📷 Air plants in Everglades to Gulf Conservation Area | Tom Hoctor
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is embarking on an ambitious new effort to establish an Everglades to Gulf Conservation Area (formerly known as the Southwest Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Area). If successful, a new conservation area would allow the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to work with willing landowners to protect the lands most important to our water and wildlife, in one of the most biologically diverse regions in our country. The USFWS has released a draft Everglades to Gulf Land Protection Plan and is seeking input.
The National Wildlife Refuge Association is working with the Florida Conservation Group (FCG) and the University of Florida Center for Landscape Conservation Planning in partnership with USFWS to provide the scientific foundation behind this effort, as well as lead the stakeholder and outreach efforts on the ground. Our collective goal is the protection of threatened natural communities, wildlife species, and working landscapes in Southwest Florida. This landscape-level conservation effort would assist and complement the state of Florida’s successful efforts to protect the Florida Wildlife Corridor.
What is the Proposed Everglades to Gulf Conservation Area?
Proposed Everglades to Gulf Conservation Area | USFWS
The proposal identifies a 4-million-acre region in southwest and south-central Florida; USFWS could work within this area to pursue conservation easements or purchase lands from willing landowners. Conservation easements would allow landowners to keep their working lands intact and productive while precluding more intensive development. USFWS also could work with willing sellers to purchase up to 400,000 acres, which would allow opportunities for hunting and other recreational activities for the public. The conservation area will also provide wildlife-dependent recreation opportunities including fishing, kayaking, and birding, while protecting the rural watersheds that are important for recreational fisheries across the region.
Why is this Area So Important?
Wet prairie habitat at Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge, Florida | Josh O'Connor / USFWS
The Southwest Florida region faces increasing threats, including rapid population growth, land use intensification, and climate change. The proposed conservation area covers a region with over 3 million acres of unprotected habitat for threatened and endangered species and unique natural communities at the heart of Florida’s unique prairie ranching landscape. The proposed boundary includes Everglades watersheds and the entire Peace River and Myakka River watersheds, which are essential for the health of Charlotte Harbor, a National Estuary and an epicenter of natural resource-based tourism and economic activity in southwest Florida.
The proposed area covers a critical region for accomplishing Florida’s land and water conservation goals, and effective conservation here will have important benefits for people and wildlife across the state. The final Conservation Area boundary will be determined based on input from the public.
Complementing Successful State Conservation Efforts:
The Everglades to Gulf Conservation Area will complement successful state and other conservation efforts, such as the Florida Wildlife Corridor, the State’s Florida Forever and Rural and Family Lands Protection Programs, the Natural Resource Conservation Service, and other local and county programs. A conservation area will build upon existing local, state, and federal efforts by providing another way to protect important lands with willing sellers. When the USFWS partners with other organizations to protect land, they can leverage funds and resources from different sources leading to increased funding opportunities for acquiring and restoring land. This means that more money can be put towards conservation efforts to conserve water, wildlife, and Florida’s way of life.
This is a ground-breaking effort that would provide additional resources to protect our critical natural lands, and our working landscape, offer additional outdoor recreational opportunities, and protect habitat for the region’s unique species. Southwest Florida has a rich history of conservation planning and land protection; it is one of the fastest-growing regions in the United States, but concerted, science-based, and partnership-driven conservation can succeed. The National Wildlife Refuge Association is proud to partner in this important effort to conserve this imperiled region.
Please see https://www.fws.gov/project/everglades-to-gulf-conservation-area