BY STAFF REPORTS
The Acquisition and Restoration Council met on Nov. 1 and approved about 20 land management plans, additions and subtractions to state land acquisition plans, as well as easements on state owned property.
The Council (ARC) is a 10-member group with representatives from four state agencies, four appointees of the Governor, one appointee by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), and one appointee by the Commissioner of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS). Within its duties, the group evaluates, selects, and ranks state land acquisition projects on the Florida Forever Priority List, as well as the review of management plans and land uses for all state-owned conservation lands.
During its meeting, the group heard an update on the FDACS Rural and Family Lands Protection Program’s 2024 acquisition list, lands designed to protect agricultural lands, protect natural resources, and create easements for the purpose of sustaining agricultural practices and protecting the environment.
Most identified land sits within the Florida Wildlife Corridor. Two parcels total more than 10,000 acres, while most on the list are in the hundreds or thousands of acres with the total about 300,000 acres. Uses are largely cow/calf operations, silviculture, and a variety of other agriculture purposes. The list currently sits at 232 projects, as either FDACS or the Florida Department of Environmental Protection have acquired other key parcels, said Sue Mullins, the Director of the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program.
“We are hoping to get more down in southeast Florida and then certainly up in the north central northeast as well,” she said. “Because we’re a little overrepresented in some our pinelands and middle Florida.”
The list’s next application cycle runs from Dec. 1 to Jan. 15.
The ARC board approved various easements at state parks and forests during the meeting. Under its Florida Forever section of the agenda, the council heard reports for eight properties under the 2024 Cycle 2 Florida Forever project proposals.
Among these projects, members heard public testimony that the parcels on the list provide valuable habitat for endangered and threatened species, including various birds, including bald eagles, bears, deer, tortoises, and other animals, as well as protection of nearby water resources.
The remainder of the agenda related to removing projects from the 2025 Florida Forever list and amendments to the boundaries of current Florida Forever projects. The 11 amended project boundaries total nearly 5,500 with an assessed value of roughly $24 million. The next meeting is scheduled for Dec. 12 and 13.
Meeting materials can be found here.
