Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson announced on Wednesday that more than 1,675 acres of working agricultural land in Levy and Putnam counties have been permanently protected from development through the state’s Rural and Family Lands Protection Program.
The two conservation easements allow timber operations to continue while preventing the properties from being converted to residential, commercial or other nonagricultural uses.
Osceola Pines, a roughly 545-acre timber property in Levy County, was protected through a $1.03 million easement. Half of the funding, or $515,000, came from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service through its Regional Conservation Partnership Program.
The property includes managed pine plantations and approximately 250 acres of mature cypress and wetland hardwood habitat.
A second easement protects the Patricia Flanders property, a roughly 1,131-acre timber operation in Putnam County. The state paid $1.3 million for the development rights. The property, located north of Ocklawaha Lake, includes planted timber, sandhill habitat and wetlands connected to Little Orange Creek and Cabbage Creek.
Both properties are enrolled in Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services best management practices and are located within the Florida Wildlife Corridor.
The Rural and Family Lands Protection Program purchases development rights from willing landowners while allowing agricultural production to continue. Because the land remains privately owned, the state does not assume responsibility for maintaining it.
Since the program was created in 2001, it has protected more than 241,000 acres statewide, including more than 176,000 acres during Simpson’s tenure. Simpson has helped secure more than $1.1 billion for the program since 2022, including $425 million in the 2026-27 state budget.
