Surface to Springs Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP)
About Surface to Springs
The “Surface to Springs” RCPP awarded $7.1 million in 2021 for land protection and land management in the Suwannee and Santa Fe River watersheds to protect water resources and wildlife habitat. The project’s geography is focused on watersheds with significant contributions to Florida Springs around the Suwannee and Santa Fe Rivers.
These rural lands, characterized by small and large farms and forests, make significant contributions to source water protection, the Floridan Aquifer, Florida springs, and ultimately the Gulf of Mexico via the Suwannee River.
This program is focused on the permanent protection of properties with high connectivity through sandy soils to the Floridan Aquifer. Our targets are both rare intact habitats, such as Florida sandhill, and working lands where there is an opportunity to decrease nutrient inputs and water withdrawals. Federal cost-share for conservation easements with partner contributions and land management assistance helps us achieve these goals on private property. ACT collaborated with Stetson University’s Institute for Water and Environmental Resilience (IWER) to conduct an evaluation of Surface to Spring’s impact to date.
Photo by Alison Blakeslee
Banner image by Alison Blakeslee
