TARPON SPRINGS, Fla — The push to save a 14-acre plot of preserve land in Pinellas County is getting a branch — an extension to come up with the remaining $260,000 necessary to buy the land.
On a sign outside the West Klosterman Reserve, Tex Carter has been keeping the Tarpon Springs neighborhood updated with how much money the group still needed to raise, and how many more days they had to do it.
For years now, the West Klosterman Preservation group, led by Carter, has been working to raise millions of dollars to buy the lot of land, home to a number of species of plants and animals “of special concern,” and prevent it from being developed.
Over the last several months, they’ve been hard at work raising money. Outside the preserve are more than 8,000 green ribbons representing $20 donations. Other generous givers have provided upwards of six figures in funds to help reach the goal.
Last year, Pinellas County commissioners approved a $1.5 million matching grant. The group would then need to raise $1.5 million privately to acquire $3 million total to purchase the land from the school district, the current owner. They were also given a deadline of Sept. 15, 2024.
With that deadline passed, the WK Preservation Group still had $260,000 left to raise and is now working with the county to get a deadline extension. That will likely give them until the end of the year to come up with the rest.
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“We started discussing with the county that we still had money to raise, and the county confirmed that they really did want to make this a preserve,” Carter said.
They are still working through the contracts, but Carter says he’s optimistic they can meet the goal by the end of the year, as donations and interest in their push to save the green space have ramped up in recent weeks.
“As the publicity has grown and the awareness everybody wants to preserve the environment. Everybody wants to preserve natural habitat,” Carter said. “People don't move to Florida for the concrete. They move to Florida for the natural beauty, and we want to preserve that natural beauty to keep Florida a place worth living."
If you want to learn more or help them reach their goal, click here.