6 New additions to the O2O in 2020

New 2020 Additions to the O2O

Photo by Rhonda Lovett taken on Wetland preserve

Map of the 100 mile long Ocala to Osceola Wildlife Corridor in North Central Florida. The red in this map shows the additional acquisitions with in the year 2020. the Yellow in the map shows other protected properties since 2017.

Land Protection

The O2O Partnership protected over 4,400 acres in the O2O last year, including 65 acres of fee and a whopping 4,346 acres of conservation easement acquisition!  We are happy to report that our partner, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) was responsible for a large portion of this, through the Florida Forever program.  North Florida Land Trust (NFLT) received two donated conservation easements, leveraged new funding sources and funding partners, and continued to purchase land through the Camp Blanding Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration (REPI) program to buffer lands surrounding the installation.  Putnam Land Conservancy continued their efforts to stitch together natural landscapes through acquisition of small but strategically located lands. 

Wetland Preserve 3,562 acres in the center of the O2O Wildlife Corridor
Photo by Rhonda Lovett. Ben and Louann, property owners, leading a Master Naturalist class out on their property.
Photo by Rhonda Lovett. Ben and Louann, property owners, manage the property with prescribed fire. They are amazing educators and promotors of good management practices and conservation in North Florida.
This map shows the location of Wetland Preserve. The property sits in the center of the O2O north of Ocala National Forest.

By Far the Biggest Protection Project for the Year of 2020

3,562-acre Wetland Preserve conservation easement by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP). 

Wetland Preserve, owned by Ben and Louann Williams, is one of the largest privately owned parcels in the Etoniah/Cross Florida Greenway Florida Forever project area.  After nearly six years of working with the Williams, NFLT helped the landowners sell their conservation easement to Florida department of Environmental Protection. Wetland Preserve is a critical piece of the central O2O, strategically located next to the Rice Creek Conservation Area and other conservation lands in Putnam County, and will be forever managed as a working forest to protect natural resources.

Lake Pipkin on Welaka Woods. Water flows south through this lake into Margaret Lake then through Lake George on its way to the St. Johns River system.
This map shows Welaka Woods 716 acres north of Lake George Conservation area, on the southeast side of the O2O Wildlife Corridor, within the Ocala National Forest.
The map shows the Welaka Woods property located on the north side of Lake Pipkin.

The largest Donated Conservation Easement in the O2O to date!  

716 acres of land in Putnam County

Late in 2020, NFLT received a donated conservation easement in the O2O: the 716-acre Welaka Woods property.  This is by far the largest donated conservation easement in the O2O to date, and it contains a mosaic of natural areas including pine flatwoods, longleaf pine, xeric oak forests, bay swamps, ephemeral ponds, scrub and sandhill.  Welaka Woods is in the restricted air space of Pine Castle Bombing Range and is near the Ocala National Forest.

This picture taken by NFLT staff shows a portion of Trail Ridge Preserve
This map shows the location of Trail Ridge Preserve. This property sits in the center of the O2O and north of Camp Blanding.
This map shows the new addition, in red, to Trail Ridge. The red addition sits within the already conserved Trail Ridge property shown in light green. This whole property sits alongside already protected lands to make a much larger conserved green swath with in the O2O Wildlife Corridor.

40 Acre Addition of Trail Ridge

The 40 acre Trail Ridge addition is an inholding of the much larger NFLT Trail Ridge Preserve and enhances our ability to manage the preserve.  The Trail Ridge Preserve was purchased through NFLT’s REPI (Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration) partnership with Camp Blanding (Army National Guard).

This picture shows a portion of Sweet Gum Farm.
This map shows the location of Sweet Gum Farm. The property is located in the northwest portion of the O2O Wildlife Corridor. It is located on the southeast side of the Osceola National Forest as an inholding within the National Forest.

Second Donated Conservation Easement to the O2O. Sweet Gum Farm a 68 acre family farm, an inholding in the Osceola National Forest

NFLT received a donated conservation easement from the Griffis family, which protects their 68 acre family farm.  Sweet Gum Farm contains forested wetland and is a significant inholding of the Osceola National Forest.  This newly protected property contributes to the integrity of the greater Osceola National Forest and Pinhook Swamp region.

This map shows the location of the Florida Scrub Preserve as an inholding within the Ocala National Forest. This property consist of mature sand pine scrub and its purchase will greatly improve management for Florida Scrub-jays within this portion of the Ocala National Forest.
This map shows the location of the Florida Scrub Preserve property within the Ocala National Forest.

NFLT Purchased a 25-acre Inholding of the Ocala National Forest

The Florida Scrub Preserve tract contains mature sand pine scrub habitat in the middle of the Ocala National Forest’s Florida scrub-jay habitat management area. It was purchased with Florida scrub-jay mitigation funding administered by The Nature Conservancy.  This is a novel funding source for O2O land protection.  This project improves landscape integrity for the Florida scrub-jay, a Federally threatened species and Florida’s only endemic bird.

Photo by Kimberly Tillman of a Florida Scrub-jay. A threatened species and Florida’s only endemic bird, it is only found here in Florida.
This map shows the parcels in green that Putnam Land Conservancy has conserved as of 2020.
This map shows were the Mondex complex sits within the the O2O Wildlife Corridor. It is north of the Ocala National Forest and in the southcentral portion of the O2O.

Putnam Land Conservancy Continues Their Efforts with Conserving Parcels in the Mondex Area

Putnam Land Conservancy (PLC) acquired 25 acres in the Mondex area in their continuing efforts to consolidate conservation properties next to the Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway State Recreation and Conservation Area.  Mondex is a legacy subdivision that was never developed. These properties add to a larger conservation area that PLC has already protected in the Mondex area.

Click here to return back to the rest of the O2O Partnership Newsletter for news on O2O Program and Partnership Developments.

Leave a Reply

%d bloggers like this: