The Thornton family of Amelia Island donated 396 acres to the North Florida Land Trust, ensuring that the land will remain in its natural state, the Jacksonville conservation nonprofit announced Dec. 13.
The land is adjacent to Fort Clinch State Park and is about 2 miles along Egans Creek. The donation helps preserve the state park, a news release said.
The land is in the land trust’s Salt Marsh and Coastal Resilience Priority Preservation Area.
The land is a mixture of salt marsh, mixed scrub-shrub wetlands, and maritime hammock habitats. While assessing the property, land trust staff have seen native species, including white-tail deer; American alligators; bottlenose dolphins; fiddler crabs; and birds including roseate spoonbill, wood stork, snowy egret, great blue heron, great egret and anhinga.
“This is a huge deal for Amelia Island, and we are so grateful to the Thornton family for contacting us and donating this beautiful piece of property,” Allison DeFoor, president and CEO of the land trust, said in the release.
“By saving this land, we are saving an essential piece of Amelia Island.”
“We as a family felt that something as beautiful as the marsh, which had given us such enjoyment, should be preserved for others to experience,” Jack Thornton said.
