majority of property was purchased from timber companies and is being restored to "Piney woods" with 8 million seedlings planted thus far. [4] Longleaf pine forests once covered about 40 million acres across the South but all of those original trees were cut down by the 1930s. [5]
Nokuse includes a 28,000-square foot, $12 million nature discovery center named for the evolutionary biologist, E.O. Wilson. [6] Davis has stated that he's leaving nearly all of his millions to this environmental education center and to the conservation trust. [7]
Nokuse and M.C. Davis were featured in late 2008 in Wildlands Philanthropy: The Great American Tradition.[8]
References
- ^ "The Nature Conservancy Honors M.C. and Stella Davis". Nature.org. March 9, 2015. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
- ^ "About Us". Nokuse.org. Retrieved July 31, 2015..
- ^ Bruce Ritchie. "Getting Back into the Woods at Nokuse Plantation". LandScope America. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
- ^ Melissa Breyer (June 18, 2015). "Why did this businessman buy 53,000 acres in Florida?". Treehugger.com. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
- ^ Melissa Block (June 17, 2015). "Gambler-Turned-Conservationist Devotes Fortune To Florida Nature Preserve". NPR.org. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
- ^ Tony Hiss (September 2014). "Can the World Really Set Aside Half of the Planet for Wildlife?". Smithsonian. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
- ^ Melissa Block (June 17, 2015). "Gambler-Turned-Conservationist Devotes Fortune To Florida Nature Preserve". NPR.org. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
- ^ Tom Butler and Antonio Vizcaíno (2008). "Nokuse Plantation: The Once and Future Forest". Wildlands Philanthropy, The Great American Tradition. Earth Aware Editions.