The North Florida Land Trust (NFLT) encourages participation in its fundraising campaign to help preserve some of the remaining natural lands on Amelia Island in Nassau County, FL. NFLT is a not-for-profit organization that seeks to protect the natural resources, historic places and working lands (farms and ranches) throughout north Florida.
Amelia Forever Campaign
A current opportunity makes donations to the Amelia Forever Campaign go much further, during a matching program.
“This is an opportunity to double the impact of your donations to save the wild lands on Amelia Island. These lands are precious and we need to preserve them today to make sure they are still here tomorrow. We have identified more than 450 acres of vital lands that are still in need of protection. We hope you will help us achieve these goals.”
Jim McCarthy, President of NFLT
As one of Florida’s 67 counties, Florida’s Nassau County has preserved far less land for conservation compared to other counties. In its September 3, 2020 news release, the NFLT stated:
“Only 7% of Nassau County’s land has been preserved for conservation. The average Florida county is 29%. This puts Nassau County in the bottom 12 of 67 counties in the state.”
SOURCE: North Florida Land Trust (NFLT)
Egans Creek Greenway Buffer
NFLT has been working closely with the City of Fernandina Beach to preserve natural lands and is currently raising money to purchase a 3.1-acre property that will protect a maritime hammock forest that buffers Egan’s Creek Greenway to the west and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. According to NFLT, preserving it will prevent two large homes from being built along the Greenway and protect the habitats of many wildlife including wading birds, gopher tortoises and bobcats. It will also provide public access to trails connecting two neighborhoods to the beach.
The City of Fernandina will pay half of the total cost and NFLT will pay the remaining 50 percent through donations from the community.
Donations can be made to help reach the $100,000 donor matched initiative by mailing a check with “Amelia Forever” in the memo, made out to: North Florida Land Trust. Mailing address: 843 W. Monroe Street, Jacksonville FL 32202.
The NFLT also has volunteering opportunities, for those who might be interested, learn more at their website.
The nonprofit land conservation organization started the “Amelia Forever” campaign in 2019. The Amelia Forever Campaign, since its inception, has helped to preserve three properties — 3.3 acres along Citrona Drive, 5.9 acres on North 11th Street, and 1.58 acres also on North 11th Street.
Beyond NFLT’s partnership with the City of Fernandina Beach, important properties outside of city limits on Amelia Island have also been identified (and will be announced later in fall 2020). To date, “Amelia Forever” has raised nearly a total of $581,000 as of Sept. 17, 2020, with a fundraising goal of one million dollars.
Watch this video to learn more about the North Florida Land Trust.
Lofton Creek
Another Nassau County area of interest to the North Florida Land Trust is Lofton Creek.
The Nassau River, which has the greatest tidal range of any river in Florida, is the most likely river to be impacted by the flooding caused by sea level rise. Lofton Creek, as a major tributary of the Nassau River, is likely to experience a significant part of that change as saltwater habitats begin to transition upriver. Due to these potential ecosystem changes and eminent plans for the development of most of eastern Nassau County, preservation of the wetland habitats along Lofton Creek is vital.
Interested in further information? Visitthe North Florida Land Trustwebsite. NFLT is funded largely by private and corporate contributions and works closely with willing landowners and public agencies at all levels of government, not-for-profit partners, and foundations.
