Florida’s M-CORES Northern Turnpike Corridor Task Force met virtually on Wednesday, April 29. We were there monitoring the action. The meeting covered four general topics:

The best news for Ocala Horse Country came in the first topic. Here is the latest map of the areas that M-CORES is committed to avoid:

That great, big block of hot pink at the top of the map is the Farmland Preservation Area (FPA) in Marion County. Hot pink areas will not be impacted by the proposed Northern Turnpike Corridor. Our FPA ranks right up there with springs, military bases, tribal lands and national register sites. A lot of landowners, community leaders and organizations came together to get this highest level of avoidance designation. We are proud to be numbered among them. We will continue to gather those voices and bring them to the table as discussions continue.

The entire meeting presentation can be found here.

The second topic brought forth the concept of Attraction Areas: places where a connection to or service by an enhanced or new corridor is desired to accomplish economic, community, environmental, or other goals. Then, the participants were introduced to an online GIS tool that anyone can use to see more. Members of the Task Force will be using this tool to consolidate their input. Interested parties are encouraged to do their homework and get feedback in to the Task Force.

This is not over. Follow along as we work to keep the best interests of Marion County’s farmland and horse industry at the forefront. Roadway and development threats to the FPA continue to crop up on other fronts. Stay tuned!