Hike Barr Hammock Preserve with CTF!

Join CTF and Terri Mashour of Gainesville Ecotours for some fun outings and hikes at the Barr Hammock Levy Prairie Preserve. FREE!

Location: Barr Hammock Preserve, SE 11th Dr, Micanopy, FL 32667 (map)
Difficulty: Easy
Cost: FREE
Sponsored by: Conservation Trust for Florida in partnership with Gainesville Ecotours

What to Bring: Wear long pants and closed-toed outdoor shoes that are ok to get dirty. Please bring water, and you may also want a hat, sunscreen, and a snack. There are no restrooms at this natural area.

Saturday February 15, 2014

2:00 PM – 3:30 PM

It is Valentine’s weekend! What better way to celebrate than on a date with your children in nature! Join us as we do an alphabet hike searching for natural items and wildlife that start with every letter in the alphabet as we do a short hike on the trail. Afterwards we will enjoy Valentine’s chocolates as a treat! We will hike about a mile, the path is not shaded, but is great for strollers and bicycles.

To Register for the February 15 hike click here. Register by 5:00 pm on February 14.

Saturday March 8, 2014

9:00 AM – 11:00 AM

It is spring and a perfect time to hike in Florida! Join Conservation Trust for Florida and Gainesville Ecotours as we hike the levee trail at Barr Hammock Preserve, just north of Micanopy! Enjoy a wetlands ecology talk as we search for wading birds and evidence of wildlife, enjoy some light exercise, and enjoy peace and quite of nature. Afterwards we will head over to Mosswood Farm Store in Micanopy to enjoy a pastry, included as part of the hike! We will hike about 3-4 miles, the path is not shaded, but is great for strollers and bicycles.

To Register for the March 8 hike click here. Register by 5:00 pm on March 7.

Monday March 17, 2014

4:00 PM – 6:00 PM

It is spring and a perfect time to hike in Florida! Join Conservation Trust for Florida and Gainesville Ecotours as we hike the levee trail at Barr Hammock Preserve, just north of Micanopy! Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day by viewing and searching for GREEN plants, GREEN frogs, and GREEN alligators! We will hike about 3-4 miles, the path is not shaded, but is great for strollers and bicycles. Afterwards we will enjoy a GREEN mint chocolate chip ice cream with a trip to Colleen’s Ice Cream Parlor and Cafe, included in the hike!

To Register for the March 17 hike click here. Register by 5:00 pm on March 16.

Sunday March 30, 2014

8:00 AM – 10:00 AM

It is spring in Florida-the best time to hike! Join us as we hike the Barr Hammock levee trail with a local Alachua Audubon birder! View wading birds, and learn general characteristics of how to identify birds. We will hike about 3-4 miles, the path is not shaded, but is easy hiking.

To Register for the March 30 hike click here. Register by 5:00 pm on March 29.

Thank You: Farm to Fork Gala 2013

Thank you to everyone for your generous support of the Conservation Trust for Florida’s Farm to Fork Gala at the Santa Fe River Ranch Sunday, October 27, 2013.Special thanks to Alan Hitchcock, owner of the Santa Fe River Ranch, for hosting the event!

Your support, whether it is through sponsorship, program ads or attendance, translates into protection of our beloved state’s natural, cultural and recreational resources.

Dr. and Mrs. K.C. And Marybeth Nayfield were presented with the 2013 Land Conservation Award for protecting their magnificent property near the Suwannee River. From left: Amy Stern, Cory Nayfield, Dr. and Mrs. K.C. And Marybeth Nayfield, and CTF President David Pais. Matt Dube’/Ten Speed Photography

CTF Hosts Continuing Legal Education Seminar

Conservation Trust for Florida, Inc.
Hosts Continuing Legal Education Seminar
Seminar sponsored by the USA Equestrian Trust.

Conservation Easements from All Angles: Issues and Strategies for Landowner Advisors

Topics covered included: Conservation Easement Basics, Tax Incentives, Resolving Family Issues, IRS Appraisal Requirements

Speakers
Zac E.W. Ryan, MAI (Lic. FL, GA, SC)
Heidi Horak, Esq. (Lic. FL, NY; FL Bd. Cert. Real Estate Law)
Keith R. Fountain, Conservation Advisors LLC

• Approved for 5.0 General CLE Credits #1303905N
• 3 Hours Meet MAI CE standards
• Courses on conservation easements qualified for technical business CPE credit for Florida CPAS.

