Crooked Creek flowing south through an intact bottomland forest. Photo: Melissa Hill

• Status: Submitted to National Panel for acquisition grant award consideration for FY2027. Update: As of early April 2026, the President’s FY2027 Budget has been released and within it contains the proposed ranked list of Forest Legacy Program projects. Florida’s Creeks to Choctawhatchee River Timberlands project is ranked No. 19 out of 40. At this time, the project is not slated to win an FLP funding award for FY2027. View the complete ranked list of projects [ 169.6 kB ] as determined by the National Panel and upon Congressional approval at a later date.
• Acquisition Type and Location: Proposed fee simple acquisition in Walton County
• Acreage: 2,222
• Requested Forest Legacy Program Acquisition Funding: $2.84 million
• Creeks to Choctawhatchee River Timberlands, Florida, U.S. Forest Service Forest Legacy Project Brief

If awarded grant and acquired, this project would protect in perpetuity an area located in the heart of unprotected forested countryside in northern Walton County. A complex of 23 individual parcels stretches across the landscape between Eglin Air Force Base to the west approximately 8 miles away, Northwest Florida Water Management District conservation lands along the Choctawhatchee River a couple of miles to the east, and to the south another 3 miles away, a complex of conservation easements which form a linkage to Pine log State Forest. By initially conserving an anchor to serve as a center point from which to build, this project allows a longtime overlooked portion of the state to be permanently protected as woodland and forever thrive as a connection within the Florida Wildlife Corridor [ Adobe PDF Document ]. Once state-acquired and managed as part of Pine Log State Forest by FFS, the 2,222 acres housing longleaf pines and intact associated groundcover, active gopher tortoise burrows, seepage streams, and pitcher plants will be open for public access. The project will protect the water quality of the creeks that run through the property and drain to Bruce Creek, critical habitat for multiple federally threatened mussel species. All streams onsite ultimately drain to the Choctawhatchee River, 2 miles to the east, an Outstanding Florida Water and home to the state-designated Choctawhatchee River Paddling Trail. Partners include the Trust for Public Land and the Florida Forever Program.

Bird's-eye view looks west from Peace River across mesic flatwoods and hammock. Photo: Walt Bethel

• Status: Submitted to National Panel for acquisition grant award consideration for FY2027. Update: As of early April 2026, the President’s FY2027 Budget has been released and within it contains the proposed ranked list of Forest Legacy Program projects. View the complete ranked list of projects [ 169.6 kB ] as determined by the National Panel and upon Congressional approval at a later date. Florida’s Peace River Longleaf Pinelands project is currently ranked as the No. 3 project in the country, slated to receive the full FLP ask amount of $17.16 million. Only 11 projects from around the country and territories out of the 40 projects on the “Supplemental Project List” are set to be fully or partially funded to the tune of a total anticipated payout for project acquisition funding of $86.295 million. The total acquisition amount ask of the 40 projects for FY2027 is $192.69 million. Additionally: In light of the Florida Forever program funding changes during state fiscal year 2026-2027, project partners anticipate a pivot from the Florida Forever program funds administered through the Florida Department of Environmental Protection on behalf of the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund of the State of Florida, to the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) for the FLP-required 25% match acquisition funding and governmental entity title holder. The project is still on track for FFS management as part of the adjacent Peace River State Forest, once acquired by the SWFWMD.
• Acquisition Type and Location: Proposed fee simple acquisition in DeSoto County
• Acreage: 1,324
• Requested Forest Legacy Program Acquisition Funding: $17.16 million
• Peace River Longleaf Pinelands, Florida, USFS Forest Legacy Project Brief

If awarded grant and acquired by the state, this project would not only expand the Peace River State Forest to allow for more public access and greater opportunity for Operation Outdoor Freedom events, but it would also provide further protection to the Peace River, a drinking water source for over 1 million Floridians and the largest freshwater contributor to Charlotte Harbor, an estuary of National Significance and an Outstanding Florida Water. The property stretches northeastward from the Peace River State Forest up the river, buffering it from urban-related nutrients that cause algal blooms and from sedimentation from mining operations. Conservation of this landscape will permanently protect critical habitat of one of the world’s rarest bats, endangered and endemic to Florida, the Florida bonneted bat. It will also protect numerous state-listed species, including swallow-tailed kites and southern fox squirrels, which can be seen among the longleaf pinelands, hardwood hammocks, wet prairies and floodplain that create this wondrous environment. Partners include the Trust for Public Land and the Florida Forever Program.

