PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla. — North Florida Land Trust (NFLT) and the Putnam Land Conservancy (PLC), working with state and federal agencies, have permanently conserved 816.46 acres of land in Putnam County through a new conservation easement.
The $2,665,000 easement on a family-owned property called Meetinghouse Groves was funded through the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Rural and Family Lands Protection Program (RFLPP), which contributed $1,359,000, and the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service-Regional Conservation Partnership Program (NRCS/RCPP), which contributed $1,306,000.
PLC helped the landowner apply for state funding, while NFLT secured the federal funding source. The easement itself is held by the RFLPP.
“This is an example of a true partnership as we all came together to ensure this beautiful piece of property remains conserved land forever,” said Allison DeFoor, NFLT’s president and CEO.
Willy the Losen, PLC’s conservation director, said five partners — two funding sources, two land trusts and the landowner — worked together to protect the property for agriculture and the Florida Wildlife Corridor.
Meetinghouse Groves sits in southern Putnam County near Crescent City, within the Ocala National Forest to Osceola National Forest (O2O) wildlife corridor and adjacent to NFLT’s Welaka Woods Conservation Easement, between Lake Margaret and Silver Lake.
The property includes citrus groves, forested and non-forested wetlands, upland habitats and portions of three sandhill lakes. The easement blocks future development while allowing continued agricultural use.
The Padgett family has owned the land for four generations, since purchasing an 1876 home and 40 acres in the 1930s. Descendants still live in the updated original house.
The family’s holdings grew to more than 850 acres and today include about 100 acres of citrus groves, 15 acres of magnolia trees grown for floral arrangements, and roughly 100 acres of longleaf pine timberland.
The property was historically a community gathering place, once home to a building that served as a meeting house and schoolhouse — the source of its name. The structure no longer stands.
Family spokesman Jim Padgett said the family sees itself as steward of the land’s natural resources, including its woodlands, wetlands, lakes, ponds, open spaces, farmland and wildlife.
“We are proud Floridians and want to see this part of Old Florida preserved, without development, in perpetuity,” Padgett said, thanking Willy the Losen of PLC and Kim Hall of NFLT for their support.
The property adds to protected land within the O2O corridor, which spans 1.6 million acres of public and private land across 100 miles between the Ocala and Osceola national forests. NFLT leads the O2O Wildlife Corridor Partnership, a coalition working to protect and connect lands in the region.
>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<
[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]
[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.