Gift opens Nokuse Plantation to hikers

TALLAHASSEE — In one of the largest donations ever made by a private landowner, local conservationist M.C. Davis has donated 930 acres of land to the U.S. Forest Service and the Florida Trail Association.

The donation will bridge a 10-mile gap of the Florida National Scenic Trail. The 1,400-mile trail travels through a large portion of the state, from Big Cypress National Preserve in Miami to the Gulf Islands National Seashore near Pensacola.

The new segment will start at U.S. Highway 331 in Walton County and head north to the Choctawhatchee River.

Davis said he made the donation about two months ago. It was publicly announced this week in a press release from the forest service.

A portion of the trail also will provide the only public access to the Nokuse Plantation, a 48,000-acre private conservation that Davis co-owns.

“My purpose was to allow the public to enjoy the Nokuse wilderness without really disturbing it,” he said.

According to the Nokuse Web site, www.nokuse.org, the goal of the private conservation initiative is “the understanding that the combined resources of entrepreneurs, government and biologists will be necessary to achieve results” to preserve biodiversity.

The easement also will provide a connection between Pine Log State Forest and Eglin Air Force Base and allow hikers a more direct route, according to the release.

Hikers now must travel for miles to State Road 20 and State Road 81 to access sections of the Florida Trail, but once the new segment is created, they will be able to walk through woodlands rather than alongside a roadway.

Davis said he has hiked along sections of the trail and likes “the solitude and being on the edge of the wilderness and seeing the occasional wildlife and all the beautiful plants and flowers.”