partnerships
Landowners and supporters are the real conservation heroes.
Most importantly, we want to thank our most valuable partners – the landowners who work voluntarily with us to protect their land and the supporters who donate time and money to make our mission possible. There are many ways to protect land and all of them require a landowner who is willing to work with a conservancy such as ours to come to an agreement that suits everyone’s unique needs. It takes time and patience, but the reward is an immeasurable gift to the future.
As part of a community of land protection professionals, we collaborate to achieve statewide land conservation goals
WE LOVE TO PARTNER, PARTNER!
We prioritize serving as a trusted community partner to support statewide land conservation. Since our founding in 1999, our collaborative working style has resulted in a varied portfolio of successful projects and partnerships.
Conservation Florida’s success has always been bolstered by partnerships. By partnering with agencies, landowners, nonprofits, businesses, and more that share the same vision for Florida, Conservation Florida can expand its programs, its land protection pace, and propel the land conservancy to new conservation heights.
We’re all about partnerships. We have formed effective working relationships and formal agreements with federal, state, local, academic, and other nonprofit organizations.
Acting together, we can save land on a scale that is big enough to protect Florida's natural and working lands — lands on which we all depend.
Because protecting land means protecting water, wildlife, and our quality of life, Conservation Florida and our partners are moving quickly to save as much land as possible within the Florida Wildlife Corridor. With 8.1 million acres (about twice the area of Connecticut) currently unprotected within the 18-million-acre Florida Wildlife Corridor, we have a lot of work to do!
Collaboration is one of our core values. It’s also one of the most powerful tools we have to protect Florida’s vulnerable and special lands.
Federal Partners
What do the USDA, DOI, and DOD have to do with conservation?
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Department of the Interior (DOI), and the Department of Defense (DOD) may not come to mind when you think of land protection, but all three departments have agencies and programs dedicated to conservation. All of these departments of the federal government are great land protection partners!
The USDA’s vision statement covers a wide range of goals from “helping rural America to thrive" to preserving “our Nation's natural resources through conservation, restored forests, improved watersheds, and healthy private working lands.”
We have a similar vision for Florida! That is why we are working closely with two USDA agencies – the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the U.S. Forest Service – to protect cattle ranches in the Northern Everglades and longleaf pine habitat in the Panhandle.
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Our NRCS partners are supplying financial and technical aid to help us conserve agricultural lands, wetlands, and grasslands of special significance in the H2O. Thanks to the NRCS’s Agricultural Conservation Easement Program combined with matching funds from the DOD and other sources, we have placed thousands of acres under contract to be permanently protected.
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We’re also engaged with the DOD’s Office of the Secretary of Defense to buy conservation easements on working ranchlands located near the Avon Park Air Force Range. The Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration (REPI) program has awarded Conservation Florida millions of dollars for land protection projects in the Avon Park Sentinel Landscape. We are using these funds to buy development rights from landowners who want to take part in the program. The benefits? Landowners get to keep their family land intact, the Air Force sustains critical military mission capabilities, and we get to save vibrant natural areas for fish and wildlife. A triple win!
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Last, but not least, through a partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), a bureau within the DOI, we are restoring habitat for plants and animals at our D Ranch Preserve in Volusia County. USFWS is providing us with funds and technical support to reintroduce fire to our preserve, which will make it a better place to live for rare species like Rugel’s pawpaw plants, gopher tortoises, eastern indigo snakes, longleaf pines, and Florida scrub-jays.
State Partners
Conservation Florida and state agencies: We go way back!
By partnering with state agencies like the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Conservation Florida is able to maximize state funding for land protection.
We advocate for meaningful funding for programs like Florida Forever and the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program. We also facilitate the acquisition of land and conservation easements to protect high-priority conservation properties by working closely with our agency partners and our incredible state conservation programs.
Regional water management districts offer added partnership opportunities. The state's five water management districts include the Northwest Florida Water Management District, the Suwannee River Water Management District, the St. Johns River Water Management District, the Southwest Florida Water Management District, and the South Florida Water Management District.
Community support
We lend our support to cities and counties that want to protect special places in their local communities.
Local government agencies and citizens who vote for conservation ballot measures play a critical role in protecting our natural resources. Counties like Volusia and Alachua have programs, approved by voters, that supply a dedicated funding source for conservation projects. While cities, like Dunedin, have found innovative ways to combine public and private funding to protect critically endangered scrub habitats in North Pinellas County.
Citizens in cities and counties throughout Florida recognize the value of conservation lands to their quality of life. Conservation Florida supports initiatives that keep beautiful, wild places intact for the public to enjoy.
NONPROFIT PARTNERS
A long journey is better with friends by your side.
As a nonprofit, Conservation Florida relies on the generous support of donors to fund our mission. We keep our donors at the heart of everything we do to protect land, water, and wildlife. Stretching our dollars to get the most impact is always top of mind.
That’s why combining resources and skills with our nonprofit partners is strategically useful. It’s also fun to collaborate with our friends in the nonprofit sector to achieve common goals.
STORYTELLING PARTNERS
Protecting paradise is our shared story of conservation. It’s what “WE” do!
We believe in our hearts that to know wild Florida is to love her! However, it’s not practical for a population of over 20 million residents to find a meaningful connection with the natural beauty and wonder of our state without a proper introduction to what we have and what’s at stake.
That’s why we launched a new conservation TV series! The six-episode docuseries is a joint venture between Conservation Florida and Crawford Entertainment.
Crawford Entertainment is a Florida-based company that produces and distributes nationally syndicated specials, documentaries, and original content that air on major U.S. networks and digital streaming platforms worldwide.
“Co-creating “Protect Our Paradise” with Crawford Entertainment is an extraordinary opportunity to raise awareness of the important mission before us all.” – Traci Deen, Conservation Florida’s CEO.
ACADEMIC PARTNERS
Our academic partners get an A+ for supporting land conservation.
Conservation Florida has programs and support from major universities statewide and expanding. Our organization is a resource for stewardship, and passionate Floridians advocate our message from the Panhandle to the Florida Keys. Conservation Florida is grateful and proud of our academic partnerships’ exponential growth and garnered interest.
Partnerships with academic institutions provide a wealth of knowledge among subject matter experts, help collect large sums of data, and offer the chance to pursue a passion for conservation.
In 2018, Conservation Florida and the University of Central Florida (UCF) teamed up to produce research and offer guidance and a multidisciplinary voice to land and wildlife conservation in the greater Central Florida region. The partnership is between Conservation Florida and both UCF’s Biology Department and UCF Coastal, and it represents teaching, learning, and research opportunities out in the field.
CORPORATE PARTNERS
There is prosperity in sharing. We value businesses that support conservation.
Establishing relationships and partnerships based on a reputation of trust, results, and excellence is core to our mission. Join us as we protect the places we cannot afford to lose.
We invite all Florida-based brands to join us and link arms to save land through our This Brand Saves Land corporate partnership opportunity that raises critical funds to continue the mission to conserve the unique character of Florida’s irreplaceable landscapes. This Brand Saves Land is a corporate cause-marketing partnership that provides a meaningful way for businesses to join a larger land conservation movement that directly impacts the quality of life for present and future generations of Floridians across the state while also directly informing your clients, consumers or customers that YOUR brand saves land and gives charitably. Show your brand’s love for wild Florida with our customizable logo.
We would love to hear from you. To discuss corporate giving options and all the ways you can make an impact on saving land, email info@conservationflorida.com.
YOU! get involved
Partnerships save land. There are many ways to get involved.
Partnerships are an important part of Conservation Florida’s statewide land protection strategy. To date, Conservation Florida has successfully completed land protection projects totaling over 30,000 acres. Our common sense, cooperative, and creative approach to land conservation continues to propel us forward.
Partner with Us!
Looking for Corporate Partnership Opportunities?
Show your brand’s love for wild Florida with our customizable logo. Contact us today to learn how your business can partner with Conservation Florida to save land! Link arms with us via This Brand Saves Land™ and play a vital part in protecting Florida’s future.