By Jim Ash
Tallahassee Democrat
04/10/08

 A big bill re-authorizing the Florida Forever land-buying program passed its final Senate panel Thursday, with environmentalists praising the measure for making valuable additions and changes in the process.

Sponsored by Sen. Burt Saunders, R-Naples, the bill keeps the program, which buys environmentally valuable land for preservation, in place for 10 years.

It also provides funding for another program, Florida Rural Lands Stewardship, that’s long been championed by Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson but was never funded.

Five percent of Florida Forever funds can go to buy “conservation easements” from small and family farms, which can help property owners keep on farming while staving off development.

Saunders said he thought it was important to keep such farms going and on the tax rolls, while providing financial incentive for owners to not sell out to developers. But funding the Rural Lands program with Florida Forever money takes a big step toward advancing both programs, he said.

Even though Florida Forever is fighting for money in a year marked by historic budget cuts, Andy McLeod, Florida’s Nature Conservancy director and who also serves as head of an umbrella group of environmentalists supporting Florida Forever, said he thought the 5 percent was well-spent.

The Senate has provided $300 million to keep the land-buying program going, but the House has not set aside any money for the project.

The House also has a bill similar to Saunders that deals with administering Florida Forever, but McLeod said environmentalists are much less happy with that bill than with the Senate’s proposal.

“We’re still working with members there on the language,” he said.
 

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