Plum Creek has been doing business in Florida since 2001. While some of our neighbors have gotten to know us quite well, others don’t have a relationship with us or know what we do. We’d like to change that.

As a timber industry leader, Plum Creek plays many roles in the communities in which we operate. We are a strong business partner with many major companies throughout the state and an active contributor to charitable causes. We also play significant roles in conservation efforts, environmental stewardship and community-minded development.

In Florida, Plum Creek practices sustainable forestry on approximately 600,000 acres of forestland in 22 counties. Our operations are centered in the St. Johns Forest, Gulf Hammock Forest, Lake Butler Forest, and the Wire Grass Forest in Northwest Florida. With nearly 90,000 acres under permanent protection, we are the largest private owner of conservation lands in Florida. We are proud of the significant role we play in conserving open lands for future generations and protecting wildlife habitat.

Through this newsletter, we’ll share information on projects and achievements.  In this issue, you’ll learn more about sustainable forestry principles and some recent conservation achievements that we’re pretty excited about.

WHAT WE DO Sustainable Forestry Principles Drive Plum Creek Operations
Each year we grow and plant seedlings on our land nationwide.  About 70 million seedlings were planted across the country this spring; more than 12 million of those were here in Florida.

SPECIES MANAGEMENT Plum Creek Provides Permanent Home for Gopher Tortoises
A juvenile gopher tortoise sets off to explore his new home. Alachua County environmental advocates and representatives from Plum Creek, FWC and SJRWMD formed the welcoming committee. Plum Creek will maintain the tortoise habitat with a management plan that includes thinning of trees and controlled burns.	Plum Creek Wildlife Biologist Rob Hicks introduces guests to the first new resident of the Gopher Tortoise relocation site.

New residents are burrowing in at Plum Creek’s Lochloosa Conservation Easement – with the slow but steady pace you’d expect from Gopher Tortoises.

Last spring, Plum Creek celebrated with partners from the St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD), the Florida Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and Alachua County as the first tortoises arrived and set off to explore their permanent new home.  The relocation site in Alachua County is the first to meet the standards of Florida’s new Gopher Tortoise Management Plan.   

“The success of the gopher tortoise management plan and the future of the gopher tortoise are dependent upon partnerships like this one,” said Deborah Burr, Gopher Tortoise Plan coordinator for FWC.  “We applaud Plum Creek’s ongoing commitment to environmental stewardship.”

Gopher tortoises are moderate-sized land turtles that live in underground burrows. They prefer high, dry, sandy places in Florida, such as longleaf pine sandhills, scrub, pine flatwoods, dry prairies and coastal dunes. Although they can still be found in all 67 Florida counties, the gopher tortoise population has declined an estimated 60-80 percent in the past century, due to pressures on their habitat. Plum Creek’s wildlife management area provides the perfect environment for these steady-going creatures to thrive.

The management plan guidelines established by the FWC in 2007, provides incentives to landowners to manage their land for gopher tortoise habitats. The Plum Creek site is a pilot project for future recipient sites in the state. It is just a small part of the 16,610 acres owned and managed by Plum Creek under easement with the water management district. If approved for expansion, over time it could provide permanent homes for approximately 17,000 gopher tortoises. 

Earlier this year, Plum Creek was pleased to announce the permanent conservation of 1,958 acres of forestland near Fort McCoy. The Marion County Board of County Commissioners voted to approve the agreement, which establishes a conservation easement precluding any future development on the tract. In exchange, Plum Creek is able to bank 1,958 unit credits. Those banked credits can now be sold to developers who want to increase the density of units in an existing development designated for growth. This Transfer of Development Rights (TDRs) allows our land to remain a working timber forest while preserving some sensitive watershed areas.

Marion County’s TDR program is a growth management tool used to protect farm and forestlands as well as scenic areas and environmentally sensitive lands – at no cost to taxpayers.  Development rights can be used by the holder of the TDRs or sold to developers. These rights allow for increased density in designated existing urban areas.  The program began in 2004 with a goal of preserving 5,000 acres of agriculture or environmentally sensitive land through transfers by 2015.  With the completion of this easement, Marion County has achieved approximately two thirds of that goal.  The Ocala Star Banner called it a “major leap forward” for the land conservation program.

“Protecting a couple thousand acres of environmentally sensitive woods and wetlands just a stone's throw from the Ocklawaha River from future development is a godsend to Marion County. That it was pulled off without spending the first cent of taxpayer money makes it even better.”

Ocala Star Banner Editorial – May 6, 2009

The breadth of our holdings in North Central Florida allows us to recognize the special characteristics of our property in Ft. McCoy and help provide for permanent conservation while continuing to manage the land for sustainable forestry. As a willing land owner collaborating with community leaders, Plum Creek helped Marion County move closer to achieving its land conservation and smart growth goals for land conservation and growth management..

Whether or not you know Plum Creek – there’s a good chance you know our land, and the people who care for it.

People like Greg Galpin – who has been tending to the forests of North Central Florida for more than 30 years.  You could say he came with the land.  Greg joined the Plum Creek team in 2001 when we merged with The Timber Company – continuing a relationship with the former Georgia-Pacific timberlands that spans his entire professional career.

A graduate of the University of Florida with a degree in Forest Management, Greg worked for Hercules, Inc. before joining Georgia-Pacific in 1981. From his initial assignment as a forester in the Gulf Hammock Forest, he went on to become the Area Forest Manager for nearly a decade and then served as Georgia Pacific’s Manager of Land Sales, Acquisitions and Environmental Affairs for the Florida Group.

As Senior Manager for Planning, Greg helps identify land use opportunities for a portion of the company’s lands that are in appropriate paths for future potential development.  

Greg’s roots are firmly planted in Chiefland - where he and Cheryl, his wife of 31 years, have raised two sons.