OCALA, FL (352today.com) – Work is being done to protect Marion County’s farmlands, springs, and rural areas – because once they’re gone, we can’t get them back.

Marion County is celebrating Farmland Preservation during the month of April, and organizations like Horse Farms Forever and Save Our Rural Area take on added significance.

However, it’s not just about protecting the farms; there are other parts of our environmental ecosystem that shape the area’s character, making Marion County unique.

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“The Farmland Preservation Area is the first line of defense for our springs, and the importance of the Farmland Preservation Area is helping to protect the recharge area, which is the main goal,” says Busy Shires, Horse Farms Forever director of conservation strategies. “It’s a high aquifer recharge area,” 

There are three main ways that the farmland preservation helps to protect not only the farms but also the recharge area for the springs.

According to Busy Shires, the three main protections in place include:

  • The comprehensive plan – Guides development on a countywide level and helps prevent inappropriate growth in rural and farmland areas.

  • Ongoing oversight – Attending county commission meetings and reviewing development applications to identify and prevent potential threats from residential, urban, or roadway expansion.

  • Land use policies – Making sure that farmland preservation and other rural areas are protected from urban sprawl through responsible planning and zoning.

Shires also shares that there are policies in the comprehensive plan and in the land development code that help to prevent urban development inside the farm preservation area and other rural areas.

“We also have conservation easements, in addition to the farm preservation area, to help concentrate any potential commercial uses and to provide daily trips for people who live in that area, so they have rural activities centers,” she explains.

Marion County’s comprehensive plan, along with designated rural activity centers that help concentrate commercial development, work together to protect farmland. In addition, the county’s transfer of development rights program supports the use of conservation easements to further safeguard rural areas.

“Those three things, not only help protect our farms, but also help to protect the recharge area for the springs,” says Shires.

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