Farming families and agricultural landowners in St. Johns County can learn how to shield their land from development at a free workshop Monday, Aug. 24, in Hastings.
St. Johns County is hosting the 90-minute session at The Venue, 301 N. Main St., from 4 to 5:30 p.m. The workshop will walk attendees through voluntary state and federal conservation easement programs, explain the application steps and outline how the county can support landowners who want to participate, according to the county's announcement.
Six organizations are partnering on the event: the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Food and Resource Economics Department, Florida Farm Bureau, 1000 Friends of Florida and North Florida Land Trust.
Development Pressure Fuels Push for Conservation Easements
The workshop arrives as development pressure on St. Johns County farmland intensifies. A new state law could allow eligible agricultural landowners to bypass the traditional rezoning process, potentially fast-tracking thousands of acres for housing without public hearings, as we reported Aug. 18. County commissioners also voted Tuesday, Aug. 18, to place a $100 million land-conservation bond referendum on the Nov. 3 ballot.
Conservation easements are voluntary legal agreements that permanently restrict development on a property while allowing the landowner to retain ownership and continue farming. North Florida Land Trust, one of the workshop partners, accepted a 1,732-acre conservation easement on DeerCreek Plantation in St. Johns County earlier this year from Ring Power and the Ringhaver family.
"This generous donation is a major win for conservation in St. Johns County, which just continues to grow," Allison DeFoor, president and CEO of North Florida Land Trust, said in March when that easement was finalized.
How to Attend the Workshop
The workshop is open to agricultural landowners, farming families, residents and anyone interested in learning about land conservation. RSVPs are requested through the county's event page. No cost or capacity limit has been announced.
