North Florida Land Trust (NFLT) recently delivered its annual report to the community and announced an increase in the organization’s conservation of natural lands.
The nonprofit land conservation organization had a record year in 2018, spending approximately $18 million to conserve more than 6,100 acres of land throughout North Florida.
“We are very lucky to have such a great partnership with Camp Blanding and the Army National Guard, who provided more than $15 million dollars in 2018 for land conservation surrounding Camp Blanding and within the O2O wildlife corridor,” said Jim McCarthy, president of NFLT and a resident of Ponte Vedra. “Money from donors and at the local, state and federal level helped us reach some historic acquisitions in 2018; the largest conservation easements to date and the largest uplands acquisition to date. We were also able to acquire two square miles of the Floridan aquifer recharge area, which is beneficial to everyone because the Floridan aquifer provides fresh water to more than 90 percent of Floridians.”
In 2018, NFLT focused on preserving land within the Ocala to Osceola, or O2O, wildlife corridor that stretches from the Ocala National Forest to the Osceola National Forest. According to NFLT, it provides important habitat for the Florida Black Bear and numerous endangered species, including the red-cockaded woodpecker, indigo snake and gopher tortoises.
NFLT is currently leading two conservation programs within the O2O: the Regional Conservation Partnership Program with the Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Army Compatible Use Buffer partnership with the Florida National Guard, which operates Camp Blanding. The 80,000-acre Camp Blanding Joint Training Center is central to the O2O landscape and partnership.
NFLT received the 2018 Environmental Stewardship Award from the Northeast Florida Regional Council for their work within the O2O. The award is given to an organization that focuses on long-term protection, conservation and enhancement of Northeast Florida’s natural resources.
NFLT was also accredited in 2018 by the Land Trust Accreditation Commission, an independent program by the Land Trust Alliance. The national recognition placed NFLT within a network of 398 accredited land trusts across the nation that have demonstrated a commitment to professional excellence and to maintaining the public’s trust in their work.
In addition, NFLT was recognized in 2018 for the work the organization did to protect and preserve the 1898 Spanish American War Fort. NFLT received the Historic Preservation Award from the Jacksonville Historic Preservation Commission and the 2018 Florida Preservation Organizational Achievement Award from the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation. NFLT officially handed over the military battery to the National Park Service in December.
At the annual meeting, NFLT also recognized several people including new members of the McQuilkin Society, which honors major donors to the land conservation organization and was named for NFLT Founder Bill McQuilkin. Recognized at the meeting for their major donations were Ashley Dopf, Tom Dumas, Dr. Todd Sack, Dr. Barbara Sharp, Lila Elliot, Susan Edelman (on behalf of the Delores Barr Weaver Fund) and Matt and Sean McGarvey (on behalf of their father, Jay McGarvey). NFLT also recognized Camp Blanding Joint Training Center with the 2018 Partners Award and presented the Volunteer of the Year award to Sharron Fehrle and Tim Campbell.
For more information on NFLT, visit www.northfloridalandtrust.org.
