Florida Forest Legacy Program

Earnest Mill Creek. Photo: The Longleaf Alliance

This project would protect almost 8,000 acres of pine timberlands for restoration to the longleaf pine ecosystem that once dominated the landscape. Acquisition would also provide protection to a stretch of Big Coldwater Creek, a state-designated paddling trail that flows into Blackwater River, which provides critical habitat for the federally endangered Gulf sturgeon, and several other tributary creeks, all eventually flowing into the Yellow River Marsh Aquatic Preserve.

Many threatened species have been observed or are believed to exist on the site, including red-cockaded woodpeckers, white-topped pitcher plants and the newly discovered bog dwarf salamander. According to the Florida Natural Areas Inventory, the tract is a biodiversity hotspot.

Protection of this land would provide the U.S. Department of Defense with buffering to the Naval Air Station Whiting Field facility, precluding incompatible uses that could interfere with the military’s ability to perform essential training exercises.

Once acquired, the Springwater Blueway Tract would be managed by the Florida Forest Service as part of the Blackwater River State Forest and would be open for public access.

Partners include the U.S. Forest Service, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Santa Rosa County, The Trust for Public Land, and the United States Navy.

Lake in mid-morning sunlight

This project would protect approximately 5,600 acres of property adjacent to Goethe State Forest. The tract sits on the Brooksville Ridge and includes sandhill habitat teeming with rare and endemic species located in a rapidly developing region of the state. The tract contains a multitude of lakes, ponds and marshes and would support widespread longleaf pine restoration. 

Furthermore, protection of this land would provide recharge to both the Floridan Aquifer and Rainbow Springs Group basin, associated with famed Rainbow Springs, a first-magnitude spring located just over a mile to the east. 

Once acquired, the Sandhill Tract would be managed by the Florida Forest Service as part of Goethe State Forest and would be open for public access.

Partners include the U.S. Forest Service, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Florida Springs Institute, Florida Springs Council, Rainbow River Conservation, and the Felburn Foundation.

Pines. Photo: Lauren Day, The Conservation Fund

This project will protect, via purchase of a less-than-fee conservation easement, over 4,000 acres of mostly loblolly pine timberlands and stream areas. All pine areas will be restored and managed to a longleaf pine natural community once under easement.

Supporting partners include the U.S. Forest Service, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, U.S. Department of the Navy, Santa Rosa County, The Longleaf Alliance, and The Conservation Fund.

Tupelo tree-lined ephemeral pond in the sunshine

This project would protect almost 2,000 acres of pine timberlands for restoration to the longleaf pine ecosystem that once dominated the landscape. Acquisition would also provide protection to a stretch of Wolfe Creek, which flows into Big Coldwater Creek, a state-designated paddling trail.

Many threatened species have been observed or are believed to exist on the site, including red-cockaded woodpeckers, white-topped pitcher plants and the newly discovered bog dwarf salamander.

Furthermore, protection of this land would provide the U.S. Department of Defense with buffering to the Naval Air Station Whiting Field facility, precluding incompatible uses that could interfere with the military’s ability to perform essential training exercises.

Once acquired, the Tupelo Timberlands Tract would be managed by the Florida Forest Service as part of the Blackwater River State Forest and would be open for public access.

Partners include the U.S. Forest Service, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Santa Rosa County, The Trust for Public Land, and the United States Navy.

Update: The Florida Forest Service received $3.75 million in acquisition grant award money in May 2021. Approximately 1,700 acres became protected in perpetuity as part of the Blackwater River State Forest in July 2021 using the Forest Legacy Program award.

Legacy Tract pine forest on a sunny day

This property is a strategic connector piece among the Wakulla State Forest, Wakulla Springs State Park, and the Apalachicola National Forest mosaic of conservation lands, providing crucial linkage for black bears and other wildlife whose habitat has been reduced by suburban sprawl. This project would protect karst features open to the aquifer and approximately 800 acres of pine timberlands suitable for longleaf restoration in the watershed of one of the world's largest freshwater springs. 

The Florida Forest Service received $2.6 million in Forest Legacy Program acquisition grant award money in May 2021 for the fee simple purchase of 779 acres in Wakulla County. Staff and partners are currently working on the acquisition portion of the project.

Partners include the U.S. Forest Service and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. 

A view down the Yellow River from a cypress knee-lined area on the banks of the West Tract

This project would protect the remaining unprotected land on the western shore of the Yellow River, from the Welannee South Tract, which is currently pending grant receipt for acquisition, northward all the way up to the Alabama border. It would also protect an isolated piece of land on the east side of the Yellow River, which will connect to a third and final phase, East Tract, of this Welannee Watershed Forest acquisition project.