• Status: Submitted to National Panel for acquisition grant award consideration for FY2025. FFS received the full $4.74 million grant award in September 2025, as the Washington Office made the determination to award the majority of unused programmatic acquisition monies to Florida. Project partner funding match of 25% in the amount of $1.58 million was awarded through the state’s Springs Restoration Grant Program in December 2025, as 100% of the project lies within the Wacissa Springs Group Priority Focal Area. The project is actively moving forward.
• Acquisition Type and Location: Proposed conservation easement in Jefferson County
• Acreage: Approximately 5,495 acres
• Requested Forest Legacy Funding: $4,740,000
• Avalon Woodland Ravines Project Brief 2025

• Status: Submitted to National Panel for acquisition grant award consideration for FY2024. No grant award received.
• Acquisition Type and Location: Proposed conservation easement acquisition in Jefferson County
• Acreage: Approximately 5,495 acres
• Requested Forest Legacy Acquisition Funding: $3,705,000
• Avalon Woodland Ravines Project Brief 2024 [ 7.8 MB ]

• Status: Submitted to National Panel for acquisition grant award consideration for FY2024. No grant award received.
• Acquisition Type and Location: Proposed conservation easement acquisition in Jefferson County
• Acreage: Approximately 3,680 acres
• Requested Forest Legacy Acquisition Funding: $11,040,000
• Rosewood Bluffs Project Brief 2024

Endangered sandhill habitat with intact wiregrass groundcover and longleaf pine. Photo: Keith Fountain

• Status: Submitted to National Panel for acquisition grant award consideration for FY2023. No grant award received.
• Acquisition Type and Location: Proposed fee simple acquisition in Marion County
• Acreage: Approximately 5,600 acres
• Requested Forest Legacy Acquisition Funding: $10 million 
• Rainbow Lakes Forest Sandhill Tract Project Brief 2023 [ 1.6 MB ]

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 FFS as part of Goethe State Forest and would be open for public access.

Partners include the U.S. Forest Service, DEP, Florida Springs Institute, Florida Springs Council, Rainbow River Conservation, and the Felburn Foundation.

Update:  The property was sold to a new landowner prior to FY2022 acquisition grant allocation, rendering the project no longer viable for conservation acquisition under the program.

Crested fringed orchid adapted to acidic seepage bog soils. Photo: Vernon Compton

• Status: Submitted to National Panel for acquisition grant award consideration for FY2023. Grant fully expended and closed.
• Acquisition Type and Location: Proposed fee simple acquisition in Santa Rosa County
• Acreage: Approximately 4,270 acres
• Requested Forest Legacy Program Acquisition Funding:  $9.155 million
• Wolfe Creek Forest Springwater Blueway Phase Project Brief 2023 [ 3 MB ]

This project submittal is similar to the Wolfe Creek Forest project submittal for FY2022, minus the approximately 3,595-acre portion that was purchased on June 29, 2022, as a reprogramming of the Welannee Watershed Forest award grant. The phase encompasses three separate tracts, Paddle Trail Tract, Ellis Creek Tract and Navy Greenway Tract. Included within the project are portions of Ellis Creek and Big Coldwater Creek. Big Coldwater Creek is 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 property, including red-cockaded woodpeckers, white-topped pitcher plants and the newly discovered bog dwarf salamander. According to the Florida Natural Areas Inventory, the area is a biodiversity hotspot.

Protection of these tracts 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 Phase would be managed by FFS as part of the Blackwater River State Forest and would be open for public access.

Partners include the U.S. Forest Service, the Trust for Public Land, the United States Navy, the Knobloch Foundation, EJK Foundation, and DEP.

Update: Wolfe Creek Forest — Springwater Blueway Phase is currently ranked as the No. 4 project in the country for FY2023, and FFS received $9.155 million in grant award funds in April 2023. The 1,487-acre Paddle Trail Tract closed on June 16, 2023. The 1,544-acre Ellis Creek Tract is projected to close as early as January 2024. Prior to FFS receiving the grant award funds, while Congress was still processing programmatic allocations, partners closed on the Navy Greenway Tract to keep the land from being sold to developers. Remaining grant funding is being used to acquire two inholdings in the project area on Blackwater River State Forest.

