The St. Joe Company Announces U.S. District Court Upholds Regional General Permit for 48,150 Acres in Walton and Bay Counties

Business Wire, Nov 20, 2006

Court Vacates Preliminary Injunction and Rejects Legal Challenge from Natural Resources Defense Council and Florida Sierra Club

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The St. Joe Company (NYSE: JOE) today announced that a U.S. District Court in Jacksonville has upheld a Regional General Permit (RGP) issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) in 2004 to implement large-scale environmental and development planning for 48,150 acres in Walton and Bay Counties. The court rejected a legal challenge brought by the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Florida Sierra Club against the USACE seeking to stop implementation of this watershed-level approach to environmental permitting.

In rejecting the legal challenge, the court vacated its previously granted injunction halting further implementation of the RGP. The legal action has had only a minimal effect to date on JOE's real estate development activity.

"We believe that the court made the wise and correct decision today in vacating the preliminary injunction, rejecting the legal challenge and allowing the RGP to proceed as planned,"said Peter S. Rummell, chairman and CEO of JOE. "The RGP is the result of a lot of time and hard work by a large coalition of local citizens, leaders, local and national environmental groups and JOE in an effort to create a model for large-scale ecological protection across an entire region, which encompasses multiple watersheds. It took a commitment to the environment and to our future. The RGP is also the result of an interagency comprehensive regional planning effort in which the USACE, State of Florida, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Marine Fisheries Service, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and JOE participated."

More than 70 percent of the land covered by the RGP, approximately 33,000 acres that includes high quality wetlands, will be permanently protected. Development is allowed on only 30 percent of the land, or approximately 15,000 acres. "Protection of water resources is critical to ensure the high-quality of the surface water for the residents of the region," said Rummell. "The plan implemented by this RGP also creates a wildlife corridor extending from Choctawhatchee Bay to St. Andrews Bay to protect and preserve forever the ecological integrity and biological diversity of one of Northwest Florida's most important watersheds."

"Environmental planning should extend beyond the lifespan of one landowner, one company or one group," said Rummell. "We believe the planning framework implemented with this permit, which goes well beyond customary regulatory requirements, provides permanent protection for some of the most environmentally sensitive areas in Northwest Florida, safeguards important water resources and protects the beauty and environmental integrity of the region for generations to come."

About JOE

The St. Joe Company (NYSE:JOE), a publicly held company based in Jacksonville, is one of Florida's largest real estate operating companies. We are primarily engaged in real estate development and sales, with significant interests in timber. Our mission is to create places that inspire people and make JOE's Florida an even better place to live, work and play. We're no ordinary JOE.

More information about JOE can be found at our web site at http://www.joe.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this press release that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward looking statements involve risk and uncertainty, and there can be no assurance that the results described in such statements will be realized. Such statements are based on our current expectations and we undertake no obligation to publicly update or reissue any forward-looking statements. Risk factors that may cause the actual results to differ are described in this release and in our various documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005.

Copyright 2006, The St. Joe Company. "St. Joe," "JOE" and the "Taking Flight" design are service marks of The St. Joe Company.