By Peter Schorsch | Florida Politics
This preservation will benefit all people and all things wild through increased air quality, increased water quality and wildlife corridor continuity.
As growth and development accelerate in Levy County, the Florida Conservation Group (FCG) has secured the permanent protection of more than 7,300 acres of working forests and farmland through coordinated efforts with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ (FDACS) Rural and Family Lands Protection Program (RFLPP) and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) Florida Forever program.
FCG facilitated the conservation of more than 3,800 acres of working forests through the Florida Forever program, which prioritizes ecologically significant land. Another 3,500 acres of agricultural land were preserved through the RFLPP, a program focused on keeping ranches and farmlands in operation while preventing future development. Together, these conservation easements reflect how state land conservation programs can work in tandem to protect working lands in a region experiencing rapid growth.
“Programs like the RFLPP and Florida Forever are Florida’s most powerful tools to safeguard our working lands,” said Julie Morris, executive director of FCG. “These lands provide wildlife habitat, green space, and clean air, as well as protect our water resources and our food security. They keep Florida running, and if we don’t protect them now, we risk losing them to sprawl.”
Founded initially to protect Florida’s ranchlands, FCG expanded its mission to include working forests as landowners managing timberlands sought conservation assistance. Today, the organization works across both landscapes — ranches and forests — that are essential to Florida’s wildlife, water resources, and agricultural economy.
“With the reduced demand for timber products, there is a strong incentive for landowners to subdivide their property, resulting in fragmented habitat and a larger human footprint,” said Dr. T.R. Baxter, a landowner in Chiefland whose property was preserved through the Florida Forever program. “Thanks to the assistance of the Florida Conservation Group and the generosity of the people of Florida through Florida Forever, this tract of land will remain intact in perpetuity. This preservation will benefit all people and all things wild through increased air quality, increased water quality, and Wildlife Corridor continuity.”
In northern Florida, timberlands make up the bulk of the Wildlife Corridor, while private ranchlands dominate in the south.
Programs like Florida Forever and the RFLPP allow landowners to conserve their property in perpetuity without sacrificing operational productivity, conserving the natural systems that support Florida’s environment and communities.
“The unbelievable growth over the last decade has positioned this region as the next frontier, and if we’re going to preserve Florida’s rural lands, the time to act is now,” said Don Quincey, FCG Board member and owner of Quincey Cattle Beef in Chiefland. “Protecting rural landscapes safeguards critical wildlife habitat, natural resources, sustainable agriculture and the communities that depend on them. I’m grateful to Commissioner (Wilton) Simpson and state programs like the RFLPP and Florida Forever for their leadership in advancing conservation across rural Florida.”
Photos by Jen Guyton/Wildpath