Partners include the U.S. Forest Service, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, and Conservation Florida.

The Florida Forest Service did not receive the requested acquisition grant award for this tract in 2021.

View down the Yellow River from the banks of Welannee Watershed Forest, South Tract

The Florida Forest Service received $2.9 million in Forest Legacy Program acquisition grant award money in spring 2020 for the purchase of a conservation easement.

This project will protect almost 3,000 acres of intact, healthy longleaf and loblolly pine habitat along both sides of the Yellow River as it makes its way to the Yellow River Marsh Aquatic Preserve. The Yellow River provides critical habitat to the federally threatened Gulf sturgeon, and the Welannee property is host to multiple state and federally endangered plants and animals, including white-topped pitcher plants, which are found in scattered bogs across the property.

Partners include the U.S. Forest Service, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Conservation Florida, and Okaloosa County.

Typical wiregrass groundcover on Coldwater Tract. Credit: Amanda O'Donoughue

The Florida Forest Service received $4.21 million in Forest Legacy Program acquisition grant award money in fall 2019 to administer the less-than-fee purchase of a conservation easement.

This project will protect via conservation easement almost 4,000 acres of slash, loblolly and longleaf pine timberlands, and almost 1,000 acres of surface water stream areas. All slash and loblolly pine areas will be restored to a longleaf pine natural community.

Partners include the U.S. Forest Service, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, and The Conservation Fund.

Note: This project was submitted for federal FY 2019 award consideration, and then again for federal FY 2020 consideration since the 2019 award list was not released prior to the deadline required for FY 2020 submissions. 

Typical pine stand on the South Tract

This project did not receive a grant award for the federal FY 2019 submittal. The project was subsequently renamed, submitted to the National Panel for FY 2020, and awarded an acquisition grant for FY 2020. See the Welannee Watershed Forest, South Tract, project description for more information.

Keystone Longleaf Preserve: Natural Bridge Creek during flood event

The Florida Forest Service received $2.3 million in Forest Legacy Program acquisition grant award money in July 2019 for the fee simple purchase of 2,220 acres in Walton County.

This purchase will be managed by the Florida Forest Service as a new state forest. Walton County will manage a smaller 93-acre portion as a county park.

This project will protect an exemplary representation of a natural limestone formation; a second-magnitude, aquifer-fed spring; and a very well-managed longleaf pine habitat flourishing with biodiversity, including rare carnivorous plants.

Partners include the U.S. Forest Service, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, and Conservation Florida.

Typical wiregrass groundcover on Coldwater Tract. Credit: Amanda O'Donoughue

The Florida Forest Service received $4.21 million in Forest Legacy Program acquisition grant award money in fall 2019 for the purchase of a conservation easement.

This project will protect almost 4,000 acres of slash, loblolly and longleaf pine timberlands, and almost 1,000 acres of surface water stream areas. All slash and loblolly pine areas will be restored to longleaf pine.

Partners include the U.S. Forest Service, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, and The Conservation Fund.

Note: This project was submitted for federal FY 2019 award consideration and then again for federal FY 2020 consideration since the 2019 award list was not released prior to the deadline required for FY 2020 submissions.

Early morning light among the pine trees at named karst feature “Blue” on the Caves Tract

This project has been acquired and is now owned by the Board of Trustees of the state of Florida. The Wakulla Caves Forest, Caves Tract, is now managed by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's Division of Recreation and Parks as part of the world-famous Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park, home of the world's largest and deepest freshwater springs.

Partners in this long-sought acquisition include the U.S. Forest Service, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, and Conservation Florida.

The Florida Forest Service received $2.54 million in Forest Legacy Program acquisition funding in spring 2018 and financed 60 percent of the acquisition. The Florida Forest Service partnered with the state's Florida Forever Program, which funded the remaining 40 percent of the acquisition, and Conservation Florida representatives collaborated with the seller to reach negotiated agreement.

The project successfully closed in November 2019.

Representative scene of a planted pine forest. Credit: Amanda O’Donoughue

In spring 2018, the Florida Forest Service received a $2.3 million grant award affiliated with the originally submitted Phase 2 conservation easement tract.

This acquisition grant was modified with federal approval by National Panel members and Forest Legacy Program leaders in fall 2019. The grant award will now be used along with the Gulf Coastal Longleaf Initiative Phase 1 acquisition grant to purchase the eastern portion of the originally slated Phase 2 conservation easement site as fee simple. Once acquired, the purchase will be managed by the Florida Forest Service as part of Blackwater River State Forest and will be open for public access.

