On January 31, ACT and its partners at Alachua County Forever purchased 128 acres of conservation land along the upper Santa Fe River. The property is located on both sides of the river along with a bottomland hardwood forest and is in close proximity to two other properties under conservation easements held by either Alachua County or ACT.  What is especially unique about this property is that it is where the Santa Fe River transitions from small braids of water coming out of the swamps to the east into a distinct channelized, albeit narrow, river.

The Santa Fe River is an Outstanding Florida Waterway that flows for 75 miles through 7 counties in North Florida before merging into the Suwannee River. The Santa Fe River is a unique system, fed by hundreds of freshwater springs and home to a diversity of wildlife, some endemic only to this area. Protection of the Santa Fe River has been a top priority not only for ACT, but also many of our partners including Alachua County. Protecting land along the Santa Fe River from development not only safeguards North Florida’s drinking water supply, it also protects the water quality of the river itself and the springs that flow into it, and creates a corridor of land for wildlife to roam freely.

Preserving this property adds additional water resource protection along the river, restoration opportunities for longleaf pine habitat, continued management of the existing bottomland hardwood forest, and further expands conservation lands that will protect critical habitat from development.

Partnerships are often key when potential conservation land becomes available for purchase, especially when the property is located in multiple counties. ACT regularly works with Alachua County Forever to protect land within Alachua County as well as land that has an impact in the area on natural resources that exist throughout multiple counties. As part of this acquisition, ACT raised funds to protect 25 acres in Bradford County, while Alachua County Forever staff utilized funding from the recently renewed Wild Spaces & Public Places Program to acquire the remaining 103 acres located in Alachua County.

“ACT is thankful to our partners at Alachua County Forever for recognizing the importance of conserving land along the Santa Fe River,” said ACT executive director Tom Kay. “Being able to partner with local, state, and federal agencies helps leverage funding sources, such as the Wild Spaces & Public Places Program, with private funds to ensure that Florida’s natural lands and waterways are conserved forever. This acquisition moves us one step closer to protecting all of the remaining large tracts along the Santa Fe River and its tributaries – the key East West wildlife corridor in our region.”

Future plans for the property include longleaf pine habitat restoration and passive public recreation. Thank you to all those who helped make this conservation win for the Santa Fe River possible!