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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Tallahassee (Fla.) Democrat) — Florida has agreed to buy more than 17,000 acres (6,900 hectares) of conservation land in the Panhandle near the Gulf of Mexico.

The Tallahassee Democrat reports that Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet approved the $43 million deal on Thursday.

WATCH LIVE: Press conference in Boca Raton https://t.co/nkLzREObv1

— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) May 29, 2020

The funding comes from the state’s Florida Forever land conservation program. Straddling Franklin and Wakulla counties, the tract stretches from Dickerson Bay to Bald Point and extends west to an area known as the St. Teresa Bluffs and Tate’s Hell State Forest.

It includes more than 6,200 acres (2,500 hectares) of wetland and almost 11,000 acres (4,400 hectares) of upland.