Alachua County Forever, the county’s environmental land acquisition program, has closed on the purchase of 289 acres from the Khanh Dinh Trust, in partnership with Alachua Conservation Trust. The closing was held on Tuesday, October 31, 2023, and was the culmination of two decades of commitment to protecting this significant property on the shore of Lake Alto. Funding for this $420,000 conservation land purchase was provided by the voter-approved Wild Spaces and Public Places sales tax, and private donors.
Protection of this special property is one of many legacies of a remarkable man, Mr. Khanh Dinh, who dedicated his life to making the world a better place. As shared by his family, “Dad dearly appreciated the beauty of nature, and was far ahead of his time in his efforts to conserve the earth and its resources. His first company, founded in the early 1980's, focused on harnessing the thermal and electrical powers of solar energy. During his career, he developed other technologies to enhance energy efficiency in residential and commercial climate control systems. He would be thrilled that these beautiful lands will be preserved in their natural state for the benefit of all.”
Through this partnership, Alachua Conservation Trust acquired three parcels, totaling 12 acres, and Alachua County acquired two parcels totaling 277 acres, between the City of Waldo and Lake Alto. This property protects one half of a mile of the lakeshore of Lake Alto and is part of the watershed of the Santa Fe River. The Dinh property also falls within the Florida Wildlife Corridor, a statewide landscape corridor identified as critical to the protection of remaining wildlife habitats in Florida. Management of the property will focus on maintaining the high-quality lakeshore wetlands and improving the pine flatwoods habitat with prescribed fire and longleaf pine restoration, to benefit native wildlife species. Opportunities for public recreation will be assessed as part of the County’s Lake Alto Preserve, and with input from citizens and the local community.
The Dinh property is the fifth Alachua County Forever conservation land acquisition of 2023, following the re-authorization of the Wild Spaces and Public Places initiative by county voters in November 2022. Through ongoing citizen support and partnerships, the program has worked with willing landowners to protect 33,663 acres since its inception in 2000.
View a map of the protected area.
Learn more about Alachua County Forever.
For more information, contact Land Conservation and Management Program Manager, Andi Christman at 352-264-6803 or
achristman@alachuacounty.us.
