Alachua County Forever, the County’s environmental land acquisition program, has closed on the purchase of 75.77 acres from members of the Carr and McNab families. The closing was held on Friday, November 4, 2022, and represents the culmination of years of partnership by all parties. Funding for this acquisition was provided by the voter-approved Wild Spaces and Public Places one-half-cent sales tax.
Located southwest of Micanopy, this property falls in a critical location, identified as part of the Florida Ecological Greenways Network. This $749,030 purchase by Alachua County represents the first phase of a planned conservation corridor and Florida Forever Project linking Alachua County’s nearly 6,000-acre Barr Hammock Preserve, and the 962-acre Price’s Scrub State Park, managed by the Florida Park Service, in Marion County.
The property was part of the family land owned by famed Florida conservationists Archie Carr and Marjorie Harris Carr. Protection of the land through conservation sale to the Alachua County Forever program was the vision of the Carr family and Dr. Brian McNab. Protecting this property is one more piece of the conservation legacy established by the Carr family.
In the words of Marjorie Harris Carr, “I also believe that Floridians care about their environment. If they are educated about its perils, if they are never lied to, they will become stewards of the wild places that are left.”
Since County voters reauthorized Wild Spaces and Public Places in 2016, Alachua County Forever has protected an additional 13,480 acres. The program has protected 32,581 acres since its inception in 2000.
For more information, contact Land Conservation and Management Program Manager Andi Christman at 352-264-6803 or
achristman@alachuacounty.us.
