Alachua Conservation Trust Incorporated

THE MISSION OF ALACHUA CONSERVATION TRUST (ACT) IS TO PROTECT THE NATURAL, HISTORIC, SCENIC AND RECREATIONAL RESOURCES IN AND AROUND ALACHUA COUNTY, FLORIDA. ACT PROTECTS LAND THROUGH PURCHASE, DONATION, AND CONSERVATION EASEMENTS.

LAND PROTECTION: IN 2023, ACT CONTINUED ITS ROBUST LAND PROTECTION EFFORTS. IN JANUARY 2023, ACT IN PARTNERSHIP WITH ALACHUA COUNTY PURCHASED 128 ACRES IN ALACHUA AND BRADFORD COUNTIES AT THE HEADWATERS OF THE SANTA FE RIVER. IN MARCH, ACT ACCEPTED A DONATED CONSERVATION EASEMENT ON 51 ACRES IN MARION COUNTY NEAR ORANGE SPRINGS. ALSO IN MARCH, ACT ACQUIRED 86 ACRES ADJACENT TO ACT'S ORANGE LAKE OVERLOOK PRESERVE IN NORTHERN MARION COUNTY. THIS TRACT WILL BECOME OPEN TO PUBLIC RECREATIONAL USE IN EARLY 2025. ACT FACILITATED THE ACQUISITION OF THE 111-ACRE GREEN TRUST PROPERTY IN MARION COUNTY BY THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION (DEP) TO EXPAND PRICE'S SCRUB STATE PARK. IN JUNE 2023, ACT RECEIVED A DONATED CONSERVATION EASEMENT ON OVER 100 ACRES IN GILCHRIST COUNTY THAT HAS BEEN IN ACTIVE LONGLEAF PINE FOREST RESTORATION FOR OVER 30 YEARS. IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE US DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE (USDA) NATURAL RESOURCE CONSERVATION SERVICE (NRCS), ACT ACQUIRED A CONSERVAITON EASEMENT ON 190 ACRES IN NORTHERN LEVY COUNTY BETWEEN WATERMELON POND AND GOETHE STATE FOREST USING FUNDING FROM THE AGRICULTURAL CONSERVATION EASEMENT PROGRAM (ACEP). IN OCTOBER 2023, ACT RECEIVED A DONATED CONSERVATION EASEMENT ON 73 ACRES OF AGRICULTURAL LANDS IN SOUTHWEST MARION COUNT IN THE RAINBOW SPRINGS SPRINGSHED. ADDITIONALLY, IN OCTOBER, ACT IN PARTNERSHIP WITH ALACHUA COUNTY PURCHASED 323 ACRES IN WALDO ON LAKE ALTO THAT WILL BE OPEN TO PASSIVE PUBLIC RECREATION IN THE FUTURE. AT THE END OF 2023, ACT TOOK OWNERSHIP OF THE ESRIG RESIDENCE IN GAINESVILLE, WHICH WILL HAVE A NEIGHBORHOOD POCKET PARK AND ULTIMATLEY ALSO SERVE AS ACT'S IN TOWN OFFICE & MEETING SPACE. THE POCKET PARK WITH POLLINATOR GARDENS AND A WALKING PATH WILL BE OFFICIALLY OPEN FOR PUBLIC USE IN NOVEMBER 2024. ACT CONTINUED ITS OUTREACH IN 2023 TO AGRICULTURAL LANDOWNERS TO PLACE CONSERVATION EASEMENTS ON FARMS LOCATED IN THE FARMLAND PRESERVATION AREA IN MARION COUNTY AS WELL AS IN THE GREATER NORTH CENTRAL FLORIDA REGION. ACT ALSO CONTINUED ITS PARTNERSHIP WITH ALACHUA COUNTY TO PROVIDE LAND ACQUISITION NEGOTIATION SERVICES UTILIZING SALES TAX REVENUE THROUGH THE WILD SPACES & PUBLIC PLACES (WSPP) PROGRAM WITH THE SHARED GOAL TO PROTECT AS MUCH OF THE REMAINING ENVIRONMENTALLY SENSITIVE LANDS IN THE COUNTY AS POSSIBLE.