The approximately 102-acre Pridgen Tract, an inholding on the Paddle Trail Tract, now managed as part of Blackwater River State Forest, was purchased by the state of Florida utilizing funds from this grant award on August 14, 2024. Florida Forever provided an approximately 57% match on the purchase. The Pridgen Tract, which includes frontage on Big Coldwater Creek, a state-designated paddling trail, will now be managed in perpetuity by FFS as part of Blackwater River State Forest. The Trust for Public Land partnered with FFS on this important acquisition. The tract provides land managers integral access to portions of the State Forest that were previously challenging to access. The following image shows the location of the Pridgen Tract:

The approximately 41-acre Peaden Tract, about a mile due west of the previously Forest Legacy Program-funded Kingfisher 2022 Tract, and a privately held donut-hole parcel in Blackwater River State Forest, was acquired on August 19, 2024, using the remaining grant funds. This tract abuts Big Juniper Creek, part of the Florida National Scenic Trail and an Outstanding Florida Water. FFS Additions and Inholdings funding was used as the required 25% match. This tract will now be managed in perpetuity by FFS as part of Blackwater River State Forest. The following image shows the location of the Peaden Tract:

Earnest Mill Creek. Photo: The Longleaf Alliance

• Status: Submitted to National Panel for acquisition grant award consideration for FY2022. FFS did not receive this grant award; however, all lands contained within the project proposal were successfully acquired. FFS was able to present the National Panel with a project redesign proposal to use the Welannee Watershed Forest grant for Kingfisher 2022 Tract acquisition instead. The National Panel approved the modification, and FFS strategically used the Welannee grant and remaining FY2021 Wolfe Creek Forest grant money for purchase of the large central tract contained within this FY2022 project proposal.  The awarded FY2023 Wolfe Creek Forest — Springwater Blueway Phase project contained remaining portions of this project area, which were successfully purchased and conserved with the help of our various partners, including the Trust for Public Land, the U.S. Department of Defense, Naval Air Station Whiting Field, DEP, the Knobloch Family Foundation, and the EJK Family Foundation.
• Acquisition Type and Location: Proposed fee simple acquisition in Santa Rosa County
• Acreage: Approximately 7,868 acres
• Requested Forest Legacy Program Acquisition Funding:  $10.525 million
• Wolfe Creek Forest Springwater Blueway Project Brief 2022 [ 974.1 kB ]

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 FFS as part of the Blackwater River State Forest and would be open for public access.

Partners include the U.S. Forest Service, DEP, Santa Rosa County, the Trust for Public Land, and the United States Navy.

Lake in mid-morning sunlight

• Status: Submitted to National Panel for acquisition grant award consideration for FY2022. FFS did not receive this grant award. 
• Acquisition Type and Location: Proposed fee simple acquisition in Marion County
• Acreage: Approximately 5,600 acres
• Requested Forest Legacy Program Acquisition Funding:  $5 million
• Rainbow Lakes Forest Sandhill Tract Project Brief 2022 [ 1.7 MB ]

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 FFS as part of Goethe State Forest and would be open for public access.

Partners include the U.S. Forest Service, DEP, Florida Springs Institute, Florida Springs Council, Rainbow River Conservation, and the Felburn Foundation.

Pines. Photo: Lauren Day, The Conservation Fund

• Status: Submitted to National Panel for acquisition grant award consideration for FY2022. FFS did not receive this grant award.
• Acquisition Type and Location: Proposed fee simple acquisition in Santa Rosa County
• Acreage: Approximately 4,249 acres
• Requested Forest Legacy Program Acquisition Funding:  $4.475 million
• Gulf Coastal Longleaf Initiative Three Hollow Creek Tract Project Brief [ 6.8 MB ]

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, DEP, U.S. Department of the Navy, Santa Rosa County, The Longleaf Alliance, and The Conservation Fund.

Tupelo tree-lined ephemeral pond in the sunshine

• Status: Closed
• Acquisition Type and Location: Fee simple acquisition in Santa Rosa County
• Acreage: Approximately 1,700 acres
• Requested Forest Legacy Program Acquisition Funding:  $3.75 million
• Wolfe Creek Forest Tupelo Timberlands Tract Project Brief

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 FFS as part of the Blackwater River State Forest and would be open for public access.

