North Florida Land Trust acquires land along Sixmile Creek

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North Florida Land Trust (NFLT) recently acquired two parcels of cypress wetlands totaling approximately 57 acres on the western bank of Sixmile Creek, which runs along Joe Ashton Road in St. Augustine. The newly-purchased land will be added to NFLT’s existing Sixmile Creek Preserve, which the nonprofit purchased in 2016.

“This addition is primarily a natural floodplain swamp and preserving it has ecosystem benefits, including acting as a natural filter for nutrients and pollutants from the creek,” said Jim McCarthy, president of NFLT. “These parcels have a rich wetland ecosystem that provide food and shelter for numerous birds, amphibians, reptiles and fish.”

Founded in 1999, NFLT has protected thousands of acres of environmentally significant land, including property at Big Talbot Island; the River Branch Preserve; Pumpkin Hill; Moccasin Slough, along the St. Mary’s River; and other valued natural areas predominantly in Northeast Florida. In its Preservation Portfolio – a document created to target land in critical need of preservation – the nonprofit targets a total of 112,346 acres of land in a seven-county focus area for preservation, including 5,500 acres along Sixmile Creek.