Interoffice Memorandum
DATE: July 10, 2025
TO: Mayor Jerry L. Demings and County Commissioners
THROUGH: N/A
FROM: Tanya Wilson, AICP, Director, Planning, Environmental, and Development Services Department
CONTACT: Ren?e H. Parker, LEP, Manager, Environmental Protection Officer
PHONE: (407) 836-1420
DIVISION: Environmental Protection Division
ACTION REQUESTED:
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Approval and execution of Orange County, Florida and Oakland Nature Preserve, Inc FY 2024-2025 Grant Agreement. District 1. (Environmental Protection Division)
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PROJECT: Agreement between Orange County and the Oakland Nature Preserve, Inc.
PURPOSE: Since 2005, Orange County has provided financial assistance to Oakland Nature Preserve (ONP) for the purposes of meeting their mission of continual restoration of the ecosystems that occur on ONP as well as supporting their educational efforts. Orange County wishes to continue this support which is outlined in the Agreement. (Attachment 1).
As background, the Preserve is located at 747 Machette Trail in Oakland Florida and encompasses approximately 150 acres of land - 50 acres of uplands and 100 acres of forested wetlands - and includes a boardwalk to Lake Apopka with a classroom-sized pavilion on the lakefront and a pavilion on the West Orange Trail.
ONP was established in 1997 as a 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation and began the task of gathering the resources necessary to complete the acquisition of the property. The property was acquired with a grant from The Florida Communities Trust, contributions by the St. Johns River Water Management District and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and over one-half million dollars in donations. ONP was able to complete the land acquisition of the preserve in 1999.
Once the property was purchased, the ecologic restoration work on ONP began. The site had been used for citrus farming for many years, and the goal was to restore the land to its original sandhill habitat. The resto...
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