UCF’s main campus is home to 319 acres of conservation easements that are protected under conditions set forth by the Saint John’s River Water Management District (SJRWMD). A conservation easement with the SJRWMD is a perpetual agreement between the land owner and the water management district to manage the land in its pristine state and to be kept safe from development in order to conserve Florida’s “open space, water recharge areas, environmentally sensitive lands, wildlife habitat, or historic features on a specific parcel of land.” These conservation easements are often a mitigation agreement to off-set environmental impacts that occur during land development. As UCF develops natural areas, more acreage is put aside as conservation.