Lake Wales Ridge Conservation Bank
The Lake Wales Ridge Conservation Bank is a 363.5-acre habitat conservation bank, located in Polk County, Florida.
It is one of the largest areas of pristine scrub habitat left along the Lake Wales Ridge in Florida. The ecologically significant site provides habitat for sand skinks and blue-tailed mole skinks as well as numerous other threatened and endangered species.
The sand skink (Neoseps reynoldsi ) is protected as a Threatened species by the Federal Endangered Species Act and as a Federally Designated Threatened species by Florida’s Endangered and Threatened Species Rule.
The sand skink is threatened by the destruction of their habitat. Conservation Banks serve as a successful recovery program has been implemented by securing large-scale habitats which are essential for the species’ long-term survival.
The Lake Wales Ridge Conservation Bank has sand skink credits available as conservation measure to offset and compensate for developmental impacts.
The bank service area encompasses the entire Lake Wales Ridge and the counties that surround it, Highlands, Lake, Osceola, Orange, and Polk.
The restoration of the property includes nuisance and exotic species eradication, tree thinning, reintroducing a prescribed fire regime, a perpetual conservation easement that permanently prevents the ability to develop the property, and a trust fund to pay for the management of the site forever.
Lake Wales Ridge Basin is owned and managed by Southern States Land & Timber which was founded in 1877. The company has prospered throughout the years as a land acquisition and holding company with property interests in Louisiana, Texas & Florida.
