Notes from the Alachua Conservation Trust regarding the Santa Fe River and its protection. The ACT does more than any other organization to acquire land leases and purchases along the river for its conservation.
We are very fortunate to have the ACT. The executive director, Tom Kay, is also on the OSFR Board of Directors.
Comments by OSFR historian Jim Tatum.
jim.tatum@oursantaferiver.org
– A river is like a life: once taken,
it cannot be brought back © Jim Tatum
As 2025 draws to a close, we are steadily looking upstream at what’s ahead. In 2026, Alachua Conservation Trust will find itself focused on the ancient Santa Fe River—a river that remains, even now, one of Florida’s last truly wild and free-flowing waterways. For thousands of years, its dark waters have shaped the land, the wildlife, and the people who have moved quietly along its banks. In a rapidly developing region, the Santa Fe endures as a living reminder of what Florida has been—and what it can still be.
In the year ahead, ACT will focus on strategic conservation acquisitions along the Lower Santa Fe that will permanently protect critical stretches of riverfront, floodplain, and upland habitat. These efforts build on decades of conservation success and look toward a future where the river remains unbroken, accessible, and whole. More details will follow in the months ahead, but we wanted you—our supporters—to be among the first to know: in 2026, the Santa Fe will continue to be at the heart of our work.
Today, we’d like to share that ACT currently has two riverfront properties—totaling 60 acres and including two springs —under contract along the Lower Santa Fe. These initial acquisitions represent the first, achievable steps toward a much larger vision: a continuous stretch of conserved lands that will one day anchor the Lower Santa Fe River Paddling Trail. By helping us secure these properties now, you are helping lay the foundation for a protected river corridor—one that preserves wildness today while protecting and enhancing the river experience for future generations.