Biographies of Presenters

Keith R. Fountain is a member of The Florida Bar with more than 20 years of combined experience with prominent conservation real estate programs and partnerships and real estate law.  He is currently the managing member of Conservation Advisors LLC, a consulting firm that provides non-legal services to landowners, real estate investors, and nonprofit organizations to implement land conservation projects, secure public and private conservation capital, and implement conservation business strategies.  Previously, Mr. Fountain spent almost 20 years with The Nature Conservancy, where he managed real estate programs protecting hundreds of thousands of acres, including more than 4,300 fee simple and conservation easement transactions valued at $671 million, in partnership with donors and government conservation programs.  After graduating from the University of Florida Levin College of Law in 1987, he practiced law with an emphasis on real property and land use law.

Brad Gould, Esq. CPA (Lic. FL, U.S. Tax Court), Dean Mead, Shareholder; Office: Fort Pierce. Mr. Gould practices in the area of federal income, estate, and gift tax law and business succession planning. He represents businesses and business owners in all types of business and tax matters, including choice of entity, mergers and acquisitions, reorganizations, and other general business matters. Mr. Gould represents individuals, businesses and fiduciaries before the Internal Revenue Service and also counsels clients on estate and wealth preservation planning matters. Additionally, he represents trustees, personal representatives and family members in controversies regarding wills, trusts and estates. Mr. Gould is a Certified Public Accountant.

Heidi Horak is a real estate and probate attorney who presents workshops for the Conservation Trust for Florida while maintaining an active real estate, probate, and land planning practice.  Originally from farming country in the Catskill Mountains of New York, she has been a member of the Florida Bar since 1990, and the New York Bar since 1997. She began her law career with Fowler, White in Tampa Florida and has been in solo practice since 1996 writing title insurance for Attorneys’ Title Insurance Fund and managing St. Pete Title, which closed sales and loans of every variety, from mobile homes to Fortune 100 company $100+ million dollar financing transactions. In 2012 she completed her LL.M. in Environmental and Land Use Law from the University of Florida Levin College of Law. She has taught in the areas of real estate, title insurance, mortgage law, debtor/creditor law, and estate planning. Ms. Horak received a B.S. from Union College in 1984 and a J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law in 1990, and has been Florida Bar Board Certified in Real Estate Law since 1997.

Zac E.W. Ryan is a member of the Appraisers Institute (MAI), licensed in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina, and heads Zac Ryan Appraisal Services, Inc. in Middleburg, Florida.  The Company provides a wide range of appraisal services and has extensive experience in valuing conservation easements.  Mr. Ryan has testified as an expert witness in IRS administrative hearings challenging conservation easement values, as well as valuing conservation easements for governments, NGOs, and private clients including Fortune 500 corporations, pension funds, and private individuals in 45 Florida counties. He has been practicing since 1983, and has appraised over 3 million vacant acres in Florida.  He is a leader in the field of appraising “less-than-fee.simple” transactions, and is frequently called upon to lecture on the subject; (as early as 1996 by the Southwest Florida Water Management District when the industry was in its infancy.)

Richard I. Withers, Esq. (Lic. FL), Dean Mead, Associate, Office: Gainesville. Mr. Withers practices in the Tax and Estate & Succession Planning department. He represents businesses and entrepreneurs in all types of business and tax matters, including choice of entity, mergers and acquisitions, reorganizations, and other general business matters. He also counsels clients in the areas of estate planning, business succession planning, probate and trust administration, and wealth preservation. He earned his Master of Laws in Taxation from the University of Florida in 2007.

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).

Barr Hammock Levy Prairie Reserve Grand Opening

The Grand Opening of the Barr Hammock Levy Prairie Preserve was a Grand Success! It was a gorgeous day and over 150 people attended the event on Saturday. Thank you to Ramesh Buch, Kelly McPherson and Sandra Vardaman of the Alachua County Forever program for all of their hard work in preparing for the opening of the preserve.

Cutting the Ribbon! Chris Bird, Alachua County Environmental Protection Director; Alachua Co. Commissioner Robert Hutchinson; Alachua Co. Commission Chair Mike Byerly; Alachua Co. Forever Program Manager Ramesh Buch; Alachua Co. Commissioner Lee Pinkoson, NRCS representative, and Interim Alachua Co. Manager Rick Drummond. Photo by Mark Sexton.

Overall, there are 5,719 acres to the preserve, making it the largest of the county’s conservation acquisitions. The majority of its landscape is marsh and wet prairie that is hydrologically tied to Paynes Prairie; all part of a larger greenway system that connects conservation areas together throughout Florida. The Barr Hammock Levy Prairie Preserve is part of the greenway that connects the Ocala National Forest to the Goethe State Forest. The Conservation Trust was a partner in the grant applications and has agreed to assist Alachua County with field trips and educational programs at the Preserve.Attendees at the Grand Opening learned all about the preserve at information exhibits and then went off on foot, bicycle, or on a hayride to see the lands and their flora and fauna firsthand.

