HERNANDO COUNTY, Fla. — Running a whiskey distillery in the middle of 40,000 acres presents quite a few challenges.
Just ask Natalie Goff.
"We’ve kind of learned to respect nature and embrace it," she said.
Kevin and Natalie Goff have been creating Wild Buck Whiskey at Njoy Spirits Distillery for more than a decade.
"You’ll notice on the back of our bottles it says distilled and bottled by us, which means we actually make it here, and we like to use our 401 black rye that we grow on this 80-acre farm."
The Goffs built their operation in the Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge near Weeki Wachee. Natalie said they are proud to be located in what is known as the Florida Wildlife Corridor.
"We love nature, and we get inspiration on how to build things where animals are not impacted."
Jason Lauritsen is the chief conservation officer for the Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation. He said the corridor is designed to protect the statewide network of connected lands and waters and the wildlife that relies on them.
"If we lose the connections between these special places, then over time we are going to lose some of the specialness. Some of the species will disappear, and the habitat will become less pristine," said Lauritsen.
About 18 million acres are designated as part of the Florida Wildlife Corridor. And while 10 million of that land is protected, roughly 8 million acres remain unprotected and vulnerable to development.
The Florida Wildlife Corridor is a vision to maintain and link natural areas from the Everglades in South Florida to the Okefenokee Swamp at the Georgia border. It includes public lands, private ranches, and forests. Conservationists say keeping these lands connected allows animals such as Florida panthers, black bears, deer and other species to migrate and survive.
"I hate to think a hundred, 200 years from now kids won’t see a deer or a hog," said Kevin Goff.
"We were kind of shocked about how much land is needed for the panthers to migrate to the Florida-Georgia border, which is their normal pathway. The bear. Same thing. Deers, gators, all that migratory action takes millions of acres," Natalie Goff said.
Earlier this year the state’s Florida Forever program invested about $85 million in additional land purchases to help close gaps in the corridor. Florida Forever is the state’s premier conservation and recreation land acquisition program.
The Goffs said they hope to do their part to protect the corridor as well. They have signs at the distillery explaining its importance, and recently held a fundraiser by selling a limited-release Corridor Edition whiskey.
"Saving the Florida Wildlife Corridor and the connections that are there really depends on people knowing about and caring about their backyard. And the Njoy Spirits, that distillery, that is a great example of people who recognize the value of wild space and want to lean in and help," said Lauritsen.
"For businesses to embrace what they are doing and think of how they can have less impact on the environment is a big takeaway we’ve learned from the corridor people," Natalie Goff said.
For more information go to https://floridawildlifecorridor.org/.
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