PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla. — Putnam Land Conservancy (PLC) has helped permanently protect 85 acres of family-owned land in Putnam County. Working with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS), PLC facilitated a permanent agricultural conservation easement through Florida’s Rural and Family Lands Protection Program (RFLPP).
The RFLPP easement protects the Young Family Farm property from future development. The family will continue to own the land and manage it for wildlife habitat and restoration of longleaf pine and native groundcover vegetation.
The Young property contains habitat for gopher tortoises and other imperiled wildlife. Importantly, the property is part of the Ocala-to-Osceola (O2O) Wildlife Corridor and contributes to the larger connected conservation landscape of the Florida Wildlife Corridor.
Putnam Land Conservancy worked directly with the Young family to help them navigate the FDACS RFLPP process and bring the conservation easement to closing. “PLC is thrilled that the Young Family Farm is permanently protected, and I am grateful to the Young family for their dedication and patience and to FDACS for the opportunity under the Rural and Family Lands program.” said Willy the Losen, PLC Executive Director. “The property is part of the O2O and Florida Wildlife Corridors. This is a great example of how working lands can contribute to landscape scale conservation.”
The Young family’s stewardship of the property spans generations. The original family property was purchased in 1958. Cory Young began managing the land while still in high school and has continued that work throughout his life. Through prescribed fire and other management practices, the family has worked to restore the property’s longleaf pine ecosystem. Their efforts benefit wildlife that depend on well-managed, fire-maintained upland habitats.
The family’s commitment earned statewide recognition in 2026, when Cory, Robert and Devony Young were named Florida Land Stewards of the Year, recognizing their outstanding stewardship of forest and wildlife resources and their efforts to promote responsible land management.
“Managing this land has always been about more than growing planted pines,” said Cory Young. “We want a healthy forest that supports wildlife and reflects what this part of Florida is supposed to look like. The RFLPP easement allows our family to keep owning and managing the land while knowing that it will never be developed.”
The conservation value of the Young property extends well beyond its 85 acres. The property is adjacent to Putnam Lakes Preserve, a nearly 700-acre conservation property that is owned and managed by North Florida Land Trust. Putnam Lands Preserve protects longleaf pine uplands, lakes, and wetlands similar to the Young property.
Young Family Farm also contributes to the broader Florida Wildlife Corridor, the statewide conservation “blueprint” of natural and working landscapes that provides habitat and movement pathways for wildlife while helping protect Florida’s water resources, forests and rural lands.
Florida’s Rural and Family Lands Protection Program, administered by FDACS, protects working farms, ranches and forests through voluntary conservation easements. Under the program, the land remains privately owned. This approach helps families keep their land together and in production while protecting it from future development.
Facilitating land protection projects, such as the Young Family Farm easement, is an important part of PLC’s work to conserve North Florida’s rural landscape. PLC works directly with willing landowners to identify conservation opportunities, navigate public conservation programs and coordinate with agency and conservation partners to bring projects to completion.
