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CTF has two programs to carry out our land conservation and
stewardship goals: 1) The Farmlands Program addresses the conversion
of working rural lands to urban uses and is primarily an educational
project to inform landowners about land conservation options with
the goal of protecting land with conservation easements; and 2) The
Greenways Program addresses the protection of natural areas that
provide landscape connections.
Programs and Projects
The Farmlands Program was initiated to address the high
conversion rate of working rural lands to urban uses. Florida is one
of the top producers of fruits and vegetables in the nation, but the
state loses more than 150,000 acres of land to development every
year. As noted by the Rural and Family Lands Protection Act, a
common cause of urban conversion is due to increased value of rural
land located near urban land. Diminished returns on farm products,
development pressure, and high property taxes leave many farmers
with little choice but to sell their land. Phase I of The Farmlands
Program will provide information to rural landowners in North
Central Florida (Alachua, Marion, Levy, Gilchrist, and Columbia
counties) about public and private land conservation options.
Florida has a publicly funded environmental land acquisition
program to protect primarily environmentally sensitive land, but the
rural lands that form the matrix of Florida - ranches, farms, or
timberlands often in family ownership for several generations -
receive little attention or protection. These lands are increasingly
vulnerable to development as owners change hands. 
CTF has two projects that encompass The Farmlands
Program: the Evinston/Orange Lake Preservation Project and a focus
area titled protecting HORSE COUNTRY. The Farmlands Program
is generously supported by Progress Energy and Mickey Singer.
The Greenways Program addresses the need to protect greenways and
recreational corridors for wildlife, biological diversity, and light
recreational use. Our approach to protecting rural landscapes is
based on the recommendations of the Florida Greenways Commission,
which produced a report identifying potential corridors as part of
the Florida Statewide Greenways Planning Project.
Potential corridors were identified in the Florida Ecological
Greenways Network, which includes existing and proposed conservation
lands, remaining pristine areas, and compatible working landscapes
in a linked system. By linking large conservation areas with
corridors, they are capable of sustaining healthy forest ecosystems
and animal populations. CTF Greenways Program Coordinator Dr. Tom
Hoctor is the Co-Principal Investigator, Florida Greenways Modeling
Project with the University of Florida. CTF Advisory Board Member
Peggy Carr also participated as a mapping expert in the Florida
Statewide Greenways Planning Project.
CTF has three projects that encompass The Greenways Program: the
Matanzas to Ocala National Forest Corridor Project (M2O), the Ocala
National Forest to Goethe State Forest Corridor Project (O2G), and
the Ocala National Forest to Osceola National Forest Corridor (O2O).
The Greenways Program is generously supported by Mickey Singer.
Click the links to view descriptions of each program:
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