TALLAHASSEE, FL

Already the nation's largest private land owner, Ted Turner recently added 3,620 acres of forests, rolling hills and wetlands to his holdings in the Florida Panhandle. The mogul says he intends to preserve the property.

Turner, vice chairman of Time Warner Inc. and founder of CNN, bought the property for about $11.6 million from St. Joe Co., a land development company. The land borders Turner's plantation about 20 miles east of Tallahassee. St. Joe Co. announced the sale Wednesday.

``This is a beautiful part of the country, and this area should be maintained and preserved,'' Turner said. ``Private landowners have a responsibility to take care of their land and to undertake only environmentally sound activities on their property. That's what we have been doing and will continue to do in northern Florida.''

The property has wild turkey, quail and one of Florida's largest deer populations.