PROPERTY MANAGEMENT: ACT ACTIVELY MANAGES FOURTEEN MAJOR PRESERVES ALONG WITH SEVERAL SMALLER CONSERVATION PROPERTIES ACROSS NORTH CENTRAL FLORIDA. ACT'S LAND MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES INCLUDE FOREST, GROUNDCOVER, AND WETLANDS RESTORATION, CREATING AND MAINTAINING PUBLIC TRAILS AND INFORMATIONAL KIOSKS, THE APPLICATION OF PRESCRIBED FIRE, AND EXOTIC PLANT SPECIES CONTROL. ACT BENEFITS FROM THE USE OF VOLUNTEERS FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA, SANTA FE COLLEGE, COLLEGE OF CENTRAL FLORIDA, EMORY UNIVERSITY ALUMNI, LOCAL BUSINESSES, AND THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE TO HELP COMPLETE THESE MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES ALONGSIDE STAFF. IN 2023, ACT'S WOMEN IN THE WOODS RESOURCE MANAGEMENT INTERNSHIP PROGRAM, WHICH IS SPECIFICALLY TAILORED FOR YOUNG WOMEN (BUT ALSO INCLUDES YOUNG MEN) IN AN EFFORT TO IMPROVE THEIR HIRING PROSPECTS IN THIS TRADITIONALLY MALE ORIENTED CONSERVATION CAREER PATH, SERVED NEARLY THREE DOZEN YOUNG WOMEN AND YOUNG MEN OVER THE SPRING, SUMMER, AND FALL SEMESTERS. IN TOTAL, THE PROGRAM HAS SERVED MORE THAN 70 YOUNG WOMEN AND MEN SINCE IT BEGAN IN 2017. IN TOTAL, INTERNS AND VOLUNTEERS CONTRIBUTED MORE THAN 5,800 HOURS OF SERVICE TO THE ORGANIZATION. THE ANNUAL TREE FEST EVENT ORGANIZED BY SWAMP HEAD BREWERY & SOLAR IMPACT, INC. RAISED ADDITIONAL FUNDS IN 2023 TO PLANT 111,737 TREES AT ACT'S LITTLE ORANGE CREEK PRESERVE. ACT UTILIZED PRESCRIBED FIRES TO BURN HUNDREDS OF ACRES IN FURTHERANCE OF ITS LONG-TERM HABITAT RESTORATION GOALS, AND INSTALLED ADDITIONAL ADA AACCESSIBLE TRAILS & BOARDWALKS AT SEVERAL ACT PRESERVES AS WELL AS OTHER AMENITIES TO ENHANCE RECREATIONAL ENJOYMENT FOR THE GENERAL PUBLIC FROM ALL ACROSS NORTH CENTRAL FLORIDA.

EDUCATION AND OUTREACH: ACT WAS ABLE TO HOST NUMEROUS EDUCATIONAL AND OUTREACH WORKSHOPS AT ITS PRESERVES. THOSE EVENTS FOCUSED ON VOLUNTEER ENGAGEMENT, PRESERVE CLEAN-UPS AND CONSERVATION ACTIVITIES TO SUPPORT THE ORGANIZATION'S MISSION AND GOALS. ACT HAS FULLY RESUMED HOSTING MANY OF ITS EDUCATIONAL EVENTS ABOUT CONSERVATION, WILDLIFE, AND RELATED TOPICS IN PERSON. FOR MANY OF THESE, ACT PARTNERED WITH STATE AND LOCAL AGENCIES, INDIVIDUALS, AND OTHER LOCAL NONPROFITS. ACT HOSTED SEVERAL OUTDOOR PADDLING OUTREACH EVENTS ON THE SANTA FE RIVER AND TUSCAWILLA PRAIRIE. THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, ACT CONTINUED ITS TRADITIONAL OUTREACH VIA ITS PRINT NEWSLETTER, THE GAZETTEER, AND MAINTAINED A COMPREHENSIVE WEBSITE, WHICH WAS UPDATED REGULARLY THROUGHOUT 2023. ACT ALSO RELIED HEAVILY ON ITS SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS AND REGULAR MONTHLY EMAILED NEWSLETTER, FIELD NOTES, TO PROVIDE EDUCATIONAL CONTENT TO THE PUBLIC AND PROMOTE ACTS MISSION AND WORK. THESE CHANNELS REACHED OVER 10,000 SUBSCRIBERS IN 2023 ON SUCH TOPICS AS ECOLOGY, WILDLIFE, CLIMATE RESILIENCY, ORGANIZATIONAL ACTIVITIES, STAFF NOTES FROM THE FIELD, NATURAL HISTORY, AND OPPORTUNTIITES & TOOLS FOR LANDOWNERS TO CONSERVE THEIR LAND. ACT HOSTED THE ANNUAL CONSERVATION STEWARDS AWARDS EVENT, WHICH WAS ATTENDED BY 550 PEOPLE AT ACT'S PRAIRIE CREEK LODGE.