Welcome to Wetland Preserve’s home page. Here you will find a brief overview of the property, an introduction to our management goals and a description of ongoing conservation efforts.

Wetland Preserve’s primary parcel consists of 3,800 acres, all of which is protected by a Florida Forever conservation easement and also falls within the O2O wildlife corridor. 

We are adjacent to the Rice Creek Conservation Area, a  5000 acre project of the Saint Johns River Water Management District located in Putnam County, Florida. On our southern border is Nine Mile Swamp Park, a 1268 acre conservation project owned by Putnam County. 

The primary entrance to our property is on the south side of  of State Road 100 adjacent to the West side of Rice Creek Conservation Area. 

Conservation and stewardship are at the heart of how we plan for the future of Wetland Preserve and make our daily management decisions .

Wetland is certified by the American Tree Farm System for sustainable forestry, is part of Florida’s Stewardship Forest Program and complies with all Best Management Practices guidelines as set out by the Florida Forest Service. We are also working to restore the native Long Leaf Pine to any areas on the property that are suitable and have enjoyed working with The Long Leaf Alliance in pursuit of this goal. 

Prescribed Fire is another way that we achieve our stewardship goals on Wetland Preserve. We are committed to having a robust prescribed fire regime because we understand the immense benefits to the land and to wildlife. Wetland Preserve is a  proud members of the North Florida Prescribed Burn Association.

Another component of our conservation and stewardship is outreach. We regularly invite interested groups out to spend the day learning and exploring. One of the organizations we have been able to partner with for outreach is Project Learning Tree.

In 2019 Ben and Louann Williams were recognized as the 2019 Florida Land Steward Landowner of the year by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.  Ben and Louann Williams are also being recognized by the American Tree Farm System and will receive the Florida 2021 Outstanding Tree Farmer of the year award.

This is not a full description of all our partnerships or conservation efforts. Please take a few minutes and check out the “fire” and “conservation” tabs at the top of the page to get a better understanding of everything going on at Wetland.

Description of the land

Most of our land falls under what is considered a “mesic flatwoods” ecosystem designation, with a fair portion of it being mature creek swamps and a smaller area consisting of dry sand hills.

Conservation & restoration efforts are underway in many of these areas. 

On the drier sand hill sites we have partnered with the US Fish & Wildlife Service for a gopher tortoise enhancement project. The vast majority of the creek swamps are held outside the forestry envelope meaning that barring any sort of natural calamity they are not harvested or disturbed in any way. Suitable areas of the “flatwoods” are being reforested with long leaf pine and the balance of the planted pine stand are under a “long rotation” management regimen.