Partners include the U.S. Forest Service, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, and The Conservation Fund.

Update: The Florida Forest Service utilized the combined total of $4.59 million in Forest Legacy Program acquisition grant awards (Gulf Coastal Longleaf Initiative Phase 1 and Phase 2) to acquire approximately 2,115 acres on September 29, 2021. These 2,115 acres are protected in perpetuity as part of the Blackwater River State Forest and are managed by the Florida Forest Service for longleaf ecosystem restoration and public recreation.

View through timber stands on a balmy Florida afternoon

The Florida Forest Service received $3.5 million in Forest Legacy Program acquisition funding in spring 2017 for the purchase of a conservation easement.

This project will protect over 5,000 acres of managed pine timber in the watershed containing the country’s second largest freshwater springs group, as well as one of the four aquatic preserves in the state, Ocklawaha River Aquatic Preserve.

Partners include the U.S. Forest Service, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, and Conservation Florida.

View looking up Big Coldwater Creek, a state-designated paddling trail, from sand spit with lone log, just off the banks of the Springhill Tract

This project has been acquired and is now owned by the state of Florida. These 2,071 acres are now open to the public.

The Florida Forest Service received the Forest Legacy Program acquisition grant award of $2.8 million in spring 2017. Santa Rosa County used Forest Legacy Program funding and Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration money to purchase the land from The Trust for Public Land and subsequently donate the site to the state of Florida.

Wolfe Creek Forest, Springhill Tract, is managed by the Florida Forest Service as part of Blackwater River State Forest.

The project protects productive commercial pine timberlands for potential longleaf restoration and precludes land use conflicts for military training and operations at nearby U.S. Department of Defense military installations.

Partners include the U.S. Forest Service, The Trust for Public Land, the United States Navy, Santa Rosa County, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, and The Conservation Fund.

Typical pine canopy. Credit: Lauren Day

This acquisition grant was modified with federal approval by National Panel members and Forest Legacy Program leaders in fall 2019.  

The Florida Forest Service received $2.29 million in Forest Legacy Program acquisition funding in spring 2017. The acquisition grant award will be used jointly with the Gulf Coastal Longleaf Initiative Phase 2 acquisition grant award for the fee simple purchase of a 2,100-acre area southwest and immediately adjacent to Blackwater River State Forest.

This project would protect over 2,000 acres of managed pine timber in the panhandle of Florida and would be part of a larger multi-state effort to restore longleaf pine on over 100,000 acres in the southeastern United States.

Partners include the U.S. Forest Service, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, and The Conservation Fund.

FY 2016

Three projects were submitted: Natural Bridge Longleaf Preserve [ 1.3 MB ] , Silver Springs Watershed, and Wolfe Creek Forest. One project, Silver Springs Watershed, was funded.

FY 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012

Projects were either not funded or not submitted. 

FY 2011

Two projects were submitted, and one project, Northeast Florida Timberlands, was funded.

Northeast Florida Timberlands:

• Forest Legacy Program Funding: $3.5 million
• Project Sponsor: City of Jacksonville
• Status: Closed May 2013

FY 2010

Three projects were submitted, and one project, St. Vincent Sound to Lake Wimico Ecosystem, was funded.

St. Vincent Sound to Lake Wimico Ecosystem:

• Forest Legacy Program Funding: $2.5 million
• Project Sponsor: State of Florida/Florida Forest Service
• Status: Acquisition unsuccessful

FY 2009

Two projects were submitted, but neither was funded. The Florida Forest Legacy Program Coordinator served on the National Ranking Panel.

FY 2008

Florida did not submit a project.

FY 2007

Florida’s FY 2007 Forest Legacy project was the first project in the nation to bring together Forest Legacy and the U.S. Department of Defense’s Readiness and Environmental Protection Initiative (REPI). This fee simple purchase is a significant buffer along the eastern boundary of Camp Blanding. The Forest Legacy Program helped fund 3,071 acres, with REPI funding the remaining 425 acres. 

Northeast Florida Timberlands Bull Creek:

• Forest Legacy Program Funding: $2.25 million
• Project Sponsor: St. Johns River Water Management District
• Status: Closed August 2007

FY 2006

Project submissions were not funded.

FY 2005

Newnan’s Lake — Rayonier (2,420 acres) :

• Forest Legacy Program Funding: $493,000
• Project Sponsor: St. Johns River Water Management District
• Status: Closed June 2005