The Florida legislature finally came to their senses last week and approved budget cuts to Governor DeSantis’ flagship conservation land acquisition program known as “Florida Forever” from $100 million recurring annual funds to $18 million.
This is a major and hopeful step in the right direction for property rights and landowners, although Meredith Budd, Deputy Director of Live Wildly, an environmental organization dedicated to Florida’s wildlife corridor conservation was disappointed to see funding slashed and hopes it’s just a “one time occurrence.”
The Florida Senate first recommended continuing DeSantis’ $100 million request for his Florida Forever environmental spending in the 2025 budget, but the House in early June proposed no money. The two chambers compromised at $18 million.
The Florida Forever program has received at least $100 million in funding every year since 2021, according to state documents. The $18 million to buy land falls well short of the additional $100 million Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis recommended for the new budget.
In July of 2021, Governor DeSantis advocated for and promoted his flagship program, “Florida Forever,” to preserve Florida’s land and natural resources. A program the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) touts as “…one of the largest public land acquisition programs in the United States.”
Since the inception of the Florida Forever program, DEP claims the state has purchased more than 1 million acres of land for $3.8 billion. Florida Forever replaced “Preservation 2000 (P2000), which together have purchased more than 2.6 million acres and now manages and owns approximately 10 million acres for conservation.
Similar to what the Biden administration’s 30×30 agenda pushed, Governor DeSantis said: “Florida continues to lead the way in land conservation and protecting our natural resources.” “These protections will further protect our natural lands for Florida’s families to enjoy for generations to come.”
Although the budget cut the Florida Forever program, they still funded the “Rural and Family Lands Protection Program” for $250 million. This program preserves agricultural land by buying conservation easements for timber, farm and ranch lands and is overseen by the state’s agriculture department.
American Stewards had opposed the use of conservation easements for nearly 30 years because they change private lands to essentially public lands. Regardless of the nature of the “conservation purpose” established for the easement, control of the land and who decides whether this is being carried out moves from the private landholder to the owner of the easement.
If you do not control the land, it is no longer private property.
Florida’s legislators fought to slim down the state’s budget and settled on a $115.1 billion spending plan to limit what lawmakers say has been a trend of runaway spending in Tallahassee and to counter uncertainty over federal funding from Washington.
Officials approve protection of 78,000 acres within Ocala-to-Osceola Wildlife Corridor
Even though the Florida legislature cut the “Florida Forever” program, the state has just purchased four conservation easements totaling 78,000 acres for their wildlife corridor. See story below:
State officials have approved conservation easements for over 78,000 acres of land within the Ocala-to-Osceola Wildlife Corridor, closing the final gap in the 100-mile, 1.6-million-acre region that comprises heavily forested, private areas connecting the Ocala and Osceola National Forests.
Governor Ron DeSantis, Attorney General James Uthmeier, and Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson approved the measures on Tuesday, June 10.
“Under my administration, Florida has significantly expanded its land conservation efforts and today’s conservation is a major milestone for the Florida Wildlife Corridor,” said Governor Ron DeSantis in a statement issued by his office. “By prioritizing conservation, we are not only supporting our natural resources, but also our rural economies and the future of our state.”
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