The state has purchased more than 20,000 acres of land in Central and South Florida to protect it from development.
The majority of the 31 square miles of mostly agricultural land was put into the public’s trust earlier this week are within Collier and Hendry counties and include acreage within the Florida Wildlife Corridor.
The Florida Wildlife Corridor is both a conservation goal and a thing. The goal of the corridor effort is to raise the public’s awareness of its environmental importance enough that taxpayers will continue to push decision-makers in Tallahassee to acquire the remaining 8 million acres necessary for an unbroken path from the Everglades to the Florida panhandle.
Most of the $168 million was to purchase the development rights on the land spread throughout at least six counties.
Called conservation easements, they are the invisible development rights created when a landowner takes cash in exchange for only using the land in current form, often farming.
The Florida Wildlife Corridor Act in 2021 has resulted in more than 10 million acres of nearly interconnected wildlands, farms, and state parks that provide critical habitat for endangered species like the Florida panther
One line item on this purchase list is rarely seen. And it has nothing to do with environmental protection: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet secured several acres in Miami-Dade County for the Donald J-Trump Presidential Library.
The corridor itself, established by the Florida Wildlife Corridor Act in 2021, is currently 10 million acres of nearly interconnected wildlands, farms, and state parks that provide critical habitat for endangered species like the Florida panther and black bear, as well as to protect water supplies, preserve natural Florida, and promote outdoor recreation.
At least $300 million a year is to be spent on land for the corridor according to the law passed in 2021 when estimates were up to $6 billion to acquire the remaining 8 million acres.
Identifying and purchasing the parcels involves the Florid governor, state cabinet, and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
“There is no recovery for the Florida panther without protection of the Florida Wildlife Corridor,” Carlton Ward Jr. once told the National Wildlife Federation.
Environmental reporting for WGCU is funded in part by VoLo Foundation, a non-profit with a mission to accelerate change and global impact by supporting science-based climate solutions, enhancing education, and improving health.
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