Terri Mashour,  Gator Glob Nature Contributor, shared highlights from the event on-line: “The comissioners described the property and it’s karst characteristics, very thin limestone that allows rain water to seep directly into the Floridan Aquifer, our drinking water. They explained the greenway connection that Barr Hammock Preserve fills in, allowing linkages for our Florida black bears (YES! There are black bears in our county!), our deer, our birds to move about the area without being blocked by development. They explained the importance of the partnerships that gathered to find funding to purchase this great expanse of open space, in a time when funding for purchasing conservation lands is scarce.”Terri also operates Gainesville Ecotours, which hosted a hike during the event. Gainesville Ecotours will be working with CTF to bring 12 hikes to the public in the coming year. Thanks to Terri for sharing the photos from the event.

The grand opening was covered by TV 20. Watch the news clip here:
http://www.wcjb.com/local-news/2013/02/huge-addition-alachua-countys-public-lands-levy-prairie

The Gainesville Sun also covered the event too:
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20130131/ARTICLES/130139892
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20130202/ARTICLES/130209935

CTF Accredited by the Land Trust Alliance

On February 21, 2012 the Land Trust Accreditation Commission, an independent program of the Land Trust Alliance, announced that the Conservation Trust for Florida, Inc. was awarded accredited status.

“Accredited land trusts meet national quality standards for protecting important natural places and working lands forever,” said Commission Executive Director Tammara Van Ryn. “The accreditation seal lets the public know that the accredited land trust has undergone an extensive, external review of the governance and management of its organization and the systems and policies it uses to protect land.”

CTF is one of 158 land trusts from across the country that have been awarded accreditation since the fall of 2008. The seal is a mark of distinction in land conservation. Land trusts throughout the country have worked with willing landowners to save over 47 million acres of land.

“Receiving the ‘seal of approval’ from the Land Trust Accreditation Program has been a tremendous boost to the Conservation Trust for Florida and assures us that CTF is growing in the right direction. It’s inspiring to know that our hard work has been recognized, and that we have a firm foundation for future growth,” said Busy Kislig-Shires Byerly Assistant Executive Director.

Thank you to CTF’s Board of Directors for their commitment to permanent land conservation. 

Special thanks to CTF Staff Members Busy Kislig-Shires Byerly, Kristianna J. Lindgren, CTF Land Conservation Director, and former staff members Ellen Huntley Dube’, and Vicki Leslie Duncan for their help compiling all the information for the application.

Welcome New CTF Executive Committee & Board Members

At the Annual Meeting of the Board of Directors held at the Herlong Mansion B&B on January 28th, a new Executive Committee was elected.

Executive Committee

President: David Pais, Owner of Pais Realty and Pais Landscapes.

Vice-President: Ed Montgomery, Director, Real Estate Sales and Marketing for TerraPointe Services.

Treasurer: Nancy J. Peterson, Associate Director for Research and Services, Univ. of FL School of Forest Resources and Conservation.

Secretary: Stephen Nesbitt, Sandhill crane and eagle expert. Ornithologist and retired Biological Administrator for the Florida Wildlife Commission and member of the Whooping Crane Recovery Team.

Welcome New Board Members!

Mike Webster: Mike grew up in south Florida as a conservation ethic emerged from issues surrounding the Jetport, Big Cypress National Preserve, and Everglades System restoration. A northeast Florida resident since the late 1970s, Mike served on the Board of the Florida Wildlife Federation and witnessed the creation of Jennings State Forest and the related Ravines, Talbot Island State Park, Guana WMA/State Park, Northeast Florida Timberlands Reserve, and Osceola National Forest Pinhook addition. Mike has been involved with diverse local government growth management proceedings, and is the recipient of the City of Jacksonville Mimi and Lee Adams Environmental Award. A licensed Yacht Broker, he is an avid outdoorsman who enjoys and uses Florida’s public lands and waterways, and is a member of a hunting club.

Lee “Alex” Wheeler III: Alex is a Senior Accounting Manager at Bunting Tripp and Ingley LLP CPA’s in Lake Wales, Florida, where he specializes in not-for-profit organizations. He is a former Polk School Board member and city commissioner, and served five terms as mayor of Lake Wales. He is past president of Green Horizons Land Trust, Chairman and founding member of Lake Wales Free Clinic, Inc., treasurer of the Lake Wales Health Care Foundation, and was named 2010 Citizen of the Year. He is an avid SCUBA diver who enjoys camping and working with environmental causes.