
The Alachua Conservation Trust (ACT) recently facilitated a sale for the permanent protection of over 1,600 acres within the Ocala to Osceola Wildlife Corridor (O2O) in Columbia County.
The sale was facilitated in collaboration with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and other partners through the Florida Forever Program, the state’s land acquisition program. The transaction will enhance wildlife habitat, protect wetlands and contribute to the preservation of key conservation corridors in the state, according to an ACT release.
The 1,620 acres of property, owned by the Lord family, is located on the east side of the Suwannee River around 30 miles north of Lake City. The land will link conservation lands along the Suwannee River and the Pinhook Swamp conservation area, which borders the Osceola National Forest.
The property will contribute to protecting the O2O Corridor, a linkage of the Florida Wildlife Corridor comprised of over 18 million acres, designed as a high conservation priority by the Florida Legislature. The O2O Corridor is one of the state’s top conservation priority areas, with more than $400 million appropriated toward land protection in the state’s 2023 budget.
“This project is a testament to the vital role that partnerships play in supporting the connection of wildlife corridors and preserving what’s left of wild Florida,” said Tom Kay, ACT executive director, in the press release. “It is also one of the largest recent state acquisitions in the O2O.”
The Lord property includes forested wetlands that connect the Sandlin Bay wetland system with the Upper Suwannee River. The property is intermixed with smaller areas of pine plantation and natural pine forest. Protection of this wetland system will help maintain water flows to the Suwannee River and the Okefenokee Swamp.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) will manage the acquisition as a new Wildlife Management Area. The Lord property is part of the 183,000-acre Pinhook Swamp Florida Forever project area in North Florida that links the Osceola National Forest, Okefenokee Swamp and the Suwannee River. The undeveloped tract provides habitat for wild turkey, Florida black bear and white-tail deer and will eventually be open to the public for wildlife-based recreation.