Donate in support of Santa Fe River conservation   The Lunch Power Hour Is Here! Help Protect Wildlife Habitat Along the Santa Fe River The Lunch Power Hour is now underway and we have a few new Match Challenges! Starting now, your donations could help unlock $1,000 towards Santa Fe River conservation! Once $1,000 in donations is reached, an ACT Board Member will donate an additional $1,000. All donations made during this hour could also help ACT win the $500 Lunch Power Hour! The nonprofit with the most donors during this hour will win this Power Hour prize. Make your donation here THANK YOU to everyone who has donated during The Amazing Give so far in support of Santa Fe River and springs conservation! Conserving land along the river provides critical wildlife habitat, while also maintaining floodplain that acts as a buffer against significant rainfall events. Development of land along the river threatens North Florida's drinking water supply and could have severe impacts to this iconic and irreplaceable waterway. Your donations will ensure that these landscapes remain natural forever. We couldn’t do this important work of keeping Florida wild for all without your support!   Photo by Tedd Greenwald. First Matches Met! Your donations this morning unlocked an additional $750 donation from ACT's Executive Director Tom Kay and met our first Match Challenge of $5,000 in memory of Dr. Eugene F. Brigham! THANK YOU! We have an additional $5,000 match challenge from another generous ACT supporter that is now active! All donations made until we reach the next $5,000 will be doubled! Here's What Your Amazing Give Donation Will Support A walk through the dynamic floodplain of our storied Santa Fe River can be an almost otherworldly step into primordial North Central Florida. This was once the realm of thousand-year-old bald cypress trees, the true giants of the southeastern swamps and rivers, with their roots locked together, towering in domes high above the lesser canopy. Black bears slept in their lofty bowers and ivory billed woodpeckers called to one another from their massive trunks. Red wolves and panthers prowled below amongst their knobby knees. Now, only a remnant few of these behemoths remain. Today, venerable oaks, tupelos and magnolias hug the soil of the floodplain, their long, rope-like roots spread in every direction, exposed by the swift moving waters of the sometimes-swollen river. The forest floor is alive with great carpets of bright yellow butter-weed and snow-white rain lilies. A barred owl watches from above, while a great blue heron slowly and gracefully removes herself downstream at the approach of early morning kayakers who paddle quietly in awe of the natural wonders that surround them. And all the while, the great Floridan aquifer below continues to bubble up through cracks and openings at the surface. Recognizing the Importance of Saving Our Fragile Watershed But these moments of peace and tranquility could be lost forever, much like the mature bald cypress trees and ivory billed woodpeckers. Development across North Central Florida has begun to rise up just like the river and if unchecked, could swallow these natural landscapes whole.  During last year’s Amazing Give campaign your generous gifts helped to secure the protection of over 400 acres along this wondrous waterway, ensuring that its wetlands continue to filter and reduce pollutants and the freshwater flowing to its hundreds of springs grows stronger. These lands will forever provide excellent plant diversity and habitat for several endemic and listed species, as well as passive recreation for the public. Resiliency for the River! Santa Fe River preservation success stories can be told thanks in large part to the generosity of our community and people like you! ACT and its partners are actively engaged with landowners to protect larger tracts along the headwaters, swamps, and springs that feed into the Santa Fe River and your help is needed! Protecting these lands from development not only safeguards North Florida’s drinking water supply, it also protects the water quality of the river itself while creating a corridor of land for wildlife to roam freely. Your donation will go directly to ACT’s efforts to permanently protect critical lands along the Santa Fe River, safeguarding these invaluable ecological and recreational resources for present and future generations to enjoy forever.   Will you help us protect new lands along the Santa Fe River? View ACT's Amazing Give page here Prefer to donate offline? Give us a call at (352) 373-1078 and our staff can assist you with your Amazing Give donation. Photos by Kim Davidson and Alison Blakeslee.   Alachua Conservation Trust Phone: 352-373-1078 Email: [log in to unmask] Website: https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://www.alachuaconservationtrust.org__;!!KOmxaIYkRmNA0A!WhjzVQu16HPpoJv6nAbBoaQQcfbBis6-y3bWGJkNgvhu0hwCnJEmBM7KYgeauBJTax6s4B6SkjsE6weqFkKffYdOTUq4BOSABQ$  Banner image by Kim Davidson. Connect with us       Alachua Conservation Trust | 7204 SE County Road 234, Gainesville, FL 32641 Unsubscribe [log in to unmask] Update Profile | Constant Contact Data Notice Sent by [log in to unmask] powered by Try email marketing for free today!
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