A Win for Conservation – Governor Ron DeSantis Has Signed the Florida Wildlife Corridor Act

JACKSONVILLE - The newly enacted legislation will dedicate $300 million to preserving migratory routes within the Florida Wildlife Corridor, which includes NFLT’s Ocala to Osceola (O2O) wildlife corridor project. It will also commit $100 million to Florida Forever, the state’s land conservation program.

The Florida Wildlife Corridor includes more than 18 million acres of land, 8 million of which remain unprotected. The O2O wildlife corridor is a critical component of the Florida Wildlife Corridor. NFLT leads a partnership made up of public and private organizations dedicated to conservation and land management along the O2O which is a 1.6-million-acre corridor of public and private lands that connect the Ocala and Osceola National Forests.

“The Florida Wildlife Corridor Act and the funding for Florida Forever is a huge step forward for conservation and for the work we do to conserve environmentally sensitive lands within the O2O and in other Florida Forever project areas,” said Jim McCarthy, president of NFLT. “Conservation is important for not only protecting and preserving wildlife habitats but also for protecting water quality in our state. This state funding provides an opportunity for conservation that may not have been possible otherwise. We thank the Governor and all our representatives who were instrumental in passing this legislation.”

In addition to funding conservation efforts and protecting the critical wildlife corridor, the Florida Wildlife Corridor Act will connect land needed for flood and sea-level rise resiliency and will protect areas that provide vital drinking water sources for most Floridians. NFLT will be working closely with its partners to continue the mission to preserve lands within the O2O. Those partners include Florida DEP’s Division of State Lands, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Camp Blanding, Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, U.S. Forest Service, and county governments.

The money dedicated to the Florida Forever program could also be instrumental in preserving 541 acres in Marion County known as Big Pine Preserve. The land is part of the Longleaf Pine Ecosystems Florida Forever project area which makes it eligible for funding through the Florida Forever program in 2022. The nonprofit land conservation organization is also working with private timberland company Weyerhaeuser on a possible sale of a conservation easement on 50,000 acres of timberland within the O2O.

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