Conserving Florida

Water. Wildlife. Wild & Working Lands.

Conservation Florida is grounded by a deep love for Florida and a history of impactful boots-on-the-ground land conservation. We are a statewide land conservancy protecting Florida's natural and agricultural landscapes with a primary focus on saving land within the Florida Wildlife Corridor. From Pensacola to the Florida Keys, Conservation Florida has led the way in strategic and evidence-based land protection since our founding in 1999.

Conservation Florida is an effective, energetic, collaborative organization working on your behalf to protect Florida’s land, water, wildlife, and way of life. We save land by facilitating, purchasing, or accepting donations of land and conservation easements, serving as a trusted community partner to support statewide land conservation, and through effective advocacy, education, and outreach programming. 

Protecting wild places is the name of our game, but people and communities will always remain at the heart of what we do. Establishing relationships and partnerships based on a reputation of trust, results, and excellence is core to our mission. Thank you for joining us as we protect the places we cannot afford to lose.

We protect water, wildlife, and wild and working land by developing conservation strategies, exploring funding sources and purchasing or accepting donations of land and conservation easements. We provide expertise to guide landowners through the land protection process, serve as a trusted community partner to support statewide land conservation, and promote land conservation through effective education and advocacy. Our vision is large-scale, and we are 100% committed to conservation in the state of Florida – for nature, for people, forever! 

OUR HISTORY

Conservation Florida was founded in 1999 by David Carr as the “Conservation Trust for Florida.” His father, Archie Carr, was recognized as one of the foremost conservationists of the twentieth century and the founder of conservation biology. His mother, Marjorie Harris-Carr, helped establish Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park and led efforts to stop the Cross Florida Barge Canal. As the son of pioneering conservationists, he saw firsthand the growing need for a land trust that would focus on protecting Florida’s “working rural landscapes,” which included farms, ranches and timber lands.

Since our formation in 1999, we have earned a reputation of integrity within Florida’s environmental community and have become accredited by the prestigious Land Trust Accreditation Commission. We have a strong history of tested policies, structure, processes, and procedures. We use a variety of tools, including conservation easements, to allow landowners to protect their lands long after they are gone. In 2018, we shortened our name to Conservation Florida.

We have always maintained a vision of land protection on a statewide basis, with the clear understanding that environmental ecology cuts across political and property boundaries. With your support and the dedication of our volunteers and staff, we are uniquely positioned to protect thriving working landscapes, vast wilderness areas, abundant clean water, and ample wildlife habitat from the Everglades to the Panhandle — for nature, for people, forever.

With a reputation for reliability, consistency, and longevity, we continue to build on our foundation of relationships with private landowners in rural communities and strong partnerships with agencies and nonprofit organizations. Conservation Florida has had an excellent track record of success working within lean budgets. Our vision is large-scale, and we are 100% committed to conservation in the state of Florida.

Accredited by the Land Trust Alliance