Partners include the U.S. Forest Service, DEP, Santa Rosa County, the Trust for Public Land, and the United States Navy.

Update: FFS 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

• Status: Closed. The awarded grant was used for several of the project parcel acquisitions. DEP purchased several of the proposed project parcels without using the available Forest Legacy Program funds. One landowner, among the many involved in this highly complex and strategic project, ultimately decided to back away from selling the property to the state at that time. Therefore, the majority of the project landscape is successfully protected in perpetuity. Parcels on the east side of County Road 61 are now managed as part of Wakulla State Forest by FFS. The parcel on the west side of County Road 61 is now managed by the Florida Park Service as part of Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park.
• Acquisition Type and Location: Proposed fee simple acquisition in Wakulla County
• Acreage: Approximately 779 acres
• Requested Forest Legacy Program Acquisition Funding: $2.6 million
• Wakulla Caves Forest Phase 2 Legacy Tract Project Brief

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. 

FFS 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 DEP. 

Update: FFS closed on approximately 314 acres of this tract on July 27, 2022, and August 10, 2022.

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

• Status: FFS did not receive a grant award for this project.
• Acquisition Type and Location: Proposed conservation easement in Okaloosa County
• Acreage: Approximately 2,348 acres
• Requested Forest Legacy Program Acquisition Funding:  $2.6 million
• Welannee Watershed Forest West Tract Project Brief

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, DEP, and Conservation Florida.

FFS 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

• Status: Reprogrammed and closed
• Acquisition Type and Location: Proposed conservation easement in Okaloosa County
• Acreage: Approximately 2,817 acres
• Requested Forest Legacy Program Acquisition Funding:  $2.9 million
• Welannee Watershed Forest South Tract Project Brief

FFS 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, DEP, Conservation Florida, and Okaloosa County.

Update:  In 2021, the tract became no longer viable for state of Florida conservation easement purchase. In the winter of 2021, Forest Legacy Program officials and FY2020 National Panelists approved the reprogramming of the $2.9 million grant award for fee purchase of the Wolfe Creek Forest Kingfisher Tract 2022 property. The approximately 3,595-acre Kingfisher property had previously been part of the FY2022 Wolfe Creek Forest project submittal. The Kingfisher portion became increasingly threatened and would have succumbed to sale and development as small-acre lots intended for residential housing. However, partners including the Trust for Public Land, The Knobloch Foundation, EJK Foundation, and DEP scrambled to help FFS acquire the property in fee. The state of Florida closed on the property on June 29, 2022.  The 3,595-acre Kingfisher property is now managed by FFS as part of Blackwater River State Forest. 

The Welannee Reprogrammed to Kingfisher Map [ 1.6 MB ]  shows the proximity of the Welannee Watershed Forest project (shown in purple) and Kingfisher Timber Tract (shown in red) to Blackwater River State Forest (shown in green).

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

• Status: This grant was not awarded to FFS; however, the same proposal also submitted in FY2019 became awarded after the deadline for FY2020 project submittals due to an unforeseen federal government delay in awarding grants.
• Acquisition Type and Location: Conservation easement in Santa Rosa County
• Acreage: Approximately 4,962 acres
• Requested Forest Legacy Program Acquisition Funding: $4.5 million
• Gulf Coastal Longleaf Initiative Phase 3 Cold Water Tract Project Brief

FFS 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, DEP, and The Conservation Fund.

Note: This project was submitted for federal FY2019 award consideration, and then again for federal FY2020 consideration since the 2019 award list was not released prior to the deadline required for FY2020 submissions. 

Typical pine stand on the South Tract

• Status: Did not receive a grant award in FY2019.
• Acquisition Type and Location: Proposed conservation easement in Okaloosa County
• Acreage: Approximately 2,817 acres
• Requested Forest Legacy Program Acquisition Funding: $2.9 million
• Welannee Plantation Project Brief

This project did not receive a grant award for the federal FY2019 submittal. The project was subsequently renamed, submitted to the National Panel for FY2020, and awarded an acquisition grant for FY2020. See the Welannee Watershed Forest, South Tract, project description for more information.

Keystone Longleaf Preserve: Natural Bridge Creek during flood event

• Status: Closed
• Acquisition Type and Location: Fee simple acquisition in Walton County
• Acreage: Approximately 2,220 acres
• Requested Forest Legacy Program Acquisition Funding:  $2.3 million
• Keystone Longleaf Preserve Keystone and Spring Tracts Project Brief

FFS 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 FFS 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, DEP, and Conservation Florida.

Update: The property was sold to a new landowner after FFS submittal of the project to the FY2019 National Panel. FFS has engaged the new landowner and closed on the conservation easement across 1,955.37 acres on November 16, 2023. The Rural and Family Lands Protection Program (RFLPP) was the funding partner on the karst-feature-rich property. This is the first Legacy conservation easement in Florida, and the first joint Legacy/ RFLPP conservation easement in the state. Learn more about the Keystone Longleaf Preserve.

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

• Status: FFS received the grant award but was unable to realize the conservation easement, as the landowner ultimately decided not to sell the development rights to the state of Florida.
• Acquisition Type and Location: Conservation easement in Santa Rosa County
• Acreage: Approximately 4,962 acres
• Requested Forest Legacy Program Acquisition Funding:  $4.5 million
• Gulf Coastal Longleaf Initiative Phase 3 Coldwater Tract Project Brief

FFS 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, DEP, and The Conservation Fund.

Note: This project was submitted for federal FY2019 award consideration and then again for federal FY2020 consideration since the 2019 award list was not released prior to the deadline required for FY2020 submissions.

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

• Status: Closed
• Acquisition Type and Location: Fee simple acquisition in Wakulla County
• Acreage: Approximately 717 acres
• Requested Forest Legacy Program Acquisition Funding: $2.54 million
• Wakulla Caves Forest Caves Tract Project Brief

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 DEPs 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, DEP, and Conservation Florida.

FFS received $2.54 million in Forest Legacy Program acquisition funding in spring 2018 and financed 60 percent of the acquisition. FFS 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

• Status: Amended into "Gulf Coastal Longleaf Initiative ReDesign" together with Gulf Coastal Longleaf Initiative Phase 1; closed
• Acquisition Type and Location: Fee simple acquisition in Santa Rosa County
• Requested Forest Legacy Program Acquisition Funding: $3.25 million
• Acreage: Amended acreage is 2,100 acres; original acreage was 3,290 acres.
• Gulf Coastal Longleaf Initiative Phase 2 Original Project Brief
• Map Showing How the Gulf Coastal Longleaf Initiative Project Was Amended [ 10 MB ]

In spring 2018, FFS 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 FFS as part of Blackwater River State Forest and will be open for public access.

Partners include the U.S. Forest Service, DEP, and The Conservation Fund.

Update: FFS used 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 FFS for longleaf ecosystem restoration and public recreation.

View through timber stands on a balmy Florida afternoon

• Status: The acquisition grant was deobligated in October 2020.
• Acquisition Type and Location: Proposed conservation easement in Marion County
• Acreage: 5,347 acres
• Requested Forest Legacy Program Acquisition Funding: $3.5 million
• Silver Springs Watershed Project Brief

FFS 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, DEP, 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

• Status: Closed
• Acquisition Type and Location: Fee simple acquisition in Santa Rosa County
• Acreage: 2,071 acres
• Requested Forest Legacy Program Acquisition Funding: $2.8 million
• Wolfe Creek Springhill Tract Project Brief

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

FFS 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 FFS 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, DEP, and The Conservation Fund.

Typical pine canopy. Credit: Lauren Day

• Status: Amended and active
• Acquisition Type and Location: Fee simple acquisition in Santa Rosa County
• Acreage: 2,100 acres
• Requested Forest Legacy Program Acquisition Funding: $2.29 million
• Gulf Coastal Longleaf Initiative Phase 1 Original Project Brief
• Map Showing Area Approved for Acquisition [ 10 MB ]

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

FFS 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, DEP, and The Conservation Fund.

FY2016

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.

FY2015, 2014, 2013, 2012

Projects were either not funded or not submitted. 

FY2011

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

FY2010

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/FFS
• Status: Acquisition unsuccessful

FY2009

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

FY2008

Florida did not submit a project.

FY2007

Florida’s FY2007 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

FY2006

Project submissions were not funded.

FY2005

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