Allison DeFoor, the conservation leader whose North Florida Land Trust (NFLT) secured a permanent easement protecting 1,732 acres along Trout Creek this year, died Oct. 27. He was 72.

The nonprofit announced his death on Wednesday, Oct. 28, expressing condolences to his wife, Randy, his family and colleagues, the St. Johns Citizen reported.

DeFoor's fingerprints are on some of the largest conservation deals in St. Johns County's recent history. In March, Ring Power Corporation and its owners, Randy and Paula Ringhaver and David and Bree Alban, donated a conservation easement on the 1,732-acre DeerCreek Plantation to NFLT, according to a press release from the organization. The property, east of the St. Johns River, borders Trout Creek for about two miles. The agreement permanently bars development while letting the owners keep and use the land.

DeFoor called the donation "a major win for conservation in St. Johns County, which just continues to grow," according to the press release.

In October 2025, the trust accepted a donation of four acres of salt marsh south of Matanzas Inlet near Summer Haven, given by St. Johns Wildlife Care, Inc. That property sits in a tidally influenced marsh surrounded by homes in the Matanzas Inlet Beach subdivision.

Just 12 days before his death, DeFoor authored an op-ed in the Ponte Vedra Recorder urging St. Johns County voters to support a proposed $100 million bond for conservation land acquisition on the Nov. 3 ballot.

A seventh-generation Floridian, DeFoor brought an unusual résumé to conservation work. He served as Monroe County sheriff, a prosecutor, public defender and judge. He ran for lieutenant governor alongside Gov. Bob Martinez in 1990, the Florida Times-Union reported. In 1999, then-Gov. Jeb Bush appointed him to oversee Florida Everglades restoration. In 2014, he co-chaired the Florida Water and Land Conservation Initiative with former Gov. Bob Graham. That measure passed with about 70 percent of the vote.

He was ordained as an Episcopal priest in 2007 at Wakulla Correctional Institution, where he served incarcerated men. His ministry included serving prisoners and an inner-city mission.

DeFoor joined the NFLT board in 2018, became interim president in 2022 and was named permanent president in January 2023.

Sarah Hande, NFLT's director of strategic communications, told Florida Politics the loss hit the organization hard.

The trust said DeFoor's familiar refrain was "It is now or never," reflecting his urgent concern about Florida's disappearing natural lands.

Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan wrote on X that DeFoor was "a remarkable public servant and a true son of Florida."

Funeral arrangements were being finalized as of Oct. 28, the Florida Times-Union reported. DeFoor is survived by his wife, Randy, and six children.