Help Preserve South Gulf Cove's Nature

FUNDRAISER NOTE: GoFundMe is just one avenue we use for fundraising and the total shown here is not indicative of the total raised as a fundraiser progresses. Contact us through our website www.ecnorthport.com for a current total.

You’re invited to help PRESERVE SOUTH GULF COVE’S NATURE by donating to our purchase of a 1/4 acre neighborhood land parcel on Allentown Avenue (Lot 25)!

HOW: RAISE $10,500 by March 31, 2025 (the total purchase price is $20,500; we have $10,000 in reserves committed to this purchase).

Donations can be made:

Via this GoFundMe:

or

Via Venmo: Environmental Conservancy NP - @NPconservancy

or

Via PayPal on our website: www.ecnorthport.com

Checks are also accepted, please make checks payable to The Environmental Conservancy of North Port, Inc. and mail to 3465 Alfred Road, North Port, FL 34286.

WHAT: With this acquisition we would permanently protect 1/4 acre of natural habitat abundant with native plants and trees just outside a Charlotte County designated Florida Scrub-jay zone. Scrub-jays know no man-made boundaries though as they have been seen in the area by the seller and surrounding neighbors on an ongoing basis.

There is currently one active Gopher Tortoise burrow and one inactive burrow on the parcel. Tortoises are solitary animals that dig and use multiple burrows within their home range; the inactive burrow could become active again. They may even alternate between burrows dug by other tortoises, but only one tortoise will occupy a burrow at a time. (Note: removal of Brazilian pepper and other invasives would be done as a part of our land management plan).

WHY: As development progresses, South Gulf Cove neighborhood natural habitat for the Scrub-jays, Gopher Tortoises and other wildlife, mass amounts of native plants and trees are slowing being removed/erased, lot after lot after lot.

Our land acquisitions provide natural "stepping stone” habitat pockets in neighborhoods which is the best way to help ensure all of nature's inhabitants will always have a place to call home, seek shelter, find food and raise their young in South Gulf Cove. "Stepping Stones" of natural land also preserves biodiversity of native plants and trees amidst development where residential lawns and non-native plants installed by landscapers or purchased from Big Box stores make up human home greenspace in most cases.

Upon completion of a new residence, few to no local native plants that once grew on a lot are replanted, and when a local native tree is replanted (live oak, slash pine, sabal palm) it is common that it will not survive and grow to maturity. Replanting native trees/plants is always recommended, but replanting can never take place of conservation of an untouched natural environment.

The “woods” in our neighborhoods are just an illusion and will continue to disappear unless we buy or otherwise acquire land and permanently protect it.

South Gulf Cove hosts a population of the Florida Scrub-jay and Gopher Tortoise, both are threatened species. While Charlotte County has its own Scrub-jay Habitat Conservation Plan which requires builders to pay designated fees to clear lots in Scrub-jay zones County-wide, those fees are then used to buy land only in the Eastern part of the County to protect Scrub-jay habitat there. Florida Scrub-jays are not relocated. Gopher Tortoises must be removed for a fee prior to commencement of construction; they are relocated to other areas of the State in most cases under Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission's current program.

WHO: We are a 501c3 non-profit that acquires and permanently conserves neighborhood land in North Port AND Surrounding Areas (Charlotte/Sarasota Counties to date) for preservation of, and education and research about, neighborhood wildlife, native plants, trees and soil as our population continues to grow at a rapid pace. In other words, WE SAVE NEIGHBORHOOD NATURE.

Since we began our mission in early 2020 we have acquired and protected 18 parcels in North Port and 25 parcels across different areas of Charlotte County for a total of 43 to date.

This lot was chosen to pursue for acquisition as a result of our land nomination program that is open to the public. The owner nominated it, it was reviewed against our habitat and mission goals scoring matrix and was chosen based on its final score. All citizens are welcome to nominate neighborhood land in Charlotte or Sarasota County they feel might be a possible conservation candidate; visit the Nominate Land tab on our website www.ecnorthport.com to complete the nomination form. No commercial, multi-family, or industrial zoned land will be considered.

Visit our website at www.ecnorthport.com Facebook at www.facebook.com/ECnorthport/ or Instagram @npconservancy to learn more about us.

Tax ID Number 84-4132468