Partner Experience

A Few of the Projects I’ve Worked On

Chassahowitzka Wildlife Management Area

Florida's Turnpike Enterprise's purchase of this 550-acre addition to the Wildlife Management Area protects a small spring, improves management and access to the WMA, and expands a critical corridor for movement of the Florida black bear along the west coast of Florida. In managing this transaction, I reviewed and addressed title issues prior to negotiations, negotiated purchase price in the face of higher competing offers, provided preliminary drafts of purchase agreements to DOT counsel, negotiated the amendment of regulatory conservation easements held by the SWFWMD, negotiated the change in ownership and operation of an access road in the week before closing, and secured all necessary approvals from the Department of Environmental Protection and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

DeLuca Preserve

In 2004 I led the effort by a national nonprofit organization and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to submit an offer in the sealed bid auction of more than 27,000 acres of ranchland and high-quality habitat in Osceola County, Florida. While selected for continued negotiations, we were unsuccessful. Fast forward to November 2020. The property was not developed, but rather has continued to be managed as a ranch with a sensitivity to the property’s significant natural resources. Keith Fountain Law, PLLC is fortunate to have been retained as co-counsel for an amazingly generous owner of the property to assist in their donation of a conservation easement to Ducks Unlimited and gift of the underlying fee interest in the land to the University of Florida Foundation. This property was a focus of attention during the establishment pf the Everglades Headwaters National Wildlife Refuge & Conservation Area and provides habitat for a suite of rare species, including the red-cockaded woodpecker, Florida grasshopper sparrow, and Florida panther. By many measures, this is the most important transaction of my career.

Watermelon Pond

Working on behalf of American Acquisition Group and Florida's Turnpike Enterprise, I cultivated the interest of 7 landowners to consider sales of land to FDOT for eventual transfer to the State of Florida as additions to Goethe State Forest. These lands were identified to mitigate potential species impacts occurring with construction of Phase 2 of the Suncoast Parkway in Citrus County. Ultimately, 5 owners were required to meet FDOT's permit requirements and they sold portions of their lands for addition to the state forest. I negotiated the purchases for FDOT, handled contracting and due diligence, and resolved title and land management issues in order to close the transactions. We succeeded in connecting previously noncontiguous portions of the state forest and providing access to public roads that can be used for land management and public recreational access. This amazing sandhill landscape and its scenic ponds are a great addition to the important conservation area known as Watermelon Pond.