Our 25th birthday is 19 weeks away!!
On December 27, we will hit the milestone day, and to mark the occasion, we have been counting down with memories of our past. We shared the words of our founder, Bill McQuilkin; we told you about our years-long effort to save our first public preserve, Bogey Creek Preserve, alongside the Spencer family; and last week, we discussed the Ocala to Osceola, O2O, Wildlife Corridor. This week, we focus on the Corridor to Coast, or C2C, Initiative, which expands the O2O.
The C2C extends through the Northeast and Central Florida. It expands our conservation reach from the land linking the Ocala and Osceola National Forests all the way to the East Coast. It covers approximately 5.2 million acres and nine counties and includes the O2O, a critical linkage within the Florida Wildlife Corridor and Ecological Greenways Network (FEGN). The C2C landscape includes forests, freshwater wetlands, natural areas, pastures, public conservation lands, and privately owned working lands.
The purpose of the C2C initiative is to promote the long-term protection of the land and the connectivity of habitats. Like the O2O, the C2C is an essential home for many wildlife and plant species and provides important resources for humans as well. We all depend on the sustainability and resiliency of natural resources and working lands to thrive, especially with today’s environmental shifts. Development and population growth negatively impact the environment, particularly within the C2C.
Last year, North Florida Land Trust and our C2C partners were awarded $15,243,902 by the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Resources Conservation Service (USDA’s NRCS) through its Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). The RCPP for the C2C increased the funding footprint for land protection and restoration in Baker, Clay, and Putnam counties and added new funding opportunities in Nassau, Duval, St. Johns, and Flagler counties.
Our partners in this initiative include the Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Clay County, Putnam Land Conservancy, Florida Trail Association, Alachua Conservation Trust, and Trust for Public Land. Together, we have committed another approximately $9.9 million to conservation within the C2C.
The ecological benefits of protecting and improving the land are extensive. Preserving these water-abundant landscapes is critical for regional resiliency. The land is a natural buffer that protects against flooding by providing storage. It helps decrease the potential for soil erosion and pollution from fertilizers, insecticides, oil, grease, and other human-made and natural pollutants that can enter water sources through runoff, drainage, seepage, or precipitation. Natural land helps with storm mitigation and protects the area from rising sea levels, erosion, and increased rainfall – from bodies of freshwater, spring sheds, salt marshes, and wetlands to the ocean itself.
The C2C initiative also helps serve our mission to promote conservation, which assists state and federal military installations in sustaining their military training missions. Camp Blanding is in the heart of the C2C. NFLT partners with the military installation through the Army Compatible Use Buffer (ACUB) program, which provides funding for the protection of land surrounding the Camp Blanding training center.
The RCPP for the C2C brings local, state, and federal financial landowner assistance programs to private landowners for land management that protects natural resources and wildlife and further enhances our regional conservation goals. It allows us to expand our work to protect natural spaces and resources and increases our ability to make a major difference for the protection of land for future generations. As our President and CEO, Allison DeFoor, always says, “It is Now or Never.”
Agreements have been reached that will allow up to $1.5 million for land management within the C2C and another $10.4 million towards conservation easements coupled with a 50 percent contribution from the C2C partners or a conservation easement donation from the landowner. Any landowner within the C2C boundary, which extends from the Florida/Georgia state line to Marion and Flagler County’s southern border, could be eligible for conservation easement or land management funding. Landowners within the C2C will soon be able to apply for funding in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the NRCS, and NFLT. An announcement of the opening of the application process is expected in the fall.
Meanwhile, NFLT will discuss the O2O and C2C initiatives at next week’s Florida Forestry Association Annual Meeting and Trade Show in Amelia Island. The Florida Forestry Association is a statewide membership organization that brings together those who grow and use Florida’s forests. Our team will be set up at the event to showcase our initiatives and work saving Florida’s natural spaces. We will be joined by our friend in conservation, Ben Williams of Wetland Preserve. We worked with Ben for over five years to help facilitate the purchase of a conservation easement on his 3,562 acres, Wetland Preserve. He will share his insights on the conservation easement process and his thoughts on why saving land is so important.
To join us and help us SAVE LAND, please visit the TAKE ACTION page on our website or email our Conservation Acquisitions team at RealEstate@NFLT.org.
Do you have a story about how NFLT has touched you, or was there an acquisition or specific impact we made that resonated with you? We would love to hear it! Please email our Communications Officer, Sarah Hande, at shande@nflt.org with anything you want to share.
