Another Successful Partnership

Conservation Trust for Florida (CTF) and Alachua Conservation Trust (ACT) with help from other partners associated with the North Florida Wetlands Conservation Project (NFWCP) closed on an important 390-acre addition to the 1,900-acre complex of conservation lands known as Little Orange Creek Preserve early in 2013. CTF, ACT, the Putnam Land Conservancy (PLC), and the City of Hawthorne are members of the Little Orange Creek Partners Land Management Committee.The new acquisition will add high quality freshwater marshes in a core part of Fowler’s Prairie to the existing network of protected wetlands and uplands along the Alachua-Putnam county border. The purchase was made possible with federal funds from the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA), and represents another successful partnership of the NFWCP to apply this funding source in the region.

What is the NFWCP?

The North Florida Wetlands Conservation Project (NFWCP) is a collaborative effort between multiple agencies and non-profit organizations to protect an extensive network of freshwater wetlands in north central Florida that provide important habitat for migratory birds along the Atlantic Flyway. To date, more than 8000-acres have been protected in the first four phases of the NFWCP, which will complement tens of thousands of acres of nearby conservation lands, including Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park (~21,000 acres), Lochloosa Wildlife Conservation Area (~28,000 acres), and others. Previous NFWCP phases include: Kanapaha Prairie Preserve, Tuscawilla Preserve, Barr Hammock Preserve, Levy Lake/Whitehurst tract, and Little Orange Creek Preserve (western part).