PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — As cliché as it sounds, everyone can make a difference. Just ask Tex Carter and his wife, Kay.
“We’re just regular, ordinary retired people,” Kay said. “We can band together and do something.”
Their “something” is a 14-acre parcel of unspoiled wilderness near Tarpon Spring on West Klosterman Road.
“It’s a rest stop for birds as they’re migrating,” Tex said. “There’s a tremendous population of gopher tortoises out here. More than 60.”
For years, there’s been a real possibility that the land—dubbed the West Klosterman Preserve—will be sold to developers.
Pinellas County Schools, which owns it, announced its intent to sell the property back in 2021.
However, the Carters’ nonprofit, W.K. Preservation Group, has been raising money to stop that.
They need $3 million by Dec. 10 to purchase and preserve the land forever. Pinellas County will cover half.
Just days from the deadline, Tex and Kay feel close to victory.
“Real joy,” Kay said.
“If we get all of the pledges that have been made collected, then we will have made our $1.5 million, and we will be able to make that deadline when the county asks us for the money to close,” Tex added.
They are now asking all donors to send in their pledged donations before Dec. 10. Once that happens, the county can close on the land in the coming months.
“We’re so close we can taste it,” Kay said.
They said the win will resonate beyond the property lines on West Klosterman Road.
“I think this shows you that when you work together, you can do a lot,” Kay said.
And she says it shows that more Florida wildlands can be saved from development if more ordinary people step up to make a difference.
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