North Port environmental group targets latest lot for wildlife habitat preservation

NORTH PORT – The Environmental Conservancy of North Port and Surrounding Areas is about halfway to its goal of raising $10,000 by Sept. 30 to double the amount of “stepping-stone” habitat preserved off of Chamberlain Boulevard.

The conservancy has raised just over $4,000 toward that goal, Barbara Lockhart, president of the nonprofit conservancy’s board of directors, said via email Monday.

The money would purchase Lot 7, Wendy Terrace, which diagonally abuts Lot 16 Chris Terrace – a parcel the conservancy purchased in February.

Lockhart noted that the parcel contains an area that appears to remain wet and boggy year round, based on the growth of plants such as the Carolina Willow around its perimeter.

What is the Environmental Conservancy?

The nonprofit started in the spring of 2020 in North Port, targeting Florida scrub-jay habitat and quickly expanded to include land in unincorporated Sarasota and Charlotte counties, started in the spring of 2020 in North Port.

The Wendy Terrace lot would be the conservancy’s second purchase in northwest Charlotte County and the 43rd parcel it has preserved from development.

The most recent purchase occurred in August, when it purchased a parcel in Englewood that was prime habitat for Florida scrub-jay and gopher tortoises.

More information is at https://ecnorthport.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ECnorthport .

In addition to purchasing land, the all-volunteer board allocates funds to maintain the properties and trail cameras to monitor wildlife. More recently it has conducted limited tours of some of the preserved parcels.

How to donate

Donations can be made via GoFundMe at https://gofund.me/91759a69 , by Venmo at @NPconservancy, with the note “Port Charlotte” attached to the donation or through PayPal at the website https://www.ecnorthport.com with a notation that it is for Port Charlotte. Checks are also accepted.

For information, call or text 941-218-9775 (text preferred) or email NPconservancy@gmail.com .

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: North Port environmental group targets latest lot for wildlife habitat preservation