John Hayes has left his role as the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences’ research dean, but he won’t be forgotten.
The conservation-minded Hayes was honored at the May 14 UF/IFAS research awards ceremony when local officials presented him with a sign for the “John P. Hayes Trail,” which will mark the new hiking, biking and equestrian trail will be installed at Little Orange Creek Preserve.
The 1923 Fund, a charitable foundation, worked closely with Hayes during his tenure as UF/IFAS research dean on the creation and formation of the Ordway-Swisher Biological Station and its partnership with the National Ecological Observatory Network, or NEON – a 30-year, continental-scale program to track ecological responses to environmental shifts such as climate change, land-use modification and invasive species introductions, said Ed Poppell, a former UF vice president and 1923 Fund advisory board member.
The foundation made gifts to purchase lands for use by UF/IFAS and the Alachua Conservancy Trust.
The Little Orange Creek Preserve now includes about 2,300 acres, but officials hope later to buy another 570 acres. The purchase is part of a long-term plan to connect the Little Orange Creek Preserve and the Ordway-Swisher Biological Station properties.
The project includes 20 core sites that represent different areas of North America. The Ordway-Swisher site near Melrose serves as the core site for NEON’s Southeastern domain, which stretches from North Carolina to Texas.
“(The 1923 Fund) wanted to honor John Hayes for his dedication to wildlife and land conservation that he accomplished on their behalf at Ordway-Swisher,” Poppell said. “It’s fitting that this trail will be named for him, because he was instrumental in the visionary planning to join the Little Orange Creek Preserve and Ordway-Swisher properties.
The acquisition process for some of the land has just begun, but Alachua Conservation Trust officials expect to have an official trail dedication in perhaps a year or so.
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