Alachua County Forever, the County’s environmental land acquisition program, has closed on the purchase of 605.27 acres from members of the family of Carrie C. Brown. The property is adjacent to the County’s 1,044-acre Phifer Flatwoods Preserve and protects over two miles of Lochloosa Creek as it flows toward Lochloosa Lake.
The closing was held on Friday, August 26, 2022, which would have been the 107th birthday of Carrie C. Brown, the family matriarch. Protection of the land, through the sale to Alachua County as a nature preserve, means that Carrie Brown’s legacy of wise stewardship of the property to safeguard her family’s future will continue.
This property provides a key linkage in the network of protected lands surrounding Lochloosa Lake, an Outstanding Florida Waterway. The property also falls within the Florida Wildlife Corridor, a statewide landscape corridor identified as critical to the protection of wildlife habitats. Management of the property will focus on maintaining high-quality wetlands and improving the pine flatwoods for native wildlife species. Public use opportunities will be evaluated during the development of the management plan.
Wild Spaces and Public Places, the voter-approved, one-half-cent sales tax, provided funding for the $1.5 million purchase price. Since Wild Spaces and Public Places was reauthorized by County voters in 2016, Alachua County Forever has protected an additional 13,405 acres. The program has protected 32,506 acres since its inception in 2000.
For more information, contact Land Conservation and Management Program Manager Andi Christman at 352-264-6804 or
achristman@alachuacounty.us.
