North Florida Land Trust was a part of protecting more than 125,000 acres of land in Florida following the recent acquisitions by the state of Florida of more than 76,000 acres spread among two conservation easements. The lands, both working forests within the Ocala-to-Osceola (O2O) Wildlife Corridor, are in Baker and Union counties, and in the core of the O2O. The conservation easements were agreed to by the landowners, the Weyerhaeuser Company and Blackbottom Holdings, LLC, both private timberland companies.
NFLT was instrumental in facilitating this land into conservation by bringing a majority of those involved in the process to the table and working with former Speaker of the House Paul Renner to secure funding for acquisitions within the O2O. The conservation easements allow Weyerhaeuser and Blackbottom to continue using the land as a working forest while ensuring it remains free from development forever.
“This historic conservation easement acquisition was something we started working on approximately seven years ago, when we began talks with the Weyerhaeuser Corporation,” said Allison DeFoor, president and CEO of NFLT. “To have played a role in the largest conservation easement acquisition in the state’s history is a wonderful feeling. We have now moved our total acres preserved in the state to 125,555. I congratulate the Governor and the state on bringing this across the finish line and ensuring this part of the O2O remains in its natural state forever. It is now or never.”
The Weyerhaeuser and Blackbottom conservation easements stretch and protect a critical bottleneck in the Florida Wildlife Corridor from the Raiford Wildlife Management Area to the Osceola National Forest. Protecting the land secures a contiguous landscape for a wide range of species, including the Florida black bear, and helps safeguard significant aquifer recharge, wetland habitats and rural forestry economies.
NFLT leads the O2O Wildlife Corridor Partnership, a group of like-minded organizations dedicated to preserving land within the O2O. Approximately 1.6 million acres of public and privately owned forested land stretching 100 miles from the Ocala National Forest to the Osceola National Forest, make up the O2O.
About North Florida Land Trust
North Florida Land Trust is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to preserving and enhancing quality of life by protecting North Florida’s irreplaceable natural environment. Founded in 1999, NFLT has preserved tens of thousands of acres of land through the donation or purchase of land as well as conservation easements. NFLT is funded largely by private and corporate contributions and works closely with willing landowners and public agencies at all levels of government, not-for-profit partners, and foundations.
