North Florida Land Trust Set to Begin Work on Major Renovations to Stewardship Facility

Jacksonville, Fla., May 22, 2024 – North Florida Land Trust is set to begin work on its stewardship department headquarters with funding from an anonymous source. The gift will allow the department to improve the facility at the stewardship department headquarters, improve the roads surrounding the property, and create a greenhouse that will support the restoration and management of NFLT’s nature preserves.

“These renovations will be transformative for our land stewardship team and the work they do to restore and manage the 14,000 acres and counting that we have in our portfolio,” said Alison DeFoor, president of NFLT. “The investment in our stewardship program and its infrastructure allows our highly skilled team to be more efficient and allows them to manage and restore the land without relying on outside contractors. It saves money by allowing us to bring the work in-house so our donorship dollars can go to saving even more natural spaces.”

The creation of the greenhouse will enable NFLT to grow approximately 20,0000 plugs of various native plant species like wiregrass, blazing star, lopsided Indian grass, and prairie dropseed grass. With this in-house resource for plugs, the stewardship team can restore the continuity of various species throughout the habitats on NFLT preserves, which are important for wildlife such as gopher tortoises and the eastern indigo snake. The ability to cultivate these plugs will supplement the prescribed fire program used to manage the land, providing additional future cost savings for NFLT and allowing the organization to be more efficient in supporting the viability and growth of the ecosystems in its 26 preserves.

The improvements to the stewardship headquarters at Smith Lake Preserve in Clay County will help protect essential equipment that the nonprofit land conservation organization uses to execute its land management plan without the need to use outside contractors. NFLT can implement land management strategies using in-house resources to perform duties such as prescribed fire, exotic/invasive species removal, and repairing fences. The investment adds value to the stewardship facility, supports the overall health of the stewardship operations, and provides long-term sustainability for the facility.

About North Florida Land Trust

North Florida Land Trust is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to preserving and enhancing the quality of life by protecting North Florida's irreplaceable natural environment. Founded in 1999, NFLT has preserved tens of thousands of acres of land through the donation or purchase of land as well as conservation easements. NFLT is funded largely by private and corporate contributions and works closely with willing landowners and public agencies at all levels of government, not-for-profit partners, and foundations. For more information, visit nflt.org.