For the Love of Florida

Aerial photo of Central Florida’s Everglades Headwaters by Adam Strang Bass.

Article written by Traci Deen

Traci Deen, Conservation Florida’s Executive Director and CEO

We’re Floridians. We swim, eyes open and breath held, in crisp, turquoise Florida springs. As school children, we study the Florida panther as a big cat that still roams our most wild places. We dive off the coast and find coral reef systems bustling. We paddle and kayak waterways alongside the manatee and dolphin. We enjoy an endless variety of recreational activities on the best public lands in the nation. We eat Florida-grown, Florida-raised food. We love it here. Who wouldn’t? This is home, and it’s iconic. It’s Florida.

But we also watch as our coasts battle the tides of a rising sea and as our estuaries experience algal blooms that destroy entire ecosystems. We ache as panther after panther is struck down on our roads. We lament the loss of green space as another piece of paradise is paved, another ranch lost to rooftops, and we see what’s coming: more of us, more roads, more rooftops.

Protecting Florida’s natural and agricultural landscapes has never been more important than it is today as we face a growing population, an extraordinary rate of habitat loss and fragmentation, and reduced funding for land conservation.

The Last Great Push for Conservation

Florida is the third-most populous state in the nation, growing by nearly 1,000 newcomers each day. We’re projected to exceed 30 million residents by 2060. With this comes a greater demand for water and the development of rural and natural lands for urban use. How we manage our natural resources over the next 10 to 20 years – what we save and what we pave – will undoubtedly determine Florida’s conservation future, and the future of Florida as a whole.

So, this is it: This is the last great push for land conservation in our State.

Fragmentation & Loss of Habitat

As Florida’s population booms, new roads, housing developments, and shopping centers fragment natural ecosystems. Poorly planned expansion of cities cut off natural wildlife corridors. The importance of maintaining landscape connectivity to ensure the survival of wide-ranging wildlife species, like the black bear and panther, has been documented for nearly 30 years. Yet, there is still no coordinated, statewide effort to protect natural corridors that provide wildlife with access to safe passageways between conservation areas. Instead, we plan for three new toll roads that will slice through some of Florida’s most pristine natural and green spaces and vital wildlife corridors.

Earlier this year, Florida’s lawmakers passed a bill that begins the planning process for the toll roads that are intended for mostly rural, natural areas. Conservation Florida’s position is this: our state’s transportation infrastructure is important, but so is our state’s green infrastructure. Far too often it is overlooked and at great risk of being decimated if we don’t think and plan judiciously. As we contemplate growth and development, the protection of wildlife corridors and vulnerable natural systems must be contemporaneously addressed and designed.

Reduced Funding for Land Conservation

Florida was once a bold leader in land conservation. Created in 1999 under Governor Jeb Bush, our state “Florida Forever” land acquisition program was funded at about $300 million a year for a decade. In 2009, funding was slashed, and it has languished ever since.

In 2014, 75% of Florida voters passed the Florida Water and Land Conservation Initiative, commonly called “Amendment 1.” That was a moment to celebrate, for certain, as is our five-year anniversary of its passing—but there is significant work to be done. Intended to restore funding for land protection, including wetlands and forests, recreational lands, beaches and shores, and working farms and ranches, voters overwhelmingly approved the constitutional amendment that would divert 33% of revenue from a tax on real estate documentary stamps to the Land Acquisition Trust Fund (LATF).

Today, the LATF could be used to restore funding to historically successful land conservation programs like Florida Forever, the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program, and Florida Communities Trust. However, despite public demand, adequate, meaningful, and consistent funding for critical land protection programs remains unseen.

We can do better. We must.

Photo of ferns and cypress trees at the Headwaters of the Everglades in Central Florida by Adam Strang Bass.

Conservation Florida will be your partner as we protect critical lands, advocate for meaningful and consistent conservation funding, and serve as a steady voice for the long-term prioritization of Florida’s wild and working landscapes.

Finding Common Ground

There is hope, however. From the sandhills to the swamps, Floridians don’t always agree, but leave it to Floridians to find our common ground in the actual land we share. 

Conservation connects us. It’s part of our ethos, our Floridian ethic. In it, there is hope for Florida’s conservation future.

Conservation promotes the sensible, deliberate protection of lands that are necessary to keep our state, its people, and its wildlife healthy and thriving. And we tend to agree on it. Land conservation is a no-brainer, and Floridians just get it.

Conservation lands protect our life-sustaining and economy-sustaining water, and water is the lifeblood of our State. The economic benefits of conservation alone make conscientious land acquisition fiscally responsible. Responsible before we even consider the economic benefits of clean water and air, for example, that conserved lands provide. Land conservation deals in forever—and forever protects the future generations of Floridians.

Land conservation is a tool that, if used well, can also keep Florida’s family farms and ranches in business while simultaneously protecting the conservation value of the land. Maintaining green landscapes, wildlife corridors, and open space, while safeguarding food security and the rural communities that are dependent on the economic viability of agricultural operations is a double, or triple win. Imagine a ranching operation, thousands of open, beautiful Florida acres—and then imagine that land being protected from pavement forever while also continuing to produce. Conservation is the way!

You Make a Difference

Conservation Florida has permanently conserved over 25,000 acres of land over the last 20 years. But we must do more, and soon.

We know that Florida’s land and water should be defended with unyielding boldness and Florida’s biodiversity cherished. We’re working for and with you to protect Florida’s natural and agricultural landscapes—to preserve wild, wonderful Florida.

I invite you to join us as we continue to make strides toward our conservation goals, for the love of Florida, and for her future.

Support our work with a meaningful gift, volunteer as we explore and document wild Florida, or call your state lawmakers and tell them that conservation matters to you—just know that we will be here alongside you as together, we save land, for nature, for people, forever.