Priorities & Approach

Preservation Priority Areas

In January 2023, the NFLT Leadership Team presented six new, large scale, principle-based, funding- and strategic priority‐based focal areas to the NFLT Board of Directors. These six Preservation Priority Areas now serve as the guide for all conservation efforts and conservation acquisitions for NFLT. The six Preservation Priority Areas are:

Ocala to Osceola (O2O) Wildlife Corridor

The O2O Wildlife Corridor is a 100-mile long, 1.6 million acre landscape of public and private lands that connect the Ocala and Osceola National Forests. The O2O includes priority lands for the Florida Ecological Greenways Network (FEGN) and is a significant part of the Florida Wildlife Corridor. NFLT is the lead partner in a major grant through the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). The RCPP is a partner-driven approach to conservation that funds solutions to to natural resource challenges on agricultural land (NRCS.USDA.gov). The O2O Partnership works with landowners and the NRCS to identify opportunities for conservation that benefit the landowners of working lands within the O2O boundary. Any property within this boundary is considered eligible for consideration. 

In December 2023, NFLT and the O2O Partnership were awarded additional funding through the RCPP for an initiative called the Corridor to Coast, or C2C. The C2C is an extension of the O2O partnership led by NFLT and includes public and private organizations dedicated to landscape-scale conservation. The C2C is approximately 5,200,000 acres and covers portions of nine counties that include privately owned working lands and forests, freshwater wetlands, natural areas, pastures and public conservation lands and extends from the eastern edge of the O2O through Northeast and Central Florida to the east coast. The RCPP will increase funding for land protection and restoration in Baker, Clay and Putnam counties. It also adds new funding opportunities in Nassau, Duval, St. Johns and Flagler counties. Much like the O2O, this RCPP will bring local, state and federal financial landowner assistance programs to private landowners for land management that protects natural resources and wildlife to further enhance regional conservation goals.

Military Readiness and Base Buffering

NFLT works with the US Department of Defense and willing landowners to acquire property or conservation easements on identified parcels that facilitate the continued operations of the multiple military installations in Northeast Florida including NAS Jacksonville; NAS Mayport; OLF Whitehouse; Blount Island; Pinecastle Bombing Range; and, Camp Blanding.

Salt Marsh and Climate Resilience

Salt marshes and coastal habitats provide vital benefits to our community, from supporting fisheries and recreation to buffering storm impacts and strengthening climate resilience. Protecting lands that contribute to these functions is a priority for NFLT.

One example is the Bull Family Preserve. This 217-acre property is primarily salt marsh, with small areas of hardwood forest, and provides important habitat for wading birds such as great blue herons, brown pelicans, and cormorants. Its tidal creeks and marshes also support federally listed species, including the West Indian manatee and the wood stork. Protecting the Bull Family Preserve not only conserves critical wildlife habitat, it also helps reduce flooding and storm surge for surrounding communities. You can read more about the preserve and the family behind it here.

Protecting places like the Bull Family Preserve is part of a broader, landscape-scale effort. NFLT is a lead partner in the South Atlantic Salt Marsh Initiative (SASMI), a regional coalition working to conserve more than one million acres of salt marsh across the southeastern United States. The NFLT team recently debuted the SASMI Florida State Implementation Plan, a strategic roadmap to protect salt marsh habitat and the migration corridors these ecosystems need to move inland as sea levels rise. Along Florida’s Atlantic coast, approximately 83,000 acres of salt marsh fringe estuaries from Daytona Beach northward. Protecting these sensitive environments is critical to safeguarding coastal communities from flooding and storm surge, improving water quality, and preserving essential habitat for fish, wildlife, and the economies that depend on them. You can see the SASMI Florida State Implementation Plan here.

Springs, Aquifer Recharge and Water Quality Improvement

Florida depends on its groundwater for drinking water and irrigation. One of the ways groundwater accumulates is through rainfall. The quality of the watershed and the soil through which the rainwater is filtered has a significant impact on the usability of the groundwater. The groundwater is also intimately connected to our surface waters which we as a community depend on for recreation, aesthetics, and other uses. NFLT works to protect those lands that contain and support the hydrology which sustains our way of life with a focus on 1st and 2nd Magnitude Springs, spring recharge areas, springs protection areas, High and Medium Aquifer Recharge areas, and surface waters on the National Rivers Inventory and wetlands for climate resiliency.

Working Lands

Food security is national security. Local agriculture is good for the economy and for the climate. Having our own woodshed, food supply, and fiber production in our backyards is critical to a sustainable way of life. NFLT works with landowners, agricultural producers, communities, and agencies to protect the lands that produce the goods we need.

Community Conservation

NFLT will work with local communities to preserve locally-important green spaces, access to passive recreation, and assist historically marginalized communities. NFLT will also work with communities within the seven counties it serves to acquire property that may not fit into any of the preceding PPAs. NFLT will work with willing landowners, willing funding partners, and enlist community support for projects that fit within this strategic priority area. One such example of this is Little NaNa Dune on Amelia Island. Little NaNa Dune is part of NaNa Dune, the tallest dune in Florida and a landmark in American Beach. You can read more about Little NaNa Dune here.