Alachua Conservation Trust (ACT) recently protected 185 acres of a historic family farm in Columbia County through a new conservation easement designed to preserve natural resources, agricultural heritage, and wildlife habitat near O’Leno State Park and Ichetucknee Springs State Park.
The acquisition of the conservation easement was made possible through ACT’s Surface to Springs Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) in partnership with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), along with private funding support from the River Branch Foundation.
The easement supports the landowner’s long-term vision of preserving the property’s family legacy while dedicating the land’s future to agricultural, recreational, and conservation uses.
The property, known as the Eikel Farm, features upland pine habitat, remnants of a former tree nursery, and significant natural water resources, including Hammock Branch Creek along the northeast corner of the property. Majestic live oak canopies line the northern boundary, while an additional wet-weather creek flows along the western edge during periods of heavy rainfall.
To strengthen the ecological health of the landscape, the landowner plans to continue implementing conservation management strategies, including prescribed burning and longleaf pine restoration to promote biodiversity and sustain native ecosystems.
“My great-grandmother and her son came to Columbia County in the late 1800s and homesteaded this property, and a title search showed that the king of Spain was the previous owner,” said landowner Carl Allison in the release. “My relatives built a house and farmed vegetables, selling them in High Springs at one time. The old pitcher pump well is still there. Over the years, my grandfather, my mother and I planted and harvested timber on the property. I now manage it with prescribed burning and planting longleaf pines.”
The conservation easement will help prevent high-impact development that could negatively affect nearby water resources, including the Ichetucknee River and its freshwater springs. The agreement also supports low-intensity agricultural uses that reduce water-quality impacts within the Santa Fe River Basin while restoring upland pine forest and grassland habitat for native wildlife.
Wildlife observed on the property includes turkey, deer, fox squirrel, wood duck, Eastern indigo snake, gopher tortoise, rattlesnake, and the occasional Florida panther.
ACT developed the Surface to Springs project to encourage farmers and landowners to conserve water, soil, and wildlife habitat through conservation easements and sustainable land-management practices such as prescribed burning, cover cropping, and habitat restoration.
To date, the Surface to Springs initiative has distributed a combined total of $777,828 to 21 farmers for environmental protection and restoration efforts. The program is also expected to permanently protect 3,261 acres of land through conservation easements across the project area.