EDITORIAL: Wildlife corridor project progressing

There has been a lot of good news lately about the progress of the statewide wildlife corridor project.

Much of that news was shared by Mallory Dimmitt, CEO of the Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation, during a day marked off in Tallahassee to celebrate the project.

Florida has been working for years to piece together properties that will eventually connect enough to present a corridor of land from the Everglades north that will be safe for wildlife to use for habitat and travel from one area to another. Much of the land is purchased with state funds or donations.

The big news last month was that Florida Forever secured the largest conservation easement in program history 61,525 acres that nearly closes a gap in the Ocala to Osceola critical linkage in the corridor, according to an email Dimmitt shared with the media. The corridor will not only sustain habitat and mobility options for wildlife but also improve water options, and the forest economy.

Dimmitt said the foundation has been able to conserve 463,000 acres in the five years since the Florida Wildlife Corridor Act was passed.

And there was more good news.

Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Cabinet approved the conservation of three working land properties across the corridor, adding an additional 3,283 acres of protected land.

The huge easement announced at the event is by far the largest in the Florida Forever program's history, permanently protecting 61,525 acres of working forestland within the Ocala-to-Osceola (O2O) Wildlife Corridor in Baker and Union counties.

This easement protecting the Weyerhauser property nearly completes a critical conservation gap within the O2O, permanently connecting habitat for threatened species like red-cockaded woodpeckers, gopher tortoises, eastern indigo snakes and more, according to the announcement.

The property also supports water quality, flood protection and aquifer recharge across three major river basins while continuing to support the local forest economy, the email said.

Dimmitt also acknowledged the recent addition of other properties in the program.

On Feb. 24, she wrote, Florida approved funding for the permanent conservation of 3,283 acres across three properties within the Florida Wildlife Corridor across Hardee, Highlands and Volusia counties.

She thanked the landowners, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, U.S. Air Force REPI program, Florida Conservation Group, Conservation Florida, Maury L. Carter & Associates, Keith Fountain Law and other partners for coming together to make these opportunities possible.

Other protected areas that will serve the corridor include Square One Ranch and Buckhorn Ranch, which accepted a rural lands conservation easement funded through the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program at the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

Longleaf Pine Ecosystem Project / Vanacore Holdings LLC is to be protected through a conservation easement funded through Florida Forever at the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

We've been big supporters of the corridor and applaud the progress being made, especially in the past few months.

Dimmitt challenged Floridians to take time to get outdoors and experience the corridor. And, she suggested, on your next visit to a state park, keep an eye out for a Florida Wildlife Corridor sign. It will help you appreciate how the state is spending your money.