- December 4, 2025
Flagler County has approved the largest purchase of land for conservation in its Environmentally Sensitive Land program’s history.
The Flagler Board of County Commissioners approved the purchase of 3,819 acres of land five miles west of Espanola from the Folk H. Peterson Charitable Foundation for a tentative total of $6,110,400. The price is pending the confirmation of the property size from a surveyor.
“This is going to be the largest purchase in ESL history,” Public Lands and Natural Resource Manager Erick Revuelta said. “I think it’s going to add about 30% additional acreage for us to manage.
The item was discussed at Flagler County’s Aug. 18 workshop and later approved in a 4-0 vote at the board’s 5 p.m. meeting later that day. Chairman Andy Dance was absent from the meetings due to an emergency appendectomy.
The land, which is a part of the Florida Wildlife Corridor, will be purchased with state funds designated for that purpose, Assistant County Attorney Sarah Spector said. Vice Chair Leann Pennington said it’s important for the public to know that the fund could only be used to purchase land in the Florida Wildlife Corridor for conservation.
“This is exactly what the state sent down for us to do,” Pennington said.
“And it can not be developed,” Commissioner Greg Hansen said. “Ever.”
The land was originally owned by Folke H. Peterson, and after he died in 1988, it was placed in a joint trust with Truist Bank, the South Florida Wildlife Center, a Broward County nonprofit, the University of Florida and the University of Miami.
Spector said there are some important terms in place on the property. There is an existing oil, gas and mineral reservations that were attached to the property when Peterson purchased it. The rights are in place for 99 years, until 2049. However, she said, there is no legal access to the property at the moment.
“So it is highly unlikely, at the present moment, that they would be able to access the property to exercise those rights,” she said.
The same land access issue means county staff are working with adjacent property owners to gain access to the land, especially for a surveyor to come out and appraise the property, Spector said.
The contract can be cancelled if Flagler County can not gain access to the property for a reasonable price.
