Florida Forever Florida Forever was created in 2001 to succeed the extremely successful Preservation 2000 conservation program. Under Florida Forever and Preservation 2000, Florida has protected more than 2.4 million acres of land.
To name just a few successes, Florida Forever has protected:
53,600 acres of springs and springsheds.
5,190 acres of fragile coastline.
300,000 acres of sustainable forest lands.
158,700 acres of working agricultural lands.
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For Legislators
Why support Florida Forever?
Floridians support Florida Forever:
- 67% of Floridians support continued legislative funding for Florida Forever. Over the years Florida’s citizens have consistently voted to tax themselves in support of local and statewide conservation programs. Since 1988, Floridians have passed 78 ballot initiatives in support of land conservation. On average, Floridians are willing to pay $59-$79 annually per household to restore the Everglades. On average, residents in parts of Northeast Florida are willing to pay $44 annually per household to acquire land to protect water quality and quantity. 63% of Floridians said they would be more likely to vote for a legislator if they support continued funding for Florida Forever.
Counties support Florida Forever:
- More than half of all Florida counties have formally adopted resolutions showing their support for the creation of a new Florida Forever program and immediate increased funding to the current program. View the counties.
Cities support Florida Forever:
- The Florida Forever Coalition is made up of dozens of organizations that support conservation, environmental protection, and recreation needs across Florida. View the cities.
Conservation is big business:
- Hunting, fishing and wildlife watching supported 120,000 jobs in 2007. 20,100 jobs were generated as a result of Florida state parks. For every 1,000 people attending a state park, the total direct impact on the local community is more than $43,400. Hunting, fishing and wildlife watching generated about $6.8 billion in retail sales, nearly $706 million in state and local taxes, and had an overall economic impact of about $11.6 billion. To see the full economic impact of public land conservation, visit: The Economic Impact of Public Land Preservation.
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Florida Forever Stories"Palm Beach County recently purchased key properties adjacent to the Wild & Scenic Loxahatchee River’s headwaters. To do this, the County borrowed money against funds set aside for natural areas management/restoration, and public use facility construction. The County is relying heavily upon 2008 contracted reimbursement Florida Forever funding and the anticipated 2009 grant cycle to repay the borrowed funds. Without these funds, the County’s ability to install public use facilities on its natural areas will halt, thereby denying access to these public lands. Likewise, critical management and maintenance activities, and restoration projects designed to preserve and protect these areas will cease and detrimentally impact imperiled plants and animals that use the sites. Florida Forever funds are critical to the survival of Florida’s disappearing conservation lands."
-Palm Beach County |
