Drew Dixon
Multiple conservation advocates and state agencies have come together to broker a land conservation deal that preserves some 78,000 acres of land in North Florida.
Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Cabinet approved an agreement to preserve the land that runs through several counties. Additional players, such as the North Florida Land Trust (NFLT), were instrumental in arranging the action.
“Under my administration, Florida has significantly expanded its land conservation efforts and (Tuesday’s) conservation is a major milestone for the Florida Wildlife Corridor,” DeSantis said. “By prioritizing conservation, we are not only supporting our natural resources, but also our rural economies and the future of our state.”
The Florida Forever Program provided the foundation for the vast property acquisition. The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) used elements of that program to finalize the latest preservation declaration.
About 61,000 acres of the preserve will be in a conservation easement within the Raiford to Osceola Greenway area in Baker and Union counties. Nearly 15,000 acres of conservation easement is in the Camp Blanding Greenway in Baker and Bradford counties. An additional 1,700 acres of conservation designation will connect easements in Alachua, Bradford, Clay and Putnam counties.
Another 340 acres of protected land will be part of the Annutteliga Hammock project in Hernando County included in the Withlacoochee State Forest and the Chassahowitzka Wildlife Management Area. The conservation designations will also impact the Ocala National Forest to the Osceola National Forest (O2O) conservation area and the Florida Wildlife Corridor.
Officials with the NFLT, a nonprofit land conservation organization, were thrilled at the preservation action. The group was part of the discussions to get the land.
“The only appropriate response is a big thank you to Gov. DeSantis, the Cabinet and Legislature for their leadership and the landowners for their vision and willingness. This will both protect the environment and keep the land in agriculture. We were honored to assist, and ready for more. Now or Never,” said Allison DeFoor, NFLT President and CEO.
DeFoor also credited former House Speaker Paul Renner, a Palm Coast Republican, and former Sen. Rob Bradley, a Green Cove Springs Republican, with providing support in sealing the preservation deal.
“When we met with Paul during his tenure to express the importance of this specific project in the O2O corridor and its importance to North Florida, he took the lead in securing $400 million in funding for the O2O wildlife corridor and defending it. Rob has also been a long-time supporter of conservation in Florida and was quietly pivotal in this success,” DeFoor said.
The DEP has been at the forefront of acquiring more than 374,000 acres of land that is now designated as protected property.
“At DEP, we see the Corridor as the backbone of Florida’s natural landscape,” said DEP Secretary Alexis A. Lambert. “It connects our past and our future, supports iconic wildlife, sustains vital ecosystems and preserves a way of life that defines Florida.”
The Florida Forever Program was established in 2001 and the state has purchased more than 1 million acres of conservation land